As to a liberal strangle-hold—the last Republican to win a gubernatorial election was Vic Atiyeh, who was re-elected in 1982. Only Washington has a longer Dem streak—they last elected a Republican in 1980.
As a lifelong Oregonian, I am in the minority. Think of Oregon as Northern California, as most residents are California imports. Here is a website to give you economic data for various counties in Oregon:
http://www.qualityinfo.org/olmisj/OlmisZine