I lived in Eugene when the first vote by mail with national ramifications was held. A special election to fill a vacant US Senate seat held by Republicans for 35 years. The favored candidate was Gordon Smith. Handsome young Republican. A family man with a thriving business that even hired union workers at union wages. Popular president of the Oregon State Senate. Leading into the night and waiting to celebrate at the end of the day. A funny thing happened on the way to the US Senate. An unattractive, junior Democrat Congressman who would become a lifelong politician salivated as votes from mail drop boxes poured in.
Ron Wyden was declared the winner by about 1600 votes. Disbelief. Utter shock. Gordon Smith’s concession statement was brutally frank.
Ron Wyden is still in the US Senate working on voter legislation for us. Smith won the next open Senate seat handily but he never had his heart in it.
We moved away over 20 years ago but we always found Oregon to be patriotic and fairly conservative except in Portland and Eugene. It would be so great to see the state clean up it’s act. I apologize for the lengthy comment,
Thank you for that time capsule story. You may remember Gordon Smith retired after his son committed suicide. For a long time, he was the only Republican Senator on the West Coast.