Posted on 04/12/2016 4:04:54 AM PDT by 2ndDivisionVet
The presidential campaigns are becoming more active in Oregon, with Democrat Bernie Sanders and Republican Ted Cruz appearing to be the most organized in their respective races for the state’s May 17 primary.
Sanders has opened four offices in the state – in Portland, Eugene, Bend and Medford – and his state director, Monte Jarvis, said hundreds of volunteers are gearing up for a major door-to-door canvassing effort in advance of the Democratic primary.
On the Republican side, Cruz is recruiting a network of statewide volunteers and has already made a big push to get as many supporters as possible elected as delegates – even if they wind up being pledged to rivals Donald Trump or John Kasich. The idea is that those delegates could shift to Cruz if the Republican convention goes to multiple ballots.
“We have teams set up in every state,” said Jeff Reynolds, a former Multnomah County Republican chairman who is the point person for Cruz’s campaign in Oregon. “It’s part of the strategy,” he said.
Trump, who charged Sunday that the delegate selection process is a “corrupt deal,” has accused Cruz of trying to steal the nomination from him at the convention. Republican precinct people from around the state will select Oregon’s delegates on June 4 in Salem. By state law and party rules, Oregon delegates are bound to the candidate they pledged to support for at least two rounds of balloting at the convention.
Trump now has a state director in Oregon, Creswell lawyer Jacob G. Daniels. He once ran for the state House and last year unsuccessfully sought to launch a recall campaign against then-Gov. John Kitzhaber.
Daniels is now treasurer for a political action committee launched by former U.S. Senate candidate Monica Wehby. Daniels said he is not authorized to speak for the Trump campaign.
Ohio Gov. John Kasich, the third remaining Republican candidate, does not appear to have a formal campaign team in Oregon.
Portland attorney Tim Bernasek, who has worked with a number of Republican candidates in the state, said he has been urging the Kasich campaign to get active in the state. But he said he so far has not had success with the under-funded campaign.
In the Democratic race, Hillary Clinton’s campaign has hired Jillian Schoene, a veteran Oregon political operative who most recently has been running a group that trains Democratic women to run for office. There’s also a team of Clinton staffers from out of state who are helping organize the state.
In each party, the candidates have an incentive to campaign here even if they are not favored to win.
That’s because neither primary is winner-take-all.
The 28 delegates at stake in the Republican primary will be allocated proportionately. For each 3.57 percent of the vote that a candidate wins, he will get one delegate.
On the Democratic side, 61 delegates are at stake in the primary. Twenty delegates will be apportioned depending on the statewide results, 41 will be divided depending on the voting in each of the state’s five congressional districts.
In addition, there are also 13 Democratic super-delegates from Oregon. They are elected officials and party leaders who are automatic delegates at the convention and are free to vote however they want.
Nationally, Clinton has a large lead among the super-delegates – who make up about 15 percent of the 4,765 delegates – and Sanders has been trying to persuade them that he is the more electable nominee. In Oregon, most of the super-delegates are staying neutral until after the May 17 primary.
Four said they support Clinton – Gov. Kate Brown, Attorney General Ellen Rosenblum and Reps. Suzanne Bonamici and Kurt Schrader. Rosenblum pointedly noted last week that she has said she supports Clinton, but hasn’t promised to vote for her at the convention.
This was one of the few states to vote for Nelson Rockefeller in the 1964 primary; would Trump be a little Rockefeller?
In before the incessant whining about the unfairness of life. Don’t be afraid to open up your checkbook, Donald. You brag about being SELF-FUNDING. “Funding” is part of that compound word, in case you’ve forgotten.
Well if Cruz has an edge on organizing, that must mean he is lying, cheating, stealing, and engaging in Gestapo tactics. Anything that stands between St. Donald* and his coronation as our blessed GOP savior is heresy. /sarc
* I’ll vote for Trump if he is the nominee but sick of his cult whining and crying any time he’s outplayed on strategy or tactics.
Cruz certainly is a slime ball. It is unethical for someone loyal to Cruz to stand for election as a Trump delegate. That is just plain wrong. Dirty politics is Cruzs' specialty. Before this is over Cruz will be the most despised politician in the republican party.
It is gross negligence by a candidate to run a campaign and not let his supporters be represented by a delegate.
If you and I know Trump needs to get delegates in Oregon to support him, it is fair to say Trump knows. Why is he sitting on his butt complaining instead of getting the delegates?
“...and has already made a big push to get as many supporters as possible elected as delegates – even if they wind up being pledged to rivals Donald Trump or John Kasich”
Oh but you see, this is “brilliant strategy” and “out maneuvering”.
Because actual voting has become “problematic”.
I guess he just assumes that votes = delegates!
You know, like sane people would think.
But no! Votes =/= delegates, if the Gope needs them for someone else.
Hell votes can just be chucked off if they get too much in the way.
What this has become is a “none of the above” election.
Bernie is the only remaining viable candidate that has a personal approval rating above 50% and that is due more to lack of recognition than recognition. Bernie is like Statler and Waldorf. People don’t dislike him because he is a cuddly curmudgeon, but his base support isn’t broad enough to win.
Trump is disapproved by 7 in 10. Cruz is disapproved by 6 in 10. Hillary by 5.5 in 10 and has about the same odds to be indicted.
Come election day, I guess the shiniest turd will win.
Cruz is getting all these delegates, not because of his splendid organizational skills, but because the GOP Establishment wants to prevent Trump from getting his 1237.
That 1237, by the way, comes from WE THE PEOPLE! That's how Trump is earning his votes.
Bad news for Cruz, People can vote in Oregon.
Just like Iowa?
No Iowa was a caucus, you just can’t go and vote. Ted has only won 4 states that are actually primaries.
2DIV, please get some fresh air. Enjoy the spring season, take a break, man. You are going to have a stroke or something. Take care.
You clearly don’t know a damned thing about the primary/caucus process, which is controlled by the parties and always has been. This idiocy has been going on since the advent of political parties in the US and it happens every four years. Yeah, it sucks, but whining about “fairness” in defense of a Manhattan real estate tycoon is just a little on the silly side.
If Trump is going to win the nomination, he has to quit whining, set his ego aside and accept the fact that he cannot win the nomination on the basis of his personality, his business acumen and the fact that he’s an outsider. He has to get his campaign organized and play by the same rules as the other candidates or the party apparatus will run him over.
Trump has 37% of the vote and 45% of the delegates he is benefitting from the system he is constantly whining about too funny.
It isn’t fun and he simply gets a kick out of riling people up?
Is Trump suffering from amnesia? He was following the delegate process in 2012:
https://pbs.twimg.com/media/CfxUNg2WEAABFI7.jpg
Still too soon to predict the Trump/Cruz matchup. If Trump wins big in the Northeast the next two weeks and Cruz is mathematically eliminated, it will likely impact the Cruz vote.
FYI - Oregon
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.
