Wasn't former RAT Governor Kitzhaber (sp?) thinking of running? It sounded like he'd be harder to beat than Kulongoski.
I thought Mannix was acceptably conservative for a socially liberal state like Oregon. Sounds to me like Atkinson should wait for another race to come up.
It's a shame that DeFazio's 4th CD includes only part of Josephine County but not Grants Pass, so Atkinson lives just outside the CD 9 (and currently represents few of its voters). President Bush got 49% in DeFazio's mostly blue-collar district in both 2000 and 2004, and a pro-life religious conservative such as Atkinson could send DeFazio packing once and for all.
Frankly, I wish that Kevin Mannix would run against Darlene Hooley, but he doesn't want to live in D.C. and his heart is set on the Governorship.
Mannix came tantalizingly close to being elected Governor in 2002 and ran a strong race for state Attorney General in 2000. It would be great if he were to win this one.
Kitzhaber was being actively courted, but he decided against it. I heard a claim in the thread that Mannix is anti-gun, which I had never heard (a position like that would be fatal for a GOP candidate outside Portland and Eugene). I agree it's ridiculous that no one of any substance has tried to challenge DeFazio in the past 20 years in such a marginal district. He votes like he's representing downtown Portland.