Over the summer a friend of mine drove from Texas to southern California to drive up the California coast to the Canadian border then back again to Texas. Big trip. People along the way were very interested in her trip but in northern California people started telling her to not go to Portland. Lots of people. She bypassed it based on their advice.
People in Northern California are conservative (areas north of the SF Bay Area, no where near SF). Once you cross over into Oregon, it's a different story (coastal side, again different in eastern Oregon).