The 2008 BlueOregon Straw Poll
blueoregon admin
The 2008 primary election is nearly upon us. Lawn signs are everywhere, TV spots are on the air, the voters' pamphlet has landed in mailboxes, and ballots will arrive soon. (Don't forget: voter registration deadline is tomorrow!)
After months of debate here at BlueOregon, we think it might be interesting to know where the BlueOregon community has landed - in the presidential race, the US Senate race, the US House races, and a few state legislative races and local races.
So, we're announcing the first-ever BlueOregon Straw Poll. Cast your vote here.
A few notes: This is not an endorsement. As we've said from the beginning, "BlueOregon itself won't collectively endorse candidates, stage protests, or even go out for donuts."
Also, you only get to vote once. In an attempt to avoid the ballot-box stuffing that's happened in other straw polls lately, we'll require a real name and a valid email address to vote. (Your choices, however, will remain confidential. Results will be reported only in the aggregate.)
Obviously, this isn't a scientific survey. It doesn't represent anything but the views of the BlueOregon community. We're looking forward to seeing what you think.
The deadline is Monday, May 5th at 8 p.m.
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Apr 28, '08
Okay, the one race where I'm still undecided is the one where you don't have Undecided/Don't Care as options: Attorney General.
12:48 p.m.
Apr 28, '08
Yikes! That's fixed.
12:55 p.m.
Apr 28, '08
A more appropriate selection would be "I don't live in this district". I didn't feel it was appropriate for me vote in elections that are out of district for me. I care - I just don't live in the district.
12:58 p.m.
Apr 28, '08
Phil, you're perfectly welcome to skip any race you want. But we'd like to hear from the entire community about each race. After all, what happens in one part of the state affects everyone in the state.
12:59 p.m.
Apr 28, '08
Boy I need an editor: I didn't feel it was appropriate for me "to" vote in elections that are out of district for me.
1:02 p.m.
Apr 28, '08
Kari - I agree. Life is so much better when Democrats are in control.
2:16 p.m.
Apr 28, '08
Hey Kari, Races I felt one was missing: County Commissioner District 4.
Apr 28, '08
I got an error message from SixApart when I clicked "Done." I hit refresh and got a thank-you from BlueO, but I hit the back button and all the fields were unchecked. I'm not sure if my choices were submitted or not.
3:45 p.m.
Apr 28, '08
That's an odd error.
No one named "James X" is in there :) -- but if your last name has five letters in it, and you voted at 2:55, then yes, we got your ballot, James.
Apr 28, '08
I was disappointed that this poll was so "portland-centric." How about throwing in some questions that are related to the City of Salem/Marion County/Polk County part of the world?
3:51 p.m.
Apr 28, '08
That's an odd error.
No one named "James X" is in there :) -- but if your last name has five letters in it, and you voted at 2:55, then yes, we got your ballot, James.
3:56 p.m.
Apr 28, '08
Salem Resident --
What races would you have suggested? I've been asking a bunch of people all over the state for a couple of weeks - and no one suggested any races in Marion or Polk counties.
3:59 p.m.
Apr 28, '08
Check that, James X. I found your ballot. You're all good.
5:01 p.m.
Apr 28, '08
Karol:
I agree. This race is definitely going to be something else.
5:32 p.m.
Apr 28, '08
I never got the confirming e-mail, but I suppose I could've stupidly typed my e-mail address incorrectly. However, I can't get in to check or try again. Woulda been between 2:00 and 2:30 I think...
5:32 p.m.
Apr 28, '08
You left off Fred Stewart in the Portland City Council Seat# #2 and since I live in Washington County, I could not with good conscience vote in any of the Portland, Multnomah or Congressioanl districts outside of my district (Tigard, WashCo).
12:29 a.m.
Apr 29, '08
Kari-
Polk County DA Three Way Race
Aaron Felton Stan Butterfield Mike Fagan
Apr 29, '08
There is also a highly contested race in Lincoln County for DA. The incumbent, Bernice Barnett - a Democrat who has consistently endorsed Democratic state-wide candidates - is being challenged by Rob Bovett, an Assistnt County Counsel, who concedes he's never tried a jury trial but plans on running the DA's office "by consensus."
Apr 29, '08
I hear someone is taking on CW Smith in Jackson Co -- unconfirmed. He would look great giving a concession speech.
Apr 29, '08
Is there really a statewide election going on? I guess the candidates don't much care what people who live in the more rural parts of the state think. It's only about a week until the ballots come out and, in our area, I've seen exactly one house with lawn signs (two signs -- one for Merkley; one for Obama). I have the TV on enough to get some feel for advertising and I've seen two ads for Merkley, one for Metzger, a half dozen or so for Obama, and none for anybody else.
10:20 a.m.
Apr 29, '08
I never got the confirming e-mail, but I suppose I could've stupidly typed my e-mail address incorrectly.
Nate, anybody whose email is already subscribed to the BlueOregon email newsletter won't get a confirmation email, since it's already confirmed for us. (We clarified that in the instructions about an hour or two after we launched.)
10:34 a.m.
Apr 29, '08
Kari,
I'm not on the email newsletter and I haven't received a confirmation email. Can you confirm that you got my entry?
10:39 a.m.
Apr 29, '08
Yeah, Colin, I did. I also personally approved a bunch of emails that I know to be from real people. Would rather err on the side of inclusion, y'know?
So far, so good on the straw poll. What we're mostly worried about is it hitting some national blogs and getting deluged with a bunch of national people who want to vote either Obama or Clinton but don't know or care anything about Oregon.
Good to see you last night.
Apr 29, '08
I have not received a confirmation email and I am not on the newsletter list. Is there some way I (and anybody else who has this issue) can check if we put in the wrong email address?
10:56 a.m.
Apr 29, '08
Not online there's not.
We didn't people to create usernames and passwords - and we're not going to publish the emails of everyone who voted.
The first batch of confirmation emails went out about an hour ago. There will be more.
You could contact me directly and I'm happy to look it up.
10:57 a.m.
Apr 29, '08
We didn't REQUIRE people...
11:11 a.m.
Apr 29, '08
Thanks Kari, I got the confirmation email. And yes, it was nice to see you at CGW last night.
Met some BlueO regulars for the first time in real life last night. It's kind of an odd experience sometimes...
Apr 29, '08
Just got me email, thanks.
Apr 29, '08
Just got my email, thanks.
11:16 a.m.
Apr 29, '08
OK, an update:
To make this really super-simple for everyone... I've now sent an email to everyone who voted through last night - either with a confirmation email or a "you're all set" email.
The latest batch should complete sending in the next hour or so, so don't freak out just yet.
I should point out, though, that the only people who WON'T get an email is anyone who previously opted-out from receiving email from BlueOregon - since we're not allowed to email to them.
Anybody who votes today will get an email tomorrow morning, etc.
11:22 a.m.
Apr 29, '08
Thanks for the clarification Kari.
Apr 29, '08
Why wasn't Ralph Nader's name on the ballot?
Apr 29, '08
Montag: Why wasn't Ralph Nader's name on the ballot?
Because this is a straw poll of Dems running for office?
OMG! John McCain's name wasn't on the ballot either!
7:27 p.m.
Apr 29, '08
Kari,
I voted yesterday but never got a confirmation email or a "you're all set" email. Thanks!
7:52 p.m.
Apr 29, '08
Andrew, your email was delivered and received by Hotmail at 11:01 a.m. Maybe check your spam filter.
Apr 29, '08
Why don't you have Fred Stewart for Portland City Seat 2? Fred is for real and needs to be included.
8:25 p.m.
Apr 29, '08
Got it. Thanks man!
9:39 p.m.
Apr 29, '08
Why don't you have Fred Stewart for Portland City Seat 2? Fred is for real and needs to be included.
Well, this is a straw poll, not a real ballot - so there's no requirement to include everyone. More to the point, we serve our readers, not candidates - and our goal was to keep it simple.
Where there were four or more candidates, we decided to include only the serious candidates. That's obviously a judgment call. (Is Candy Neville serious? She's been in the televised debates, so yes.)
I'm sure that Fred Stewart is a lovely man, but having only raised $1300, he's just not a serious candidate.
Apr 30, '08
Hey Kari,
If it was French Stewart running for Portland City Seat 2 would you post his name then?
Just wondering.
Bob
P.S. Third Rock from the Sun was funny as long as you were inebriated with [your drug of choice here].
10:13 p.m.
Apr 30, '08
I did the straw poll, but then someone said you had to vote in all the contests in order for the votes to count. True? I didn't vote in places I will not be eligible to vote in the primary (eg other than my city and district). Can I have a "do-over" if that's true?
Sorry.
2:13 a.m.
May 1, '08
Not all of them -- just 50% of them for your ballot to count.
7:38 a.m.
May 1, '08