Chris Dudley is outta here
Kari Chisholm
It's only been a year and a half since Chris Dudley lost the Governor's race to John Kitzhaber. But he's already decided that his political career is over - and to make sure of that, he's leaving Oregon.
Dudley said he had earlier decided not to run for office again in Oregon but that he wasn't moving because of any unhappiness over Oregon's political direction. "California is a blue state, too," he noted.
Dudley has resisted pleas from supporters to run again for political office this year and has talked about the difficulty of the close loss on his family.
Dudley, who played for 16 years in the NBA including two stints with the Portland Trail Blazers, was defeated by Democrat John Kitzhaber by just 1.5 percentage points in 2010. Dudley, who had never run for office before, came the closest of any Republican during the Democrats' winning streak of seven gubernatorial elections in a row.
In addition to his 2010 run for Governor, Dudley was recruited to run against Congressman Kurt Schrader and was rumored to be considering a run for Clackamas County Chair in 2012.
And he certainly would have been at the very top of any list of potential Republican candidates in 2014. Unlike Oregon's sleepy 2012, the 2014 election year will feature the re-election campaigns of Senator Jeff Merkley and Governor John Kitzhaber (assuming the Governor wants a fourth term.)
As Dan Lavey - advisor to Dudley and Gordon Smith - told Mapes, "There's probably as many disappointed Republicans in Oregon as there are relieved Democrats."
So, take Chris Dudley off the board. The road back to relevance just got a lot tougher for the Oregon GOP.
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9:40 p.m.
Apr 8, '12
I can't believe anyone considered him a serious candidate to start with. And this just confirms my opinion that he never really cared that much about Oregon.
11:38 p.m.
Apr 8, '12
Lea, anyone who lost to a two-term governor by 1.5% is obviously "serious." I constantly made this point during the election--my D friends constantly made fun of Dudley, and my response was "how come he's doing so well then?"
Look, the main lesson here is that the R bench is incredibly thin. America has a soft spot for amateurs, athletes, and astronauts (that's actually a book title!). But the fact that Dudley remained the Republicans best hope for a statewide race--and they can't even recruit for some other statewide contests--indicates they need to engage in some serious self-examination.
7:57 a.m.
Apr 9, '12
I agree - the Rs need to do some serious self-examination. At the national level, as well. The fact that they passed up a more credible candidate (Ailey) in the interest of a "soft spot" speaks volumes about how serious they are about putting the best candidate forward. They have an agenda and they are picking the messenger to carry their message. Period.
10:10 a.m.
Apr 9, '12
There goes the last chance at the illusion of a "moderate" GOP in Oregon. As it turned out Dudley was caught on video not being so moderate when he said waitresses should be exempt from minimum wage.
Let's be real. The GOP is not moderate, and doesn't want to be moderate. They are a party of extremists who want perpetual war and want to undo every bit of what little safety net and environmental protection we have in Oregon and the U.S. They talk about freedom from govt. control but want to eliminate women's health care choices and have the government intervene, to the point of inserting ultrasound probes in their vaginas, and giving legal "personhood" to embyro zyogotes. Mark Hatfield and Tom McCall would be summarily dismissed by this mob of teabaggers.
12:08 p.m.
Apr 19, '12
The article states that he was disillusioned at losing in a BLUE state. He never was knowledgable and interested in Oregon, just because one of his houses was built over the state line. He had no background or resum'e to be Governor of Oregon, just like Cornilles did not have the experience to beat Bonamici who's whole education and career worked with people and their rights and that is why she represents Oregon and in a voice in the US House of Representatives. Republicans DO need to examine their vetting process and candidate selection.