Republican Seat Vulnerable After Sonnen Drops Out

Chris Lehman, OPB:

Republicans are scrambling to find a new candidate today in House District 37. That's the West Linn/Tualitin seat currently occupied by Scott Bruun. Bruun isn't seeking re-election because he's running for Congress against Democrat Kurt Schrader. In the May primary, real estate agent and professional fighter Chael Sonnen ran unopposed for the Republican nomination. Now, Sonnen tells something called "Fight! The Premier Mixed Martial Arts Magazine" that he's quitting the race. (The publication incorrectly indicates that Sonnen is running for Oregon State Senate. He's actually running for an Oregon House seat.) In a statement to the magazine, Sonnen cites a legal case involving his real estate agent career that he says could "disqualify (him) from running for office." He offers no additional details. Sonnen had also come under fire recently for posts on a Twitter page in his name.

Oregon law allows parties to substitute a candidate if the nominated candidate drops out of the race between the primary and the general election. So Sonnen's decision leaves Oregon House Republicans with the task of finding a new candidate before a late August deadline to finalize the ballot.While it's likely they will, that person will enter the general election cycle with several disadvantages. First, the Democrat in the race, Will Rasmussen, has some name recognition in the district after winning a three-way primary in May. Second, Democrats hold a 700-voter registration edge over Republicans in HD-37, though there are more than 8000 minor party and unaffiliated voters in the district. Third, with this turn of events you can be doubly sure that House Democrats will be aggressive about getting out the vote, since this is a rare opportunity this election cycle for Democrats to pick up a seat. I say "rare" because Democrats currently hold 36 out of the 60 seats as it is, and not all of the other seats currently held by Republicans will be competitive in the fall.

For his part, House Republican leader Bruce Hanna is staying optimistic. In a statement, Hanna said:
<span><span><span> </span></span></span>
<span><span><span>"We are confident that voters in House District 37 will have a strong Republican candidate who is committed to serving the district and putting Oregon's economy back on track." </span></span></span><div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width="1" height="1" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/3320471128493510714-6328824460741501207?l=www.capitolcurrents.com" alt=""/></div>

Read the full article here. Discuss below.