This is the title I chose for my personal blog, which is meant to give me an outlet for one of my favorite crafts – writing – plus to use an image from my favorite sport, golf.  Out of college, my first job was as a reporter for the Daily Astorian in Astoria, Oregon, and I went on from there to practice writing in all of my professional positions, including as press secretary in Washington, D.C. for a Democrat Congressman from Oregon (Les AuCoin), as an Oregon state government manager in Salem and Portland, as press secretary for Oregon’s last Republican governor (Vic Atiyeh), and as a private sector lobbyist.  This blog also allows me to link another favorite pastime – politics and the art of developing public policy – to what I write.  I could have called this blog “Middle Ground,” for that is what I long for in both politics and golf.  The middle ground is often where the best public policy decisions lie.  And it is where you want to be on a golf course.

The news came last weekend from a strange, not to mention remote, source – a polling company in Ohio.

The results were noteworthy in the sense of this key finding based on a report from the Oregonian newspaper:

One Donald Trump – remember him? – has lock on Oregon Republicans.

Here is how reporter Jeff Manning started his article on the poll:

“The Oregon Republican party, decades ago a party of moderate centrists like Tom McCall and Mark Hatfield, now is overwhelmingly loyal to Donald Trump and would prefer its gubernatorial nominee to be much like the former president, even if that means that nominee can’t win in Oregon, a new poll found.

“In the poll of 600 likely Oregon Republican primary voters conducted in early November, 75 per cent said they view Trump favorably, and 58 per cent think that the 2020 election was ‘stolen’ from him. Just over 60 per cent of respondents said that Republican candidates for statewide office should be “more like Trump” while 23 per cent said they should be less like him.”

It is Democrats who are often known as a “disorganized political party” as they try to bring a lot of different folks under their tent.  But, if the polling is true – and I have no reason to dispute it – the results show that many Republicans in Oregon are as disorganized as the other side.

The fact is, according to the poll, they have little idea about right and wrong in politics; otherwise, why would they be wrong so grievously and fawn over Trump?  The alternative would be to organize effectively so someone other than another Democrat would ascend to the Governor’s Office for the first time in 40 years.

I view all of this from the lens of having worked for the last Republican Governor in Oregon Vic Atiyeh.  He was a master at working the middle with Republicans and Democrats, never being concerned about who got credit for quality actions, but only concerned with the actions themselves.

So it is that I long for the days of political leaders who work the middle.  They are in short supply these days.

Here are other conclusions from the new poll.

• Results prompted John von Schlegell, a prominent Portland business executive and political novice who commissioned the poll while he considered jumping into the race, to abandon that notion.  “After looking at all the data, as much as I believe a moderate Republican would be really good for this state, it would be difficult to pull off,” said von Schlegell, co-founder of Endeavour Capital.
• Bud Pierce, the Salem doctor who was the party’s nominee in 2016 before getting trounced by Kate Brown in the general election, got significantly more support than any other Republicans named in the poll. When asked who they would vote for if the primary were tomorrow, 13.7 per cent went with Pierce.
• The poll found that 53 per cent of likely Republican voters were most likely to vote for a candidate for governor who “focuses on fighting liberals to protect our basic freedoms, defend our borders, and stopping masks and critical race theory from being forced on our children.” Only 35 per cent, by contrast, said they would be more likely to vote for one “who focuses on economic issues like promoting opportunity and job growth, lowering taxes on middle-class families and holding government accountable.”

But, the Oregonian newspaper reported, “the 2022 race will face an unknown not seen before in modern Oregon politics.  An elected office holder with a track record of raising substantial campaign donations has filed for the race.  She is longtime moderate Democrat lawmaker Sen. Betsy Johnson from Scappoose, Oregon who will run without the backing of either major political party.

“In a state that has far more registered voters who also are not affiliated with either party –1.2 million – than its 730,000 registered Republicans, Johnson’s role as a spoiler could be as significant as it is unpredictable at this stage.”

Regarding Johnson, I lobbied her for more than 10 y at the State Capitol in Salem.  I found her to be refreshing and candid.  She always conveyed to me her reactions to my comments about what my clients wanted and, if she said something, her word was her bond.

That might make her a good governor.

More from the Oregonian:

“The poll contained a morsel of good news for Johnson. Fully 30 per cent of likely Republican voters agreed they were ‘open to the possibility’ of voting for her.”  So it would not be surprising to see significant Republican support for Johnson from party members tired of getting beat.

“If you’re a Republican voter, what do you have to lose voting for Betsy?” one analyst said. ‘She leans right, she’s (now) non-affiliated.  And you haven’t won in 40 years.’”

So, once we get past the primary, the general election for governor in Oregon will provide a real choice. 

It could come down to, (a) the leading Democrat candidate, Oregon House Speaker Tina Kotek, who represents the left wing of the Ds who have held the Governor’s Office for about 40 years; (b) the probable leading Republican, the Salem doctor Bud Pierce; and (c) a wild card – Johnson — with a real chance to take votes, if not win.

To build her chances, Johnson has resigned her Senate seat, one she has held for 20 years in Columbia County, to focus exclusively on the governor’s race.  In the first campaign finance report, she reported a huge dose of cash – more than $2 million – which made her instantly more credible.

What’s ahead should be one of the most interesting races for governor in many years with a lot at stake for all Oregonians.