2012 Oregon's 1st congressional district special election

A 2012 special election in Oregon's 1st congressional district was held on January 31, 2012, to fill a seat in the U.S. Congress for Oregon's 1st congressional district, following the resignation of Representative David Wu. Primary elections were held on November 8, 2011, with the Democrats selecting state senator Suzanne Bonamici and the Republicans selecting businessman Rob Cornilles.^[1][2]

2012 United States House of Representatives special general election in Oregon's 1st congressional district

← 2010 January 31, 2012 2012 →

Nominee Suzanne Bonamici Rob Cornilles Party Democratic Republican Popular vote 111,570 81,985 Percentage 53.8% 39.6%

County results Bonamici:      40–50%      50–60%      70–80% Cornilles:      40–50%

U.S. Representative before election David Wu Democratic Elected U.S. Representative Suzanne Bonamici Democratic

Bonamici was declared the winner almost as soon as the ballot deadline expired at 8 pm PST.^[3] She carried every county in the district except Yamhill County, which Cornilles won by a seven-point margin.^[4]

Democratic primary

Ballots were due for the Democratic primary on November 8, 2011.

Candidates

The following candidates filed to run in the primary:

• Saba Ahmed, lobbyist and former engineer^[5][6]
• Brad Avakian, commissioner of the Oregon Bureau of Labor and Industries^[6][7]
• Suzanne Bonamici, state senator^[6][7]
• Dominick Hammon, former contractor^[5][6]
• Robert Lettin, investment adviser^[5][6]
• Todd Ritter, textbook dealer^[5][6]
• Dan Strite, golf professional and business owner^[5][6]
• Brad Witt, state representative^[6][7]

Polling

Poll source	Dates administered	Brad Avakian	Suzanne Bonamici	Dominick Hannon	Robert Lettin	Todd Ritter	Dan Strite	Brad Witt	Other	Undecided
Oregonian/KGW	October 24–26, 2011	11%	45%	–	–	–	–	5%	1%	38%
Survey USA	October 17–20, 2011	14%	52%	1%	0%	1%	1%	9%	–	21%

Results

 

Avakian with supporters

Democratic Primary results^[2]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Suzanne Bonamici	48,404	65.27
	Democratic	Brad Avakian	16,415	22.13
	Democratic	Brad Witt	5,870	7.92
	Democratic	Dan Strite	1,176	1.59
	Democratic	Dominic Hammon	889	1.20
	Democratic	Todd Lee Ritter	632	0.85
		write-ins	454	0.61
	Democratic	Saba Ahmed	231	0.31
	Democratic	Robert E. Lettin	91	0.12
Total votes			74,162	100

Republican primary

Ballots were due for the Republican primary on November 8, 2011.

Candidates

The following candidates have filed to run in the primary:

• Rob Cornilles, businessman and unsuccessful 2010 nominee^[6][7]
• Pavel Goberman, fitness instructor and perennial candidate^[5][6]
• Jim Greenfield, real estate investor and film producer^[5][6]
• Lisa Michaels, activist and cable show host^[5][6]
• Delinda Delgado-Morgan, works with the International Union of Operating Engineers^[5][6]

Polling

Poll source	Dates administered	Rob Cornilles	Delinda Delgado-Morgan	Pavel Goberman	Jim Greenfield	Lisa Michaels	Undecided
Survey USA	October 17–20, 2011	66%	2%	1%	4%	7%	20%

Results

Republican Primary results^[2]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Rob Cornilles	39,500	72.76
	Republican	Jim Greenfield	6,222	11.46
	Republican	Lisa Michaels	5,597	10.31
	Republican	Pavel Goberman	1,629	3.00
	Republican	Delinda Delgado-Morgan	831	1.53
		write-ins	507	0.93
Total votes			54,286	100

Independent primary

Oregon's cross nomination system, a form of fusion voting, allows a candidate for partisan public office to be nominated by up to three political parties.^[8] In November 2011, the Independent Party of Oregon held a primary, announcing the results on November 30. Suzanne Bonamici won the primary and was able list herself as the nominee of the Independent Party on the general election ballot.

Candidates

• Suzanne Bonamici, Oregon state senator
• Rob Cornilles, businessman

Results

Independent Party of Oregon primary results^[9]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Suzanne Bonamici	56	64.37
	Republican	Rob Cornilles	31	35.63

Special general election

Ballots were due for the special election on January 31, 2012.

Candidates

The following candidates will be on the ballot:

• Suzanne Bonamici, (Democrat, Independent), State Senator^[2]
• Rob Cornilles (Republican), businessman^[2]
• James Foster (Libertarian), computer programmer^[10]
• Steven Reynolds (Progressive), Army veteran^[11]

Polling

Poll Source	Date Administered	Suzanne Bonamici (D)	Rob Cornilles (R)	James Foster (L)	Steven Reynolds (OPP)	Undecided
Survey USA	December 22, 2011 – January 4, 2012	50%	39%	2%	2%	7%
Public Policy Polling/Daily Kos/SEIU	December 13–14, 2011	52%	41%	–	–	7%

Results

Oregon's 1st congressional district special election, 2012^[12]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Suzanne Bonamici	111,570	53.82
	Republican	Rob Cornilles	81,985	39.55
	Progressive	Steven Reynolds	6,679	3.22
	Libertarian	James Foster	6,524	3.15
		write-ins	527	0.25
Total votes			207,285	100.0
	Democratic hold

See also

• List of special elections to the United States House of Representatives
• 2012 United States House of Representatives elections in Oregon
• 2012 United States House of Representatives elections
• 2012 United States presidential election in Oregon
• 2012 Oregon state elections

References

1. Trygstad, Kyle (August 4, 2011). "Oregon Special Election Set for January". Roll Call. Retrieved August 4, 2011.
2. "November 8, 2011 Special Congressional Primary Election: Election Results". Oregon Secretary of State. Retrieved November 9, 2011.
3. . The Washington Post. January 31, 2012. Archived from the original on November 3, 2018. Retrieved January 31, 2012.
4. "Representative in Congress, 1st District". Oregon Secretary of State. Retrieved February 1, 2012.
5. Mapes, Jeff (August 15, 2011). "Oregon's 1st District race attracts 13 hopefuls for Republican, Democratic primaries". The Oregonian. Retrieved August 16, 2011.
6. "Candidate Filing Search Results: 2011 Special Congressional Primary". Oregon Secretary of State. Retrieved October 3, 2011.
7. Joseph, Cameron (August 3, 2011). "Rep. Wu's 2010 GOP opponent jumps into special election to replace lawmaker". The Hill. Retrieved August 4, 2011.
8. Mapes, Jeff (July 8, 2009). "Kulongoski will sign fusion voting bill". The Oregonian. Retrieved November 20, 2011.
9. . Independent Party of Oregon. Archived from the original on December 23, 2011. Retrieved November 30, 2011.
10. Knight, Bruce (September 28, 2011). "LPO picks James Foster for US House of Representatives". Libertarian Party of Oregon. Retrieved October 2, 2011.
11. Mapes, Jeff (November 16, 2011). "Progressive Party candidate wins ballot spot in congressional special election". The Oregonian. Retrieved November 17, 2011.
12. "January 31, 2012, Special Election Official Results". Oregon Secretary of State. Retrieved November 2, 2018.

External links

• Saba Ahmed campaign website
• Brad Avakian campaign website
• Suzanne Bonamici campaign website
• Rob Cornilles campaign website
• Jim Greenfield campaign website
• Delinda Morgan campaign website October 12, 2011, at the Wayback Machine
• Dan Strite campaign website
• Brad Witt campaign website