| Uh oh; we finally have a Democratic open seat for 2008 that isn't an automatic hold. The Oregonian (via Blue Oregon) reports that Darlene Hooley is retiring in OR-05.
She says:
Hooley, 68, who spent time in the hospital in November, said health was not a reason for her decision not to seek a seventh term. "I've never felt better," she said in an interview.
Instead, she said it was the cumulative effect of arduous travel, the relentless demands of fund-raising and 32 years of public service that converged into a decision.
"At some point in everybody's life you have to decide, how much longer do I want to do this?" she said.
"It's time to move on."
OR-05 is a D+1 district. Hooley has represented it since 1996 (when she beat Jim Bunn, one of the more aberrant members of the Class of 94). She's a New Dem, and somewhat to the right of the Dem caucus's midpoint with a Progressive Punch score in the low 80s.
This district has a Democratic tradition, but it currently has a 5,000 registered voter edge for the GOP. The district is a mix of Portland burbs (the more affluent ones lean GOP, the more middle-class ones lean Dem), exurbs (very GOP), Salem (lean Dem), part of Corvallis (very Dem), and rural farm areas (very GOP). It has a rapidly growing Latino population, but they probably aren't voting much yet. (It's currently 81% white, 13% Latino. It's Oregon's 2nd most affluent district, although that's certainly skewed upwards by burbs like Lake Oswego and West Linn.)
Mike Erickson, who ran in 2006, is running again on the GOP side. He held her to about 55-45 in 2006 and can self-finance, so he has the potential to make this a very competitive race.
PolitickerOR speculates that her chief of staff, Joan Mooney Evans, will leap into the race. Another possibility they mention is new House Majority Leader Dave Hunt. A name that also occurred to me is Jim Hill, who used to represent Salem in the state senate, then was state treasurer, and most recently primaried governor Ted Kulongoski from the left in the 2006 election.
Bottom line: this will be the Dems' most difficult open seat to hold, although that's mostly by virtue of their other open seats being pretty easy. Erickson has an advantage in running a second time, but he'll be going uphill against another blue tide, and the Dems have a decent bench to pick from here. |
