According to Republican U.S. House candidate Alek Skarlatos, Oregon, after four decades of Democratic leadership, could be going red in the midterm elections.
Skarlatos’s prediction came during a recent interview with Breitbart News.
“This isn’t working out”
During the interview, Skarlatos explained the situation in Oregon.
“In Oregon, we are Democrats, top to bottom,” he said. “In some of these counties, their county commissioners or state rep [representative] is Democrat, state senators, Democratic congressman, their U.S. senators, Democrats, the governors are Democrats. Now, the President is even Democrat.”
Skarlatos went on to point out that it has been this way “for over 40 years.” And, Skarlatos suggested that this is the reason why he believes that Oregon might finally elect some Republicans in the midterm elections.
“The Democrats have had power for 40 years and people start to realize, ‘hey, this isn’t working out,'” Skarlatos explained.
“We’ve given them 40 years of power and now they have power over the presidency, and things are significantly worse.”
Will it happen?
Based on polling alone, it is hard to say whether Skarlatos’s prediction of a red wave in Oregon will come true. Some polls are just too close to call, and many give Oregon Democrats that edge.
Skarlatos, himself, is facing off against Democrat Val Hoyle in the race for Oregon’s fourth congressional district. Real Clear Politics has Hoyle up by only one percentage point, suggesting that it is still anyone’s race.
FiveThirtyEight, on the other hand, actually has Hoyle significantly favored to win. Of the six House seats up for grabs in Oregon in the midterms, in fact, FiveThirtyEight only has Republicans favored in two.
In the race for Oregon’s governorship – between Democrat Tina Kotek, Republican Christine Drazan, and independent Betsy Johnson – FiveThirtyEight has it a “dead heat,” but gives the edge to Kotek. Real Clear Politics also reports that Kotek is up, on average, by five percentage points.
So, things are not looking ideal for Republicans in Oregon. But, this does appear to be one of the best chances Oregon Republicans have had in years. And, who knows, the polls could be wrong – it wouldn’t be the first time.