Oregon: Voter revolt? Looking for a few good outsiders...

Election insurrection
Sunday, April 30, 2006David Sarasohn The Oregonian --As the afternoon caffeine tide rises in Rick's Cafe, in the middle of downtown Monmouth's three blocks, state Senate candidate Paul Evans hears plenty from voters.
"People are afraid," Evans says. "They're afraid about their jobs. They're afraid about the future of their kids. They're afraid about the war in Iraq. They know health care is getting harder and harder to get."
When voters are afraid, politicians are terrified. This year, voter unhappiness extending from Baghdad to boards of education is making incumbency less a benefit than a bull's-eye. Officeholders, typically trotting a cakewalk back to office, instead are facing a minefield, while some of the new hopefuls are packing unusual resumes.
Voters always say they want outsiders. The question -- considerably louder this year -- is how far outside will they look.
Looming over the May 16 primary election is a candidate not on any party's ballot. State Sen. Ben Westlund, I-Bend, is mounting what could be Oregon's first serious independent campaign for governor in 75 years. If Westlund, who calls himself "a recovering Republican," actually rises to contention this fall, he could ride a wave that swamps a lot of other politicians and floats some unexpected hopefuls. .... more

After failed bid in 2002, Saxton retools his imageGovernor candidate has taken hard-line stances this year
STEVE LAW Statesman JournalMay 1, 2006 --Ron Saxton is entering the homestretch of the Republican primary for governor with the best momentum, the most endorsements and the fattest wallet.
Yet some Republicans sitting with ballots at their kitchen tables must be wondering which Ron Saxton is running for governor. Is it the traditional Republican moderate who ran in 2002 or the frequently hard-line conservative of 2006?
Politicians always retool their message to fit their audience, the times and their political needs.
Democrat Ted Kulongoski is running for re-election as a liberal after governing from the center. Independent Ben Westlund is running as a progressive despite an often-conservative voting record in the Legislature.... more