Republicans looking for a political upset in the Pacific Northwest just got a fresh shot of optimism.
A new Hoffman Research poll shows former NBA player and Republican gubernatorial candidate Chris Dudley narrowly leading incumbent Oregon Governor Tina Kotek in a hypothetical general election matchup, 48% to 44%.
The survey, conducted May 11–12 among 603 likely voters, was commissioned by Dudley’s campaign and carries a reported margin of error of approximately ±4 percentage points.
For a state that has not elected a Republican governor in decades, the numbers are sure to get attention.
Oregon Live reported:
Respondents were asked who they would vote for if the general election were held today and Kotek was facing either Dudley or Drazan. They picked Dudley over Kotek 48% to 44% in that hypothetical matchup, while Drazan and Kotek both received 45% in the hypothetical matchup between the two.
The general election is still six months away and a lot could change before November as Kotek and her Republican opponent both make their case to voters about why they should be elected governor.
However, the poll showed dissatisfaction with Kotek that mirrors other polls. More than half – 53% – of those polled said they have an unfavorable opinion of Kotek compared to 33% who said they had a favorable opinion of her. The new results come after just a third of Portland metro area respondents said they had a positive opinion of Kotek, while 59% said they had a negative impression of her in a late April poll commissioned by The Oregonian/OregonLive.
The new poll of 603 likely general election voters was conducted by Portland-based polling firm Hoffman Research Group from May 11 to 12. The results were weighted to reflect a likely Oregon general election electorate across key demographics, including age, gender, party registration, geography, congressional district and voting propensity, according to Mark Nashif, chief pollster for the Hoffman Research Group.
“The poll shows a challenging environment for Gov. Kotek: 58% of voters say Oregon is headed in the wrong direction, and 53% have an unfavorable impression of her,” Nashif wrote in an email. “Both leading Republicans are competitive against the incumbent, but Dudley is the only one tested who crosses into a lead, while the Drazan/Kotek matchup is tied at 45%–45%.”
Dudley, a former Portland Trail Blazers center and the GOP nominee for Oregon governor in 2010, is making another run at the governor’s mansion as frustration grows over crime, homelessness, economic pressures, and the culture war battles that have increasingly dominated state politics.
One of Dudley’s more attention-grabbing campaign positions has been opposition to allowing biological males to compete in women’s sports, an issue that has become a flashpoint nationwide and one Republicans believe resonates strongly with independent voters.
The poll suggests Gov. Kotek may be more vulnerable than Oregon Democrats would like to admit.
The post SHOCK POLL: Former NBA Star Chris Dudley LEADS Radical Democrat Gov. Tina Kotek in Oregon Governor Race – Could Oregon Finally Flip RED? appeared first on The Gateway Pundit.