Oregon Reacts To Obama's Presumptive Nomination

OBAMA  CLINTON  ELECTIONS 

By Ethan Lindsey

Bend, OR  June 4, 2008 1:37 a.m.

Oregon looks like it's Obama country. The Illinois Senator won handily in the state's May 20th primary.

Now the national Democratic primary is all but wrapped up. And Barack Obama looks strong heading to a showdown with Arizona Senator John McCain.

After Obama captured wins in the Montana and South Dakota primaries Tuesday, two additional Oregon  super delegates supported him. Ethan Lindsey reports.

When the final primary polls closed Tuesday, every Oregon super delegate, except for Sen. Ron Wyden, had publicly endorsed a candidate.

Obama raked in more than $1.7 million from Oregonians, more than Hillary Clinton and John McCain combined.

And some polls have shown the Illinois Democrat with a double-digit lead in a head-to-head match-up with McCain.

Secretary of State Bill Bradbury and state Democratic party member Frank Dixon both endorsed Obama Tuesday night, giving him a 9-to-2 superdelegate lead in the state.

Dixon says, yes, Obama will win Oregon in November, but he advises Democrats not to start counting their chickens.

Frank Dixon: “I don't think we'll be out of the woods, because there will be a certain number of ballot measures that will draw voters into the election that may not vote for Senator Obama or the Democratic ticket, so we won't be taking anything for granted here.”

Governor Ted Kulongoski and Darlene Hooley are the state's only superdelegates to back  Hillary Clinton. Hooley says she remains in Clinton's corner, but will move with the party when things look officially decided.

She also says she is open to Hillary Clinton as Barack Obama's vice presidential candidate.

Darlene Hooley: “Again, that is going to be her call and Obama's call. And what she said was she will do whatever she can to ensure that the Democrats take the White House back.”

Hooley said the primary race exposed a lot of problems in the country,  including racism and sexism. The West Linn Democrat says she hopes the party comes together for the general election.

At the Hillary Clinton rally on primary night in Oregon, activist Nancy Huppertz reflected the concern of a number of Democrats.

Nancy Huppertz: “I was hoping for a different result. I am very, very disappointed. I may or may not be involved in the campaign from this point on or I may be involved in a congressional campaign. I am just going to have to give it some thought.”

Republicans say that disillusionment could give McCain an opening in Oregon. In fact, John McCain has been praising Hillary Clinton in effusive terms for the past week, maybe hoping to pick up a few of of her supporters.

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