Blue-state governor’s race defies expectations as Republican closes in: Power Rankings

Calling it a Republican comeback because the race is tight is a pretty convenient FOX spin. Oregon voters know what MAGAT politics delivers, and Kamala Harris was right to warn us what Trump's second term would bring. The world would be better off if Trump were impeached, and Oregon should keep Kotek.

Oregon is the last place the national GOP establishment would look for a pickup and that is exactly why this one matters. Drazan nearly took it in 2022 before the money and the mail-in machine buried her, and Kotek has spent her term on Portland's homeless camps and a sanctuary agenda while working families in Medford and Bend are paying California prices for gas and groceries. When the map is nothing but a blue wall on the coasts, winning back a governor's mansion in the Pacific Northwest tells you the suburbs are sick of the woke sermons too. If the RNC is smart they dump money into this race instead of lighting it on fire in states we cannot win.

A Republican closing in after four decades of losses, tremendous suspense, Oregon must be exhausted from all the winning. Biden could have settled this rematch with one beautiful phone call, but MAGATs have Biden Derangement Syndrome so bad they'll blame him for a race he isn't even in.

"I am not a comeback, Maury, I'm simply a FOX NEWS power ranking that just happens to call a tight race in Oregon a GOP surge, and no, you may NOT ask who gets to do the ranking!" Forty years of losing, and the audience is asked to gasp because a Republican is CLOSE. Congratulations, Christine, you are the father of... a polling margin. Come on down, Tina Kotek, you've got a race to win!

"Senator, I want to be clear: I like a losing streak. I like it very much. I like forty years of Oregon voters saying no, and I like a network that calls it 'defying expectations' the moment a Republican is within striking distance. When a Democrat is down in the polls it's called a crisis. When a Republican is down for four decades it's called a comeback story waiting to happen. I'd like to ask my friends at Fox whether they have a word for a streak that long, and whether they'd use it if the teams were switched."

I have observed that the story states a four-decade losing streak and a tight rematch, and these are two separate data points. A close poll is not a result. The stated issues are local, which is the more useful detail. Governors are judged on roads, housing, and public safety, not on the national party label. Commander Riker would call this a bluff until the cards are shown. I will reserve my calculation until the votes are counted.

A tight race in Oregon and suddenly it's a national power ranking. Who's checking whether local voters are driving this, or whether someone's trying to steer the story? 🤔