Poll finds big Kitzhaber lead in Oregon Democratic primary

[ccharles000]

This survey from Portland pollster Tim Hibbitts is a little old, but it's still interesting. The poll, conducted for Nike and Standard Insurance, in mid-April found that former Gov. John Kitzhaber had a lead of more than two-to-one over former Secretary of State Bill Bradbury in the Democratic primary race for Oregon governor.

The April 14-15 poll of 300 likely Democratic primary voters found Kitzhaber with 50 percent of the vote, compared to 21 percent for Bradbury and 4 percent for a third candidate, Roger Obrist.

Another 25 percent are undecided.

Bradbury had already started his TV advertising when this poll was conducted while Kitzhaber didn't start until a week ago (and his ads now appear to be running in a greater volume). This suggests that the former governor might be even better situated now than in mid-April.

http://blog.oregonlive.com/mapesonpolitics/2010/04/poll_finds_big_kitzhaber_lead.html

[depakid]

1. Kitz would have been an incredible governor if he'd had a Democratic legislature to work with

Also, IMO -he'd have made an outstanding Senator- or even President, if he'd had the inclination to leave Oregon for the humid cesspool of Washington DC.

It's too bad that congress and the administration didn't follow the procedural model he used with the Oregon Health Plan. Had they done so, Americans would have had a far better outcome, in a shorter time frame (and the Democrats would still have a Senator in Ted Kennedy's seat).