Oregonian’s Endorsement of Tina Kotek: A Baffling Endorsement from Oregon’s Paper of Record

Yesterday, the Oregonian — the Beaver State’s paper of record — endorsed Tina Kotek, the beleaguered Democratic hopeful in this year’s race for Oregon governor:

Kotek, who has trailed her Republican opponent, Christine Drazan, in the last four consecutive polls, is essentially running on “more of the same” in a state where only 26 percent of residents — down 13 points from 2020’s already-lackluster showing of 39 percent — believe that the state is “headed in the right direction.” And according to a new poll this week, an abysmal record low of 13 percent of voters in Portland — which Kotek represented a large segment of during her tenure as Speaker of the Oregon House — said the state’s largest city was on the right track: “Asked for their perceptions of downtown, respondents frequently used words like ‘destroyed,’ ‘trashed,’ ‘riots’ and ‘sad,’” the Oregonian, which commissioned the poll, reported. “Many cited homelessness as a particular issue, and said there is an urgent need for the city to find housing and support people living on the street.”

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Nate Hochman

Nate Hochman was a staff writer at National Review.

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Yesterday, the Oregonian — the Beaver State’s paper of record — endorsed Tina Kotek, the beleaguered Democratic hopeful in this year’s race for Oregon governor:

Kotek, who has trailed her Republican opponent, Christine Drazan, in the last four consecutive polls, is essentially running on “more of the same” in a state where only 26 percent of residents — down 13 points from 2020’s already-lackluster showing of 39 percent — believe that the state is “headed in the right direction.” And according to a new poll this week, an abysmal record low of 13 percent of voters in Portland — which Kotek represented a large segment of during her tenure as Speaker of the Oregon House — said the state’s largest city was on the right track: “Asked for their perceptions of downtown, respondents frequently used words like ‘destroyed,’ ‘trashed,’ ‘riots’ and ‘sad,’” the Oregonian, which commissioned the poll, reported. “Many cited homelessness as a particular issue, and said there is an urgent need for the city to find housing and support people living on the street.”