OPINION

GOP isn't sweating minor parties in Oregon governor's race

Townhall Staff
Townhall Staff  |  Oct 28, 2010
The opinions expressed by columnists are their own and do not necessarily represent the views of Townhall.com.
On the surface, you might think Oregon Republicans would fear having support for their candidate for governor drained off by third-party candidates from the political right.

After all, Libertarian Wes Wagner and Constitution Party candidate Greg Kord are promising much more dramatic reductions in government than Republican Chris Dudley -- and there's no comparable third-party candidate on the left to compete for votes with Democrat John Kitzhaber.

But neither Kord nor Wagner has the celebrity of some recent third-party candidates who have had an impact on statewide races in Oregon. A poll for The Oregonian shows Kord with support from 2 percent of voters and Wagner with backing from 1 percent.