| Elections in Oregon |
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The 1994 Oregon gubernatorial election took place on November 3, 1994. Democratic nominee John Kitzhaber won the election, defeating Republican Denny Smith.
Primary election
Oregon held primary elections on May 17, 1994.
Democratic party
Candidates
- John Kitzhaber, former member of Oregon State Senate
- Paul Damian Wells
Results
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Democratic | John Kitzhaber | 250,514 | 88.48% | |
| Democratic | Paul Damian Wells | 30,052 | 10.61% | |
| Democratic | Scattering | 2,570 | 0.91% | |
| Total votes | 283,136 | 100.00% | ||
Republican party
Candidates
- Craig Berkman, businessman and former Chair of the Oregon Republican Party
- Jack Feder, businessman[2]
- Donald Goff
- John E. Jewkes
- Bradford William Nudd
- Denny Smith, former representative from Oregon's 5th congressional district
Results
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Republican | Denny Smith | 135,330 | 49.52% | |
| Republican | Craig Berkman | 110,821 | 40.55% | |
| Republican | Jack Feder | 15,055 | 5.51% | |
| Republican | Donald Goff | 5,200 | 1.90% | |
| Republican | Bradford William Nudd | 2,615 | 0.96% | |
| Republican | John E. Jewkes | 2,037 | 0.75% | |
| Republican | Scattering | 2,252 | 0.82% | |
| Total votes | 273,310 | 100.00% | ||
General election
Candidates
- John Kitzhaber, Democratic
- Denny Smith, Republican
- Ed Hickam, American
- Danford P. Vander Ploeg, Libertarian
Polling
| Source | Date | John Kitzhaber (D) |
Denny Smith (R) |
|---|---|---|---|
| KPTV | September 11, 1994 | 50% | 29% |
Results
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Democratic | John Kitzhaber | 622,083 | 50.95% | +5.23% | |
| Republican | Denny Smith | 517,874 | 42.41% | +2.46% | |
| American | Ed Hickam | 58,449 | 4.79% | ||
| Libertarian | Danford P. Vander Ploeg | 20,183 | 1.65% | +0.34% | |
| Write-in | Mark Richanbach | 92 | 0.01% | ||
| Write-in | Ron Mellow | 40 | 0.00% | ||
| Write-in | "Mr. Bill" Spidal | 39 | 0.00% | ||
| Write-in | Richard Alevizos | 24 | 0.00% | ||
| Write-in | Scattering | 2,226 | 0.18% | ||
| Total votes | 1,221,010 | 100.00% | |||
| Majority | 104,209 | 8.53% | |||
| Democratic hold | Swing | +2.77% | |||
Results by county
| County[3] | John Kitzhaber Democratic |
Denny Smith Republican |
Ed Hickam American |
Danford P. Vander Ploeg Libertarian |
Scattering Write-in |
Margin | Total votes cast | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| # | % | # | % | # | % | # | % | # | % | # | % | ||
| Baker | 3,608 | 44.39% | 4,008 | 50.30% | 247 | 3.04% | 90 | 1.11% | 95 | 1.17% | -480 | -5.91% | 8,128 |
| Benton | 19,047 | 59.49% | 10,978 | 34.29% | 1,233 | 3.85% | 637 | 1.99% | 122 | 0.38% | 8,069 | 25.20% | 32,017 |
| Clackamas | 65,454 | 50.68% | 54,507 | 42.20% | 7,187 | 5.56% | 1,959 | 1.52% | 42 | 0.03% | 10,947 | 8.48% | 129,149 |
| Clatsop | 7,623 | 55.17% | 5,283 | 38.24% | 669 | 4.84% | 214 | 1.55% | 28 | 0.20% | 2,340 | 16.94% | 13,817 |
| Columbia | 7,905 | 48.97% | 6,683 | 41.40% | 1,201 | 7.44% | 309 | 1.91% | 45 | 0.28% | 1,222 | 7.57% | 16,143 |
| Coos | 11,089 | 43.76% | 12,479 | 49.25% | 1,133 | 4.47% | 522 | 2.06% | 117 | 0.46% | -1,390 | -5.49% | 25,340 |
| Crook | 2,211 | 34.22% | 3,785 | 58.57% | 309 | 4.78% | 117 | 1.81% | 40 | 0.62% | -1,574 | -24.36% | 6,462 |
| Curry | 3,432 | 37.42% | 5,236 | 57.09% | 295 | 3.22% | 184 | 2.01% | 25 | 0.27% | -1,804 | -19.67% | 9,172 |
| Deschutes | 17,527 | 46.54% | 18,067 | 47.98% | 1,443 | 3.83% | 562 | 1.49% | 58 | 0.15% | -540 | -1.43% | 37,657 |
| Douglas | 14,7110 | 37.41% | 22,396 | 56.96% | 1,450 | 3.69% | 643 | 1.64% | 122 | 0.31% | -7,686 | -19.55% | 39,321 |
| Gilliam | 412 | 45.88% | 442 | 49.22% | 32 | 3.56% | 12 | 1.34% | 0 | 0.00% | -30 | -3.34% | 898 |
| Grant | 880 | 25.97% | 2,336 | 68.95% | 95 | 2.80% | 45 | 1.33% | 32 | 0.94% | -1,456 | -42.98% | 3,388 |
| Harney | 805 | 28.17% | 1,910 | 66.83% | 103 | 3.60% | 30 | 1.05% | 10 | 0.35% | -1,105 | -38.66% | 2,858 |
| Hood River | 3,339 | 49.31% | 2,981 | 44.03% | 353 | 5.21% | 92 | 1.36% | 6 | 0.09% | 358 | 5.29% | 6,771 |
| Jackson | 28,075 | 43.71% | 32,914 | 51.24% | 2,048 | 3.19% | 1,165 | 1.81% | 32 | 0.05% | -4,839 | -7.53% | 64,234 |
| Jefferson | 2,146 | 41.63% | 2,639 | 51.19% | 287 | 5.57% | 74 | 1.44% | 9 | 0.17% | -493 | -9.56% | 5,155 |
| Josephine | 9,993 | 36.67% | 15,510 | 56.92% | 1,076 | 3.95% | 568 | 2.08% | 102 | 0.37% | -5,517 | -20.25% | 27,249 |
| Klamath | 6,609 | 30.50% | 13,805 | 63.72% | 855 | 3.95% | 322 | 1.49% | 75 | 0.35% | -7,196 | -33.21% | 21,666 |
| Lake | 804 | 24.71% | 2,308 | 70.93% | 85 | 2.61% | 39 | 1.20% | 18 | 0.55% | -1,504 | -46.22% | 3,254 |
| Lane | 71,383 | 58.46% | 42,166 | 34.53% | 5,592 | 4.58% | 2,805 | 2.30% | 151 | 0.12% | 29,217 | 23.93% | 122,097 |
| Lincoln | 9,791 | 54.30% | 6,869 | 38.10% | 912 | 5.06% | 449 | 2.49% | 10 | 0.06% | 2,922 | 16.21% | 18,031 |
| Linn | 14,335 | 38.45% | 19,687 | 52.80% | 2,561 | 6.87% | 682 | 1.83% | 21 | 0.06% | -5,352 | -14.35% | 37,286 |
| Malheur | 1,824 | 21.79% | 6,284 | 75.07% | 159 | 1.90% | 98 | 1.17% | 6 | 0.07% | -4,460 | -53.28% | 8,371 |
| Marion | 43,779 | 45.21% | 47,065 | 48.60% | 4,427 | 4.57% | 1,135 | 1.17% | 430 | 0.44% | -3,286 | -3.39% | 96,836 |
| Morrow | 1,157 | 39.95% | 1,530 | 52.83% | 162 | 5.59% | 43 | 1.48% | 4 | 0.14% | -373 | -12.88% | 2,896 |
| Multnomah | 156,720 | 64.86% | 68,005 | 28.14% | 12,377 | 5.12% | 3,865 | 1.60% | 660 | 0.27% | 88,715 | 36.72% | 241,627 |
| Polk | 10,280 | 44.71% | 11,424 | 49.69% | 966 | 4.20% | 311 | 1.35% | 10 | 0.04% | -1,144 | -4.98% | 22,991 |
| Sherman | 411 | 42.81% | 479 | 49.90% | 50 | 5.21% | 18 | 1.88% | 2 | 0.21% | -68 | -7.08% | 960 |
| Tillamook | 5,199 | 51.95% | 3,899 | 38.96% | 742 | 7.41% | 150 | 1.50% | 18 | 0.18% | -1,300 | -12.99% | 10,008 |
| Umatilla | 7,189 | 38.97% | 10,230 | 55.46% | 808 | 4.38% | 218 | 1.18% | 2 | 0.01% | -3,041 | -16.49% | 18,447 |
| Union | 3,770 | 37.91% | 5,602 | 56.34% | 404 | 4.06% | 163 | 1.64% | 5 | 0.05% | -1,832 | -18.42% | 9,944 |
| Wallowa | 874 | 24.57% | 2,520 | 70.85% | 83 | 2.33% | 49 | 1.38% | 31 | 0.87% | -1,646 | -46.27% | 3,557 |
| Wasco | 4,692 | 50.74% | 3,798 | 41.07% | 613 | 6.63% | 127 | 1.37% | 17 | 0.18% | 894 | 9.67% | 9,247 |
| Washington | 72,747 | 52.79% | 56,045 | 40.67% | 6,874 | 4.99% | 2,054 | 1.49% | 74 | 0.05% | -16,702 | -12.12% | 137,794 |
| Wheeler | 215 | 29.53% | 462 | 63.46% | 32 | 4.40% | 17 | 2.34% | 2 | 0.27% | -247 | -33.93% | 728 |
| Yamhill | 12,048 | 43.79% | 13,462 | 48.93% | 1,586 | 5.76% | 415 | 1.51% | 0 | 0.00% | -1,414 | -5.14% | 27,511 |
| Total | 622,083 | 50.95% | 517,874 | 42.41% | 58,449 | 4.79% | 20,183 | 1.65% | 2,421 | 0.20% | 104,209 | 8.53% | 1,221,010 |
Counties that flipped from Republican to Democratic
Counties that flipped from Democratic to Republican
References
- 1 2 Official Abstract of Votes Primary Election May 17, 1994. Oregon Secretary of State. 1994. pp. 9–10. Retrieved April 12, 2026.
- ↑ Voters' Pamphlet State of Oregon Primary Election May 17, 1994. Oregon Secretary of State. 1994. Retrieved April 12, 2026.
- 1 2 Official Abstract of Votes General Election November 8, 1994. Oregon Secretary of State. 1994. pp. 9–10. Retrieved April 12, 2026.