Presidential election in Oregon, 2016

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Oregon
2020
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General election in Oregon
  Date: November 8, 2016
2016 winner: Hillary Clinton
Electoral votes: 7
2012 winner: Barack Obama (D)
Democratic Primary
  Date: May 17, 2016
Winner: Bernie Sanders
Republican Primary
  Date: May 17, 2016
Winner: Donald Trump
Down ballot races in Oregon
  U.S. Senate
U.S. House
Governor
State executives
Oregon State Senate
Oregon House of Representatives
Oregon judicial elections
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Municipal elections
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Oregon held an election for the president of the United States on November 8, 2016. The Democratic and Republican parties held primary elections in Oregon on May 17, 2016.

HIGHLIGHTS
  • Hillary Clinton won Oregon in the general election.
  • In 2016, Oregon had seven electoral votes, which was 1.3 percent of the 538 electoral votes up for grabs and 2.6 percent of the 270 electoral votes needed to win the general election.
  • Between 1900 and 2016, Oregon cast votes for the winning presidential candidate 73.33 percent of the time. In that same time frame, Oregon supported Republican candidates for president more often than Democratic candidates, 56.67 to 43.33 percent. The state, however, favored Democrats in every election between between 2000 and 2016.
  • Presidential primary elections in Oregon took place on May 17, 2016. Bernie Sanders won the Democratic primary with 56.2 percent of the vote. Donald Trump won the Republican primary with 64.2 percent.
  • General election candidates

    See also: Ballot access for presidential candidates

    The candidate list below is based on an official list on the Oregon secretary of state website. The candidate names below appear in the order in which they were listed on the official list—not necessarily the order in which they appeared on the ballot in November. Write-in candidates were not included in the list below.

    Presidential candidates on the ballot in Oregon

    Hillary Clinton/Tim Kaine (Democratic)
    Gary Johnson/Bill Weld (Libertarian)
    Jill Stein/Ajamu Baraka (Green - listed as Progressive and Pacific Green)
    Donald Trump/Mike Pence (Republican)

    Results

    U.S. presidential election, Oregon, 2016
    Party Candidate Vote % Votes Electoral votes
         Democratic Green check mark transparent.pngHillary Clinton/Tim Kaine 50.1% 1,002,106 7
         Republican Donald Trump/Mike Pence 39.1% 782,403 0
         Libertarian Gary Johnson/Bill Weld 4.7% 94,231 0
         Green Jill Stein/Ajamu Baraka 2.5% 50,002 0
         - Write-in votes 3.6% 72,594 0
    Total Votes 2,001,336 7
    Election results via: Oregon Secretary of State

    Pivot Counties

    See also: Pivot Counties: The counties that voted Obama-Obama-Trump from 2008-2016

    Ballotpedia identified 206 counties that voted for Donald Trump (R) in 2016 after voting for Barack Obama (D) in 2008 and 2012, in 34 states.[1] Collectively, Trump won these Pivot Counties by more than 580,000 votes, and had an average margin of victory of 11.45 percent. The political shift in these counties could have a broad impact on elections at every level of government for the next four years.

    Historical election trends

    See also: Presidential election accuracy

    Below is an analysis of Oregon's voting record in presidential elections. The state's accuracy is based on the number of times a state has voted for a winning presidential candidate. The majority of statistical data is from the U.S. National Archives and Records Administration and was compiled, here, by Ballotpedia, unless otherwise noted.

    Presidential election voting record in Oregon, 1900-2016

    Between 1900 and 2016:

    • Oregon participated in 30 presidential elections.
    • Oregon voted for the winning presidential candidate 73.33 percent of the time. The average accuracy of voting for winning presidential candidates for all 50 states in this time frame was 72.31 percent.[2]
    • Oregon voted Democratic 43.33 percent of the time and Republican 56.67 percent of the time.

    Presidential election voting record in Oregon, 2000-2016

    *An asterisk indicates that that candidate also won the national electoral vote in that election.

    Election results

    2012

    U.S. presidential election, Oregon, 2012
    Party Candidate Vote % Votes Electoral votes
         Democratic Green check mark transparent.pngBarack Obama/Joe Biden Incumbent 54.2% 970,488 7
         Republican Mitt Romney/Paul Ryan 42.1% 754,175 0
         Libertarian Gary Johnson/Jim Gray 1.3% 24,089 0
         Pacific Green Jill Stein/Cheri Honkala 1.1% 19,427 0
         N/A Write-ins 0.7% 13,275 0
         Constitution Will Christensen/Kenneth Gibbs 0.2% 4,432 0
         Progressive Ross Anderson 0.2% 3,384 0
    Total Votes 1,789,270 7
    Election results via: U.S. Election Atlas

    2008

    U.S. presidential election, Oregon, 2008
    Party Candidate Vote % Votes Electoral votes
         Democratic Green check mark transparent.pngBarack Obama/Joe Biden 56.8% 1,037,291 7
         Republican John McCain/Sarah Palin 40.4% 738,475 0
         Peace Ralph Nader 1% 18,614 0
         N/A Write-ins 0.7% 13,504 0
         Constitution Chuck Baldwin 0.4% 7,693 0
         Libertarian Bob Barr 0.4% 7,635 0
         Pacific Green Cynthia McKinney 0.2% 4,543 0
    Total Votes 1,827,755 7
    Election results via: U.S. Election Atlas

    Other candidates that appeared on the ballot received less than 0.1% of the vote. Those candidates included: Ron Paul, Alan Keyes and Frank McEnulty.[4]

    Electoral votes

    See also: Electoral College

    The president of the United States is not elected by popular vote but rather by electors in the Electoral College. In fact, when Americans vote for president, they are actually voting for a slate of electors selected by members of Democratic and Republican state parties or nominated in some other fashion. Under this system, which is laid out in Article 2, Section 1, of the Constitution, each state is allocated one electoral vote for every member of their congressional delegation, meaning one for each member of the U.S. House and one for each of their two Senators.

    Oregon electors

    In 2016, Oregon had seven electoral votes. Oregon's share of electoral votes represented 1.3 percent of the 538 electoral votes up for grabs in the general election and 2.6 percent of the 270 votes needed to be elected president. Republican electors in Oregon were selected at state and district conventions. On the Democrats' side, the chair and vice chair of the Democratic state party and the chairs of the congressional district committees serve as electors.

    "Faithless electors"

    The U.S. Constitution does not dictate how presidential electors are to cast their votes, but, in general, electors are expected to vote for the winner of the popular vote in their state or the candidates of the party that nominated them to serve as electors. Electors who choose not to vote for the winner of the popular vote or the candidates of the party that nominated them are known as "faithless electors." Faithless electors are rare. Between 1900 and 2012, there were only eight known instances of faithless electors.

    Several states have passed laws against faithless electors and require electors to vote for the winner of the popular vote in their state, for the candidate of the party that nominated them to serve as electors, or in accordance with any pledge they may have been required to make at the time of their nomination. In states with these types of laws, faithless electors can be fined or replaced, or their votes can be nullified.[5][6]

    Oregon was one of 31 states in 2016—including the District of Columbia—with a law seeking to bind the votes of presidential electors.

    Down ballot races

    See also: Oregon elections, 2016

    Below is a list of down ballot races in Oregon covered by Ballotpedia in 2016.

    Primary election

    Quick facts

    Democrats: Republicans
    • 2016 Republican winner: Donald Trump
    • 2012 Republican winner: Mitt Romney
    • Type: Closed Primary
    • Pledged delegates at stake: 28

    Democrats

    Bernie Sanders won the 2016 Oregon Democratic primary, defeating Hillary Clinton by roughly ten percentage points.[7] With 80 precincts reporting, Sanders carried all but two counties in the state, including Oregon's most populous county, Multnomah, where Portland is located.

    Republicans

    Donald Trump won the 2016 Oregon Republican primary.[8] With 79 percent of precincts reporting, he led with 66.5 percent of the vote. Trump carried every county in the state.

    Primary results

    Democrats

    Oregon Democratic Primary, 2016
    Candidate Vote % Votes Delegates
    Green check mark transparent.pngBernie Sanders 56.2% 360,829 36
    Hillary Clinton 42.1% 269,846 25
    Other 1.7% 10,920 0
    Totals 641,595 61
    Source: The New York Times and Oregon Secretary of State

    Republicans

    Oregon Republican Primary, 2016
    Candidate Vote % Votes Delegates
    Green check mark transparent.pngDonald Trump 64.2% 252,748 18
    John Kasich 16.6% 65,513 5
    Ted Cruz 15.8% 62,248 5
    Other 3.4% 13,441 0
    Totals 393,950 28
    Source: The New York Times and Oregon Secretary of State

    Primary candidates

    Democrats[9]

    Hillary Clinton


    Bernie Sanders

    Republicans[9]

    Jeb Bush
    Ben Carson


    Ted Cruz
    John Kasich


    Marco Rubio
    Donald Trump

    Polls

    Democratic primary

    Democratic Party Democratic Party presidential primary polling - 2016 (Oregon)
    Poll Hillary Clinton Bernie Sanders
    Note: A "0%" finding means the candidate was not a part of the poll. The polls above may not reflect all polls that have been conducted in this race. Those displayed are a random sampling chosen by Ballotpedia staff. If you would like to nominate another poll for inclusion in the table, send an email to [email protected].

    Republican primary

    Republican Party Republican Party presidential primary polling - 2016 (Oregon)
    Poll Donald Trump Ted CruzJohn KasichUnsure or OtherMargin of ErrorSample Size
    Hoffman Research
    April 26-27, 2016
    43%26%17%14%+/-4.2555
    Note: A "0%" finding means the candidate was not a part of the poll. The polls above may not reflect all polls that have been conducted in this race. Those displayed are a random sampling chosen by Ballotpedia staff. If you would like to nominate another poll for inclusion in the table, send an email to [email protected].


    Delegates

    Delegate selection

    See also: 2016 presidential nominations: calendar and delegate rules

    Democratic Party

    Democratic Party Logo.png

    Oregon had 74 delegates at the 2016 Democratic National Convention. Of this total, 61 were pledged delegates. National party rules stipulated how Democratic delegates in all states were allocated. Pledged delegates were allocated to a candidate in proportion to the votes he or she received in a state's primary or caucus. A candidate was eligible to receive a share of the state's pledged delegates if he or she won at least 15 percent of the votes cast in the primary or caucus. There were three types of pledged Democratic delegates: congressional district delegates, at-large delegates, and party leaders and elected officials (PLEOs). Congressional district delegates were allocated proportionally based on the primary or caucus results in a given district. At-large and PLEO delegates were allocated proportionally based on statewide primary results.[10][11]

    Thirteen party leaders and elected officials served as unpledged delegates. These delegates were not required to adhere to the results of a state's primary or caucus.[10][12]

    Oregon superdelegates

    See also: Superdelegates from Oregon, 2016 and Superdelegates and the 2016 Democratic National Convention

    Republican Party

    Logo-GOP.png

    Oregon had 28 delegates at the 2016 Republican National Convention. Of this total, 15 were district-level delegates (three for each of the state's five congressional districts). Oregon's district delegates were allocated on a proportional basis in accordance with the statewide primary vote.[13][14]

    Of the remaining 13 delegates, 10 served at large. Oregon's at-large delegates were allocated proportionally in accordance with the statewide primary vote. In addition, three national party leaders (identified on the chart below as RNC delegates) served as bound delegates to the Republican National Convention.[13][14]

    Republican delegates

    See also: Republican delegates from Oregon, 2016 and RNC delegate guidelines from Oregon, 2016

    Presidential voting history

    Oregon presidential election results (1900-2024)

    • 16 Democratic wins
    • 16 Republican wins
    Year 1900 1904 1908 1912 1916 1920 1924 1928 1932 1936 1940 1944 1948 1952 1956 1960 1964 1968 1972 1976 1980 1984 1988 1992 1996 2000 2004 2008 2012 2016 2020 2024
    Winning Party R R R D R R R R D D D D R R R R D R R R R R D D D D D D D D D D

    State profile

    Demographic data for Oregon
     OregonU.S.
    Total population:4,024,634316,515,021
    Land area (sq mi):95,9883,531,905
    Race and ethnicity**
    White:85.1%73.6%
    Black/African American:1.8%12.6%
    Asian:4%5.1%
    Native American:1.2%0.8%
    Pacific Islander:0.4%0.2%
    Two or more:4.1%3%
    Hispanic/Latino:12.3%17.1%
    Education
    High school graduation rate:89.8%86.7%
    College graduation rate:30.8%29.8%
    Income
    Median household income:$51,243$53,889
    Persons below poverty level:18.4%11.3%
    Source: U.S. Census Bureau, "American Community Survey" (5-year estimates 2010-2015)
    Click here for more information on the 2020 census and here for more on its impact on the redistricting process in Oregon.
    **Note: Percentages for race and ethnicity may add up to more than 100 percent because respondents may report more than one race and the Hispanic/Latino ethnicity may be selected in conjunction with any race. Read more about race and ethnicity in the census here.

    Presidential voting pattern

    See also: Presidential voting trends in Oregon

    Oregon voted for the Democratic candidate in all six presidential elections between 2000 and 2020.

    Pivot Counties (2016)

    Ballotpedia identified 206 counties that voted for Donald Trump (R) in 2016 after voting for Barack Obama (D) in 2008 and 2012. Collectively, Trump won these Pivot Counties by more than 580,000 votes. Of these 206 counties, two are located in Oregon, accounting for 0.97 percent of the total pivot counties.[15]

    Pivot Counties (2020)

    In 2020, Ballotpedia re-examined the 206 Pivot Counties to view their voting patterns following that year's presidential election. Ballotpedia defined those won by Trump won as Retained Pivot Counties and those won by Joe Biden (D) as Boomerang Pivot Counties. Nationwide, there were 181 Retained Pivot Counties and 25 Boomerang Pivot Counties. Oregon had two Retained Pivot Counties, 1.10 of all Retained Pivot Counties.

    More Oregon coverage on Ballotpedia

    See also

    Footnotes

    1. The raw data for this study was provided by Dave Leip of Atlas of U.S. Presidential Elections.
    2. This average includes states like Arizona, New Mexico, and Oklahoma, which did not participate in all 30 presidential elections between 1900 and 2016. It does not include Washington, D.C., which cast votes for president for the first time in 1964, or Alaska and Hawaii, which cast votes for president for the first time in 1960.
    3. This number refers to the number of times that the state voted for the winning presidential candidate between 2000 and 2016.
    4. U.S. Election Atlas, "2008 Presidential Election Results," accessed December 29, 2014
    5. Archives.gov, "About the Electors," accessed July 28, 2016
    6. Congressional Research Service, "The Electoral College: How it works in contemporary presidential elections," April 13, 2016
    7. CNN, "2016 Election Center: Oregon," May 17, 2016
    8. The New York Times, "Oregon Primary Results," May 17, 2016
    9. 9.0 9.1 Oregon Secretary of State, "Candidate Filing Search Results," accessed March 21, 2016
    10. 10.0 10.1 Democratic National Committee, "2016 Democratic National Convention Delegate/Alternate Allocation," updated February 19, 2016
    11. The Green Papers, "2016 Democratic Convention," accessed May 7, 2021
    12. Democratic National Committee's Office of Party Affairs and Delegate Selection, "Unpledged Delegates -- By State," May 27, 2016
    13. 13.0 13.1 Republican National Committee, "2016 Presidential Nominating Process," accessed October 6, 2015
    14. 14.0 14.1 CNN.com, "Republican National Convention roll call vote," accessed July 20, 2016
    15. The raw data for this study was provided by Dave Leip of Atlas of U.S. Presidential Elections.