Oregon has had a Democratic governor for 35 years -- but this year's race could very well break that streak thanks to a potent cocktail of local and national issues but, mostly, because of a boisterous third-party candidate drawing double-digit support from voters.
With weeks left until Election Day, race observers and operatives call the contest a jump ball between Democrats and Republicans.
"I'm very concerned," said Greg Peden, who worked as an aide to former Democratic Gov. John Kitzhaber. "I think this is the tightest race we've seen and the most complex race we've seen, and I don't think anybody can really predict even now how exactly this ends up."
Running to replace term-limited Gov. Kate Brown are former state House Speaker Tina Kotek, the Democratic nominee, and Republican rival Christine Drazan, a former state House minority leader.
https://abcnews.go.com/Politics/3rd-party-candidate-upended-oregon-governors-race-spoil/story?id=91290398
