Poll: Dem incumbent holds 5-point lead in Oregon governor’s race

Oregon Gov. Kate Brown (D) holds a slight lead over her Republican challenger state Rep. Knute Buehler in a new poll just weeks before the November election.

Brown leads Buehler by 5 points, 40 percent to 35 percent, in the DHM Research/Oregon Public Broadcasting poll of registered voters released Tuesday, while 17 percent are undecided.

Perceptions of Brown are divided in the poll, with 45 percent holding a positive view and an equal percentage holding a negative view of the incumbent Democrat. By comparison, 36 percent hold a positive view of Buehler, while 29 percent have a negative one. 

{mosads}The poll found that Oregon voters are evenly split, 42 to 42 percent, over whether the state’s government is on the right track. 

The poll comes about a week after a survey of likely voters in the state found the gubernatorial race similarly close, with Brown supported by 49 percent of likely voters and Buehler supported by 45 percent.

The Cook Political Report, a nonpartisan election handicapper, lists the Oregon gubernatorial race as “lean Democrat.”

The latest survey released Tuesday found that Oregonians were more likely to support a Democrat over a Republican in House races, 45 to 35 percent. Both incumbent U.S. senators, Democrats Jeff Merkley and Ron Wyden, were also viewed more positively than not in the poll, while a majority of respondents, 55 percent, expressed having a negative view of President Trump.

A ballot measure to amend the state’s constitution to prohibit public funds from being used for abortions or given to abortion providers also looks likely to fail in the poll, with 50 percent of registered voters opposing the measure compared to just 31 percent who say they support it.

The DHM Research/Oregon Public Broadcasting poll of 500 registered voters was conducted Oct. 4-11 via landlines and cellphones with a margin of error of 4.4 points.