Wyden to Face Law Professor in Oregon Senate Race

PORTLAND, Ore. — The political tumult that's seen senators run out of office and tea party candidates swept in steered clear of Oregon Tuesday, with incumbents and mainstream Republicans winning their party's nominations in the state's primaries.

Three Republican candidates affiliated with the tea party, a collection of groups without a central political structure, lost their U.S. House bids in Oregon, the most successful garnering 29 percent of the vote in a three-way race.

Democratic U.S. Sen. Ron Wyden also won his contest easily and has a huge jump on his Republican opponent, Jim Huffman, a Lewis & Clark College law professor making his first run for office.

Wyden has raised $3.8 million in his bid for a third full term, compared with Huffman's $344,000, which includes a $250,000 loan to his own campaign.

Wyden had 90 percent of the vote with 81 percent of the expected vote reported. Two lesser-known candidates split the other 10 percent.

Huffman won with 42 percent, and six other candidates split the remainder

Republican businessman Rob Cornilles — who had backing from national Republican organizers — will face Democratic incumbent David Wu in northwest Oregon's 1st Congressional District.

Wu handily won his primary race with 81 percent of the vote after 80 of the expected vote was tallied. David Robinson of Beaverton had 19 percent.

With 74 percent of the expected vote counted, Cornilles had 41 percent, Doug Keller 29 percent, John Kuzmanich 28 percent and Stephan Brodhead 2 percent.

Keller and Kuzmanich both had affiliated their campaigns with the tea party movement.

In the 2nd District, Republican Rep. Greg Walden will face Democrat Joyce Segers of Ashland. Both were unopposed.

In the 3rd District, Democratic Rep. Earl Blumenauer faces Republican Delia Lopez of Oakland in the fall election. Blumenauer easily won his primary. Lopez, who was unopposed, can run from the southern Willamette Valley because Oregon doesn't require congressional candidates to live in their districts.

With 81 percent of the expected vote counted, Blumenauer had 91 percent to John Sweeney's 9 percent

In the 4th District in southeast Oregon, Art Robinson of Cave Junction won the nomination to run against Democratic Rep. Peter DeFazio, who like Walden has won multiple terms.

With 80 percent of the expected vote reported, Robinson had 80 percent. His opponent, Jaynee Germond of Dillard, who ran as a tea party candidate, had 20 percent.

Robinson once was an associate of Linus Pauling and now runs an institute that develops home-schooling materials.

In the 5th Congressional District, Republican state Rep. Scott Bruun won the nomination to run against Kurt Schrader, a first-termer who was unopposed in the primary.

With 66 percent of the expected vote counted, Bruun had 63 percent. Retired timber company executive Fred Thompson of Salem had 37 percent.

The district stretches from the Cascade Range through the central Willamette Valley to the coast. It is considered the closest thing Oregon has to a swing district, and may be the most competitive congressional race in Oregon.

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