STATESMAN JOURNAL: The state’s primary could have an impact on the Republican side if alternative candidates to Donald Trump succeed in diving the July convention.
One sign Oregon may yet play a role: A group of Oregon GOP voters rejected Trump in favor of Ohio governor John Kasich during a recent straw poll. Texas Senator Ted Cruz came second and Trump placed third in the poll, conducted last weekend at the Dorchester Conference in Seaside. Florida Senator Marco Rubio, who dropped out of the race Tuesday after losing his own state’s primary, placed fourth.
The voters in that poll don’t represent the state’s diverse Republican electorate, which is likely a shoo-in for Trump come the time to cast primary ballots, political experts said. “This is a Mitt Romney kind of crowd,” said Jim Moore, director of the Tom McCall Center for Policy Innovation at Pacific University.
