On election night, Dennis Richardson became the first pro-life candidate to win a statewide election in Oregon in more than a decade. Richardson won the critical office of Secretary of State, beating pro-abortion extremist Brad Avakian. The Secretary of State oversees elections, audits government gencies, and is next in line to become governor.
For years, we’ve heard that a pro-life candidate can’t win a statewide race in Oregon. In fact, extreme pro-abortion group NARAL recently made the statement that Oregon is “the most pro-choice state in the nation.” Well, if this is true, the most pro-abortion state in the nation just elected a former state legislator with a 100 percent pro-life voting record.
There are several reasons why Richardson won:
- Pro-lifers turned out to vote. According to our estimates, over 85 percent of identified pro-life voters in Oregon turned in their ballots. That appears to be over 5 percent more than the statewide turnout average.
- Dennis Richardson did not deny his pro-life record, but ran as a common sense conservative who will work to serve all Oregonians.
- Brad Avakian spent the entire election talking about how pro-abortion and liberal his record is and how pro-life and conservative Dennis Richardson’s record is.
Richardson was well known by voters because of his campaign for governor two years ago and received strong financial backing during this campaign.
We should celebrate the election of such an outstanding pro-lifer to this important statewide office. But, let’s also consider the election of Richardson as a model for how pro-life candidates can win in the future and build on this victory.
