1990 Oregon gubernatorial election
 | |||||||||||||||||||||
November 7, 1990
| |||||||||||||||||||||
| |||||||||||||||||||||
 County results Roberts: 40–50% 50–60% Frohnmayer: 30–40% 40–50% 50–60% | |||||||||||||||||||||
| |||||||||||||||||||||
| Elections in Oregon |
|---|
 |
The 1990 Oregon gubernatorial election took place on November 7, 1990. Democratic nominee Barbara Roberts defeated Republican David B. Frohnmayer and Independent Al Mobley to win the election.
Primary election
Oregon held primary elections on May 15, 1990.
Democratic party
Candidates
Results
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Democratic | Barbara Roberts | 251,838 | 98.36% | |
| Democratic | Scattering | 4,194 | 1.63% | |
| Total votes | 256,032 | 100.00% | ||
Republican party
Candidates
- Sanford Blau
- Ed Christie
- Dave Frohnmayer, Oregon Attorney General
- Terry Hutchison
- John Lim, businessman
- William Sparks
- Edward Thomas Steubs, insurance agent[2]
Results
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Republican | Dave Frohnmayer | 227,867 | 79.11% | |
| Republican | John Lim | 32,397 | 11.25% | |
| Republican | Ed Christie | 8,285 | 2.88% | |
| Republican | Terry Hutchison | 7,412 | 2.57% | |
| Republican | Edward Thomas Steubs | 4,847 | 1.68% | |
| Republican | William Sparks | 2,906 | 0.86% | |
| Republican | Sanford Blau | 2,006 | 0.70% | |
| Republican | Scattering | 2,760 | 0.96% | |
| Total votes | 288,040 | 100.00% | ||
General election
Candidates
- Barbara Roberts, Democratic
- Dave Frohnmayer, Republican
- Al Mobley, Independent, social conservative activist[3]
- Fred Oerther, Libertarian
Debates
| No. | Date | Host | Moderator | Link | Democratic | Republican | Independent | Libertarian |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Key: P Participant A Absent N Not invited I Invited W Withdrawn |
||||||||
| Barbara Roberts | David Frohnmayer | Al Mobley | Fred Oerther | |||||
| 1 | YouTube | P | P | N | N | |||
| 2 | League of Women Voters of Oregon Oregon Corrections Association |
YouTube | P | P | P | P | ||
Polling
| Source | Date | Sample size |
Margin of error |
Barbara Roberts (D) |
Dave Frohnmayer (R) |
Others | Undecided |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| The Oregonian[4] | 600 | ± 4.0% | 38% | 45% | 7% | 10% |
Results
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Democratic | Barbara Roberts | 508,749 | 45.72% | −6.14% | |
| Republican | Dave Frohnmayer | 444,646 | 39.96% | −7.89% | |
| Independent | Al Mobley | 144,062 | 12.95% | ||
| Libertarian | Fred Oerther | 14,583 | 1.31% | ||
| Write-in | Scattering | 807 | 0.07% | ||
| Total votes | 1,112,847 | 100.00% | |||
| Plurality | 64,103 | 5.76% | |||
| Democratic hold | Swing | +1.75% | |||
Results by county
Roberts was the first Democrat to be elected governor without carrying Baker County and Linn County.
| County[5] | Barbara Roberts Democratic |
Dave Frohnmayer Republican |
Al Mobley Independent |
Fred Oerther Libertarian |
Scattering Write-in |
Margin | Total votes cast | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| # | % | # | % | # | % | # | % | # | % | # | % | ||
| Baker | 2,080 | 34.16% | 2,947 | 48.40% | 968 | 15.90% | 87 | 1.43% | 7 | 0.11% | -867 | -14.24% | 6,089 |
| Benton | 12,961 | 44.07% | 12,084 | 41.08% | 3,832 | 13.03% | 529 | 1.80% | 7 | 0.02% | 877 | 2.98% | 29,413 |
| Clackamas | 56,674 | 47.93% | 47,470 | 40.15% | 12,650 | 10.70% | 1,415 | 1.20% | 22 | 0.02% | 9,204 | 7.78% | 118,231 |
| Clatsop | 6,442 | 49.96% | 4,551 | 35.29% | 1,717 | 13.32% | 183 | 1.42% | 2 | 0.02% | 1,891 | 14.66% | 12,895 |
| Columbia | 6,142 | 39.65% | 6,249 | 40.34% | 2,854 | 18.43% | 210 | 1.36% | 34 | 0.22% | -107 | -0.69% | 15,489 |
| Coos | 10,023 | 44.38% | 8,795 | 38.95% | 3,406 | 15.08% | 313 | 1.39% | 46 | 0.20% | 1,228 | 5.44% | 22,583 |
| Crook | 1,859 | 34.70% | 2,924 | 54.57% | 541 | 10.10% | 34 | 0.63% | 0 | 0.00% | -1,065 | -19.88% | 5,358 |
| Curry | 3,168 | 38.78% | 3,940 | 48.23% | 926 | 11.34% | 118 | 1.44% | 17 | 0.21% | -772 | -9.45% | 8,169 |
| Deschutes | 11,236 | 38.33% | 14,082 | 48.04% | 3,550 | 12.11% | 437 | 1.49% | 9 | 0.03% | -2,846 | -9.71% | 29,314 |
| Douglas | 10,578 | 30.69% | 15,928 | 46.22% | 7,476 | 21.69% | 477 | 1.38% | 3 | 0.01% | -5,350 | -15.52% | 34,462 |
| Gilliam | 339 | 39.56% | 366 | 42.71% | 144 | 16.80% | 8 | 0.93% | 0 | 0.00% | -27 | -3.15% | 857 |
| Grant | 894 | 28.07% | 1,286 | 40.38% | 933 | 29.29% | 69 | 2.17% | 3 | 0.09% | -353[a] | -11.09% | 3,185 |
| Harney | 863 | 29.35% | 1,516 | 51.56% | 533 | 18.13% | 27 | 0.92% | 1 | 0.03% | -653 | -22.21% | 2,940 |
| Hood River | 2,542 | 41.94% | 2,627 | 43.34% | 810 | 13.36% | 82 | 1.35% | 0 | 0.00% | -85 | -1.40% | 6,061 |
| Jackson | 20,383 | 36.39% | 26,347 | 47.04% | 8,534 | 15.24% | 738 | 1.32% | 10 | 0.02% | -5,964 | -10.65% | 56,012 |
| Jefferson | 1,716 | 39.24% | 2,238 | 51.18% | 382 | 8.74% | 37 | 0.85% | 0 | 0.00% | -522 | -11.94% | 4,373 |
| Josephine | 8,244 | 34.44% | 11,974 | 50.02% | 3,363 | 14.05% | 355 | 1.48% | 3 | 0.01% | -3,730 | -15.58% | 23,939 |
| Klamath | 6,118 | 30.30% | 11,183 | 55.39% | 2,649 | 13.12% | 238 | 1.18% | 1 | 0.00% | -5,065 | -25.09% | 20,189 |
| Lake | 836 | 26.95% | 1,633 | 52.64% | 606 | 19.54% | 27 | 0.87% | 0 | 0.00% | -797 | -25.69% | 3,102 |
| Lane | 49,814 | 45.18% | 45,107 | 40.91% | 13,773 | 12.49% | 1,544 | 1.40% | 25 | 0.02% | 4,707 | 4.27% | 110,263 |
| Lincoln | 8,503 | 52.28% | 5,264 | 32.37% | 2,220 | 13.65% | 274 | 1.68% | 3 | 0.02% | 3,239 | 19.92% | 16,264 |
| Linn | 11,626 | 33.88% | 14,314 | 41.71% | 8,019 | 23.37% | 352 | 1.03% | 3 | 0.01% | -2,688 | -7.83% | 34,314 |
| Malheur | 2,200 | 26.98% | 3,925 | 48.14% | 1,916 | 23.50% | 111 | 1.36% | 2 | 0.02% | -1,725 | -21.16% | 8,154 |
| Marion | 33,765 | 39.59% | 35,498 | 41.62% | 15,066 | 17.66% | 812 | 0.95% | 150 | 0.18% | -1,733 | -2.03% | 85,291 |
| Morrow | 1,013 | 39.63% | 1,062 | 41.55% | 450 | 17.61% | 31 | 1.21% | 0 | 0.00% | -49 | -1.92% | 2,556 |
| Multnomah | 142,804 | 59.38% | 75,738 | 31.49% | 18,212 | 7.57% | 3,388 | 1.41% | 367 | 0.15% | 67,066 | 27.89% | 240,509 |
| Polk | 7,824 | 38.25% | 8,121 | 39.70% | 4,266 | 20.85% | 239 | 1.17% | 7 | 0.03% | -297 | -1.45% | 20,457 |
| Sherman | 391 | 37.81% | 492 | 47.58% | 138 | 13.35% | 13 | 1.26% | 0 | 0.00% | -101 | -9.77% | 1,034 |
| Tillamook | 4,683 | 49.07% | 3,506 | 36.74% | 1,221 | 12.79% | 126 | 1.32% | 7 | 0.07% | 1,177 | 12.33% | 9,543 |
| Umatilla | 6,436 | 40.41% | 6,615 | 41.54% | 2,596 | 16.30% | 279 | 1.75% | 0 | 0.00% | -179 | -1.12% | 15,926 |
| Union | 3,399 | 38.08% | 3,714 | 41.61% | 1,690 | 18.94% | 117 | 1.31% | 5 | 0.06% | -315 | -3.53% | 8,925 |
| Wallowa | 983 | 29.70% | 1,199 | 36.22% | 1,075 | 32.48% | 52 | 1.57% | 1 | 0.03% | -124[a] | -3.74% | 3,310 |
| Wasco | 3,948 | 44.37% | 3,488 | 39.20% | 1,366 | 15.35% | 96 | 1.08% | 0 | 0.00% | 460 | 5.17% | 8,898 |
| Washington | 57,815 | 48.08% | 49,340 | 41.04% | 11,601 | 9.65% | 1,454 | 1.21% | 27 | 0.02% | 8,475 | 7.05% | 120,237 |
| Wheeler | 189 | 28.85% | 332 | 50.69% | 124 | 18.93% | 10 | 1.53% | 0 | 0.00% | -143 | -21.83% | 655 |
| Yamhill | 10,258 | 43.01% | 8,791 | 36.86% | 4,455 | 18.68% | 301 | 1.26% | 45 | 0.19% | 1,467 | 6.15% | 23,850 |
| Total | 508,749 | 45.72% | 444,646 | 39.96% | 144,062 | 12.95% | 14,583 | 1.31% | 807 | 0.07% | 64,103 | 5.76% | 1,112,847 |
Counties that flipped from Republican to Democratic
Counties that flipped from Democratic to Republican
Notes
References
- ^ a b Official Abstract of Votes Primary Election May 15, 1990. Oregon Secretary of State. 1990. p. 9. Retrieved April 12, 2026.
- ^ Voters' Pamphlet State of Oregon Primary Election May 15, 1990. Oregon Secretary of State. 1990. Retrieved April 12, 2026.
- ^ Duara, Nigel (June 10, 2010). "Independents get their shot in Oregon's governor race". The Seattle Times. Retrieved October 26, 2024.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: deprecated archival service (link) - ^ "Oregon Gubernatorial Campaign Background". C-SPAN. September 16, 1990. Retrieved October 26, 2024.
- ^ a b Official Abstract of Votes General Election November 6, 1990. Oregon Secretary of State. 1990. p. 9. Retrieved April 12, 2026.