Voisin battles Walden
Ashland's own Carol Voisin — a liberal democrat running for the U.S. House of Representatives in a heavily republican-leaning district — is hoping for an upset.
"I would be surprised," she said, when asked if she thought she could beat her opponent Greg Walden, the seven year incumbent of the second district. "I didn't think I would win in the primary. It's going to be an uphill battle."
But Voisin, who has never before run for political office, is still fighting that battle.
"I went from being a long shot to an outsider," the Southern Oregon University teacher said. "And in America, underdogs win. We have an activist mentality and we think we can do something historic."
Oregon political pollster Tim Hibbitts thinks Voisin will do better than other democrats in the past have done against Walden, but doesn't think she will pull off an upset.
"Barring a political miracle, Walden is going to win," he said. "It would take a political miracle of biblical proportions for any democrat to win the way that district is drawn."
But because of the recent events that have plagued DC republicans, he thinks Voisin will fare better than other democrats in the past have.
"He's going to win by a reduced margin," Hibbitts predicted. "I do expect her to do better than any other democrat has done against Walden."
Hibbitts said no independent polling has been done on this race.
Voisin has raised more than $60,000, without any help from the state or national democratic party offices, and has embarked on two dozen road trips spanning Eastern Oregon, where most of the second district lies.
She said people in the second district told her their schools are broken, that the health care system is in a crisis and that family farms need assistance.
"I've listened to them," she said. "I tell people that government should help facilitate the American dream. That is what government should be all about."
The issue she believes she can gain some traction against Walden with is forestry and the federal budget.
"His ideas about salvage logging are wrong," she said. "You can't have a cookie cutter answer to a complicated process."
About the budget she said Washington DC has to learn to be more fiscally responsible.
"We need to pay as we go," she said. "That's what we have to do in ordinary life. The feds should do that too."
But Voisin hasn't yet had a chance to challenge Walden on his politics. She met at a Crook County fair in July, where they were both campaigning. She asked him to join her in a debate and Walden, agreeing it was a good idea, told her to call his campaign office.
"We've put in over a dozen calls and got nothing," she said. "People think I am whining but I'm not. Democracy is based on knowing the candidates."
Dallas Boyd, Walden's press secretary, said his boss doesn't have to campaign because of his popularity with his constituency.
"Traditionally Greg has not had to rely on campaign events because his legislative record is so strong and well-known that it speaks for itself," he said, adding that Walden makes "hundreds of trips" to the district throughout the year.
Whether Walden has been ducking Voisin or not, she will get a chance to square off with Walden at a televised round-table debate this Sunday on Channel 12 at 6 p.m.
"I don't know what he is hiding from," Voisin said. "If he is better at answering the questions than he deserves the office."
Staff writer Robert Plain can be reached at 482-3456 x. 226 or bplain@dailytidings.com
