Another Mobley?

Byline: The Register-Guard

As Yogi Berra would say, it's deja vu all over again. The conservative wing of the Oregon Republican Party is threatening to field a third-party candidate for governor if Ron Saxton becomes the party's nominee. That's a self-defeating ploy, but to some, political purity is preferable to victory.

This has happened before. In 1990, the Republicans nominated for governor a moderate in the mold of Oregon GOP superstars Mark Hatfield, Tom McCall, Norma Paulus and Bob Packwood: then-Attorney General (now University of Oregon president) Dave Frohnmayer. The Republican red-hots fielded conservative unknown Al Mobley as a third-party alternative to Frohnmayer, who failed right-wing litmus tests on such issues as abortion and gay rights. Mobley won 13 percent of the vote in the general election - virtually all of it from bedrock conservative Republicans - which cost Frohnmayer the election and made Democrat Barbara Roberts governor.

Now the far right is saying that if Saxton, who - gasp! - is pro-choice, wins the GOP nomination, they'll find another Mobley to run in November. It doesn't seem to matter that siphoning conservative votes from Saxton would strengthen the Democratic nominee. Conservatives are raising the warning flag now in hopes that Republicans will have second thoughts about nominating Saxton, a Portland lawyer and former Portland School Board member.

The threat was made this week when polls made it clear that the Republican race is a dead heat. Saxton led in one poll with 31 percent, and was second in another with 27 percent. Kevin Mannix was second (25 percent) or first (29 percent). Jack Roberts was a close third in both, with 23 percent and 19 percent. Given the polls' margins of error, that's a statistical tie - but the conservatives would like to push Saxton's numbers down. Thus, the threat of a third party candidate.

Unfortunately, abortion has remained a litmus test for the Republican right, when the real issues in the governor's race are such things as unemployment, school funding and economic development.

Countering the threat of another Mobley is the possibility that the Democratic nominee will also be weakened by a third party candidate. Former 4th District Rep. Jim Weaver announced last month that he was considering running under the Pacific Green Party banner. Weaver said he wouldn't run if former Multnomah County Chairwoman Bev Stein is the Democrats' nominee. If Ted Kulongoski or Jim Hill win the Democratic primary Tuesday, a Weaver candidacy would pull liberal votes from either.

In some instances, third party candidacies enliven the contests and provide a choice for voters who otherwise find no appealing candidate on the ballot. But neither a far-right Republican nor Jim Weaver running outside their parties can win the governor's race. Oregon statewide elections are decided in the political center. Third-party candidates are spoilers, and they are especially self-defeating when they're put forward by a wing of the nominee's own party. In politics, winning often involves compromises - and political purity comes at too high a price.