Governor's race may be up for grabs.

Byline: David Steves The Register-Guard

ELECTION 2006

SALEM - Oregon voters will choose from an uncommonly crowded field of candidates in November's race for governor.

Voters already face a wild election, with independent Ben Westlund preparing to challenge Democratic incumbent Gov. Ted Kulongoski and Republican nominee Ron Saxton.

But with three minor-party candidates now in the race, it could be a no-holds barred, six-way contest.

"There are so many wild cards and unknowns," Portland State University political scientist and political blogger Russ Dondero said. "Anybody who would discount the importance of minor-party candidates in this race is barking up the wrong tree."

Anti-abortion activist and former Portland TV-show host Mary Starrett was nominated June 3 by the conservative Christian-dominated Constitution Party. The same day, the Libertarian Party of Oregon nominated Richard Morley, a former state audits manager and a 2004 candidate for secretary of state.

Longtime peace and environmental organizer Joe Keating has been plugging along since February as the Pacific-Green Party's gubernatorial nominee.

But Oregon's past also is flush with examples of third-party nominees making life difficult - and victory unreachable - for major players. That happened in 2002 when Libertarian Tom Cox's 5 percent was seen as hurting Republican Kevin Mannix. And in 1990, the Oregon Citizens Alliance-backed Al Mobley picked up 13 percent of the vote, mostly from religious conservatives who sought an alternative to Republican Dave Frohnmayer's pro-choice and gay-rights support.

Starrett's candidacy most closely resembles the one Mobley ran. Her campaign taps into religious conservatives' dissatisfaction with the GOP nominee's views on social issues. It's a sentiment that Starrett herself cited as her top reason for getting into the race.

She offers a noncompromising alternative to Saxton's more mainstream conservatism. She left a broadcasting career before starting the anti-abortion group Oregonians for Life, as an alternative to Oregon Right to Life, which she said wasn't adequately committed to the cause.

Oregon Right to Life has endorsed Saxton, who is generally pro-abortion rights but has pledged to support several of Right to Life's proposals, such as one requiring parental notification when a teenager seeks an abortion. Starrett said she and other committed anti-abortion voters could not accept Saxton.

"I couldn't, in good conscience, vote for Ron Saxton,' she said. `And a lot of people said the same thing."

Starrett has struck more conservative positions on other issues, too, including gun control, an issue on which Saxton has been relatively quiet, and on immigration. Starrett said she not only wants to stop the state from paying the cost of public services used by those in the country illegally, she also advocates banning bilingual education, signage and services, saying such accommodations only encourage non-English speakers to unlawfully enter the United States.

Running on the left, Keating acknowledged that he's likely to take votes away from Kulongoski. His strong opposition to the Iraq war, commitment to quickly getting Oregonians switched from environmentally damaging energy resources to earth-friendly fuels and electricity generation, and a community-building approach to politics, could draw support both from new voters and disaffected Democrats.

Even after seeing his party's presidential nominee, Ralph Nader, draw scorn for siphoning support from Democrat Al Gore in 2000, Keating said he's ready to be called a potential spoiler - although that's not how he sees himself. But he said he has considered the possibility that by drawing enough left-leaning votes away from Kulongoski, Saxton could end up winning the gov- ernorship.

"If that happens, then we take him on," said Keating, arguing that his campaign by then will have a core group of politically progressive activists who could work to blunt any executive-branch initiatives that run counter to their values.

The remaining third-party candidate, Morley, said he adheres to the Libertarian Party's socially tolerant, fiscally conservative views. He said he could choose which ones to emphasize next fall in a way that might make life difficult for the two major-party candidates. He says his opposition to "confiscatory" taxation and expensive government solutions to social problems, as well as his advocacy for property rights, would play well among Republicans and other conservatives.

At the same time, Morley said his views on social issues resemble those of Democrats' - he's pro-choice on abortion and doctor-assisted suicide and not interested in pushing an orthodox Libertarian agenda. For instance, Morley wants education to be adequately funded and would use his experience as an auditor of state and local governments to make programs more efficient.

"We just might encourage the folks who voted for Kulongoski ... to give us a good look," he said. "I think, very frankly, he'd better worry about us."

CORRECTION (ran 6/13/2006): A story on Page C1 in Sunday's paper misstated Oregon Right to Life's position on Republican gubernatorial nominee Ron Saxton. The group has not taken a position on his candidacy in the general election and will not make a decision until later this summer.

THIRD PARTIES X 3

Three "third parties" have nominees to run for governor.

Party: Constitution

Nominee: Mary Starrett

Likely voters: Religious conservatives, gun-rights advocates, illegal immigration opponents.

Calling-card issue: Anti-abortion politics

Candidate background: 51 years old. Lives in rural Yamhill County, and part time in Arizona. Freelance writer. Founder, Oregonians for Life. Spent 17 years as a TV news reporter, anchor and lifestyle-show host at Portland's ABC affiliate before switching to radio and spending five years as a talk-show host on a Christian station. www.marystarrettforgovernor.com

Recent party showing: Lon Mabon, 2 percent, 2002 U.S. Senate race.

Party: Libertarian

Nominee: Richard Morley

Likely voters: Keep-government-out-of-our-lives types - from limited-government to gun rights to abortion rights.

Calling-card issue: Pro-choice on personal issues (abortion, gay unions, assisted suicide).

Candidate background: 69 years old. Lives in Tigard. Retired from a career in business and as a private-sector and government auditor and audits manager. Ran previously for secretary of state. www.lporegon.org.

Recent party showing: Tom Cox, 5 percent, 2002 governor's race.

Party: Pacific-Green

Nominee: Joe Keating

Likely voters: Anti-war activists, environmentalists, labor lefties and other progressives.

Calling-card issues: Peace and the environment.

Candidate background: 63 years old. Lives in Portland. Switched in his 40s from East Coast businessman and entrepreneur to West Coast environmentalist and political organizer. A founder of the party in Oregon and its nominee for the 3rd Congressional District.

Recent party showing: Ralph Nader, 5 percent, 2000 presidential race (Oregon result)