Republicans to the Rescue in Oregon? | City Journal
Drazan needs only a plurality to prevail on November 8. Whether she wins or loses, she has already helped revive the blue-state Republican governor model. Every blue state in America has a major city with a high-profile crime and disorder problem, and no GOP candidate for a blue-state governorship will fail to run on that. In the 2010s, the blue-state Republican governor model was defined by Maryland s Larry Hogan and Massachusetts Charlie Baker. Their technocratic brand succeeded Baker and Hogan have long ranked among the most popular American governors but it has lost relevance as the politics of lawlessness gained salience. Drazan will also leave a mark on the opposition party: she has pushed Democrats harder on crime and disorder than Hogan and Baker ever did. Her most important legacy may well be a somewhat saner Democratic Party in Oregon.
I used to joke with my class that some crazy policy or other ought to be tried in Oregon first. About 15 years ago, that ceased being funny IMO. I’m not sure my class ever found it funny. Now that San Diego is drifting to the Left, Oregon seems to be coming back to the Right. This is all relative, of course.