Voters in Oregon’s 1st District on Tuesday will take an initial step in determiningg the successor to former Rep. David Wu, D-Ore with a special House primary election. Wu resigned in August after reports were published saying that he had an unwanted sexual encounter with the teenage daughter of a campaign donor.
The primary contests for both parties are not expected to be close, with Democratic state Sen. Suzanne Bonamici and 2010 GOP nominee Rob Cornilles poised to head to a general election matchup, polling shows. That election will be held January 31, 2012.
Public as well as internal polling have shown Bonamici with a wide lead over the Democratic field. A recent Portland Oregonian/KGW-TV survey showed her with a 34-point lead, taking 45 percent to Oregon Labor Commissioner Brad Avakian’s 11 percent. Internal polling from EMILY’s List and Bonamici’s campaign showed her leading by equally large margins.
Cornilles, a sports management consultant, ran against Wu last year. While there are four other GOP candidates in Tuesday’s election, Cornilles is win by large margin and has been able to conserve most of his campaign war chest for the anticipated January race with Bonamici.
