The Last Time Two Republicans Ran For Attorney General

Capitol Currents:

In my story on this year's race for the Democratic Attorney General nomination, I noted that it's been two whole election cycles since a Republican even filed for the office. I spoke with the last GOP candidate, Paul Connolly, who won his party's nomination in 2004. Connolly, who practices business law in Salem, told me he had been informally approached about entering the race this year, but decided against it. Running for statewide office was enjoyable, he said, but "it is a tall mountain to climb, and having climbed it once, I wasn't sure that I wanted to try climbing it again."Connolly faced no opposition in the Republican primary in 2004. (Incumbent Democrat Hardy Myers handily defeated him in the general election.) It made me wonder: When was the last time that Republican voters had a choice for Attorney General in their primary? I dug through some elections records and here's what I found:In 2000, Kevin Mannix was unopposed for the Republican nomination, and lost to Myers in the general election. This was the second time Mannix lost to Myers while running for Attorney General. In 1996, Mannix had sought the same office as a Democrat but lost to Myers in that party's primary.In 1996, the Attorney General's office was up for grabs as incumbent Ted Kulongoski decided to run for Oregon Supreme Court. Mount Angel attorney Victor Hoffer ran unopposed for the nomination and lost to Hardy Myers in the general election. Hoffer later developed a working relationship with Myers, and last December was the subject of an interesting profile piece in the Salem Statesman Journal. As it turns out, you have to go all the way back to 1992 to find a year when multiple Republicans sought their party's nomination. That year, Republican Attorney General Dave Frohnmayer had resigned from the job to become dean of the University of Oregon law school. Charles Crookham was appointed to be his replacement, but quickly decided he would not seek a full term. That left the party's nomination wide open.Two young political neophytes entered the contest: Richard Rodeman and Sandijean Fuson. An Oregonian article previewing the race summed up their chances this way: "They're not objects of derision or dislike. They're simply unknowns." Rodeman defeated Fuson in the primary but lost by a landslide to the much better known Democrat, Ted Kulongoski, in the general election. Rodeman ran unsuccessfully for an Oregon Senate seat two years later, but I can't find much trace of him after that. The Oregon State Bar lists him as "resigned." Fuson still practices law in eastern Oregon.

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