Bonamici or Cornilles: Ballots due tonight for seat in U.S. House

KOIN:

SALEM, Ore. (AP) — The candidates hoping to replace former Rep. David Wu are making a final push to get supporters to turn in their ballots.It's too late to mail them, but voters have until 8 p.m. on Tuesday to drop ballots in collection bins. So far, about 36 percent of ballots have been returned in the special election for a seat in the U.S. House.Democrat Suzanne Bonamici planned to spend Monday meeting voters at coffee shops, grocery stores and Portland State University.Republican Rob Cornilles spent part of the morning waiving sings in Beaverton to remind people that election day is near.Democrats outnumber Republicans in the northwest Oregon 1st Congressional District and voters there overwhelmingly supported President Barack Obama.The district is the state's economic engine, encompassing downtown Portland and the fast-growing western suburbs that are home to the Silicon Forest high-tech hub and the global headquarters for athletic-wear giants Nike Inc. and Columbia Sportswear Company. It stretches across agricultural communities to the Pacific coast.Cornilles, 47, is making his second bid for the seat after losing to Wu in 2010. He's centered his pitch on his experience running a sports-marketing firm, hoping to swing an upset with a relentless focus on jobs and a run toward the center. Unemployment in the Portland area dropped to 7.8 percent in November 2011, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics.Bonamici, 57, is mixing traditional Democratic themes of protecting Social Security and Medicare with a pledge to tackle the national debt by getting Washington's priorities in order.Wu, a Democrat, resigned last year after allegations he made an unwanted sexual advance. The resignation, however, took months to develop after the initial newspaper report and eventually came when an ethics probe was announced.Copyright 2012 The Associated Press.

Read the full article here. Discuss below.