SPOILER ALERT: Trouble for Dems in Oregon as populist third-party candidate rankles Gov race

Betsy Johnson is spending more on digital ads than her opponents combined

In a two-party, first-past-the-post system like ours, third-party candidates almost never have a real chance of winning, and they often just earn enough votes to give the minority party a sneaky win - we’re looking at you, Ralph. Oregon Republicans may have a similar opportunity to pick up an office that has eluded them for 40 years in Betsy Johnson, a Democrat-turned-independent who’s running a well-funded gubernatorial campaign that’s blowing the other candidates out of the water online. With her formal entry into the race, OR-Gov is now fully in toss-up territory. In the next couple of months, her candidacy may seriously threaten Democrats’ ability to hold the state’s governor’s mansion.