1978 Oregon gubernatorial election
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The 1978 Oregon gubernatorial election took place on November 7, 1978. In a rematch of the 1974 contest, Republican nominee Victor Atiyeh defeated Democratic incumbent Robert Straub. As of 2026, this is the last Oregon gubernatorial race where the incumbent was defeated.
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November 7, 1978
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 County results Atiyeh: 50–60% 60–70% 70–80% Straub: 50–60% | |||||||||||||||||
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Democratic primary
Candidates
Nominee
- Robert W. Straub, incumbent Governor of Oregon
Eliminated in primary
- Marvin J. Hollingsworth, former state representative (1971-1972)[1]
- Emily Ashworth, teacher[2]
- William L. Patrick, car salesman[1]
- James R. Smith
- E. "Buck" Lambert, car dealer[1]
- E. Allen Propst, retired cropduster and candidate for governor in 1970[3]
Results
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Democratic | Robert W. Straub (inc.) | 144,761 | 51.71% | |
| Democratic | Marvin J. Hollingsworth | 52,901 | 18.90% | |
| Democratic | Emily Ashworth | 49,201 | 17.58% | |
| Democratic | William L. Patrick | 11,232 | 4.01% | |
| Democratic | James R. Smith | 8,195 | 2.93% | |
| Democratic | E. "Buck" Lambert | 8,005 | 2.86% | |
| Democratic | E. Allen Propst | 5,649 | 2.02% | |
| Total votes | 279,944 | 100.0% | ||
Republican primary
Candidates
Nominee
- Victor G. Atiyeh, state senator and nominee in 1974
Eliminated in primary
- Tom McCall, former Governor of Oregon (1967-1975)
- Roger E. Martin, state representative
- William A. Jolley, refrigeration service engineer[1]
- L.E. "Bud" Kretsinger, tavern owner[5]
- Gerald Wayne "Jerry" Todd
- William Desmond Hewitt, pianist and marijuana legalization advocate[6]
Results
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Republican | Victor Atiyeh | 115,593 | 46.42% | |
| Republican | Tom McCall | 83,568 | 33.56% | |
| Republican | Roger Martin | 42,644 | 17.13% | |
| Republican | William A. Jolley | 3,133 | 1.26% | |
| Republican | L.E. "Bud" Kretsinger | 2,332 | 0.94% | |
| Republican | Gerald Wayne "Jerry" Todd | 989 | 0.40% | |
| Republican | William Desmond Hewitt | 741 | 0.30% | |
| Total votes | 249,000 | 100.0% | ||
General election
Results
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Republican | Victor G. Atiyeh | 498,452 | 54.90% | +12.56% | |
| Democratic | Robert W. Straub (inc.) | 409,411 | 45.10% | −12.79% | |
| Write-in | Scattering | 3,280 | 0.36% | ||
| Total votes | 911,143 | 100.00% | |||
| Majority | 89,041 | 9.77% | |||
| Republican gain from Democratic | Swing | +25.35% | |||
Results by county
Lane County backed the losing candidate for the first time since 1930 and after this election, has voted for the winner in every subsequent gubernatorial election to date (as of 2026). This was also one of only two elections in the 20th century in which the winning gubernatorial candidate did not carry Multnomah County.[a]
| County[7] | Victor G. Atiyeh Republican |
Robert W. Straub Democratic |
Scattering Write-in |
Margin | Total votes cast | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| # | % | # | % | # | % | # | % | ||
| Baker | 3,739 | 66.31% | 1,896 | 33.62% | 4 | 0.07% | 1,843 | 32.68% | 5,639 |
| Benton | 13,658 | 55.20% | 10,985 | 44.40% | 99 | 0.40% | 2,673 | 10.80% | 24,742 |
| Clackamas | 48,708 | 55.73% | 38,349 | 43.88% | 340 | 0.39% | 10,359 | 11.85% | 87,397 |
| Clatsop | 6,787 | 55.98% | 5,311 | 43.81% | 25 | 0.21% | 1,476 | 12.18% | 12,123 |
| Columbia | 6,142 | 48.02% | 6,576 | 51.42% | 72 | 0.56% | -434 | -3.39% | 12,790 |
| Coos | 11,597 | 53.80% | 9,943 | 46.13% | 15 | 0.07% | 1,654 | 7.67% | 21,555 |
| Crook | 2,619 | 58.96% | 1,806 | 40.66% | 17 | 0.38% | 813 | 18.30% | 4,442 |
| Curry | 4,170 | 67.23% | 2,024 | 32.63% | 9 | 0.15% | 2,146 | 34.60% | 6,203 |
| Deschutes | 11,226 | 57.50% | 8,265 | 42.33% | 34 | 0.17% | 2,961 | 15.17% | 19,525 |
| Douglas | 19,030 | 63.85% | 10,740 | 36.03% | 35 | 0.12% | 8,290 | 27.81% | 29,805 |
| Gilliam | 627 | 67.56% | 300 | 32.33% | 1 | 0.11% | 327 | 35.24% | 928 |
| Grant | 1,953 | 65.98% | 1,004 | 33.92% | 3 | 0.10% | 949 | 32.06% | 2,960 |
| Harney | 1,846 | 64.05% | 1,029 | 35.70% | 7 | 0.24% | 817 | 28.35% | 2,882 |
| Hood River | 3,246 | 56.83% | 2,444 | 42.79% | 22 | 0.39% | 802 | 14.04% | 5,712 |
| Jackson | 22,814 | 55.32% | 18,389 | 44.59% | 35 | 0.08% | 4,425 | 10.73% | 41,238 |
| Jefferson | 2,328 | 64.65% | 1,265 | 35.13% | 8 | 0.22% | 1,063 | 29.52% | 3,601 |
| Josephine | 13,515 | 73.27% | 4,908 | 26.61% | 22 | 0.12% | 8,607 | 46.66% | 18,445 |
| Klamath | 12,060 | 66.76% | 5,985 | 33.13% | 19 | 0.11% | 6,075 | 33.63% | 18,064 |
| Lake | 1,929 | 65.66% | 1,003 | 34.14% | 6 | 0.20% | 926 | 31.52% | 2,938 |
| Lane | 40,446 | 43.22% | 52,985 | 56.62% | 141 | 0.15% | -12,539 | -13.40% | 93,572 |
| Lincoln | 7,286 | 56.76% | 5,531 | 43.09% | 19 | 0.15% | 1,755 | 13.67% | 12,836 |
| Linn | 17,482 | 62.48% | 10,444 | 37.33% | 54 | 0.19% | 7,038 | 25.15% | 27,980 |
| Malheur | 5,546 | 72.55% | 2,097 | 27.43% | 1 | 0.01% | 3,449 | 45.12% | 7,644 |
| Marion | 41,115 | 59.97% | 27,067 | 39.48% | 379 | 0.55% | 14,048 | 20.49% | 68,561 |
| Morrow | 1,287 | 60.42% | 839 | 39.39% | 4 | 0.19% | 448 | 21.03% | 2,130 |
| Multnomah | 100,530 | 46.83% | 112,754 | 52.52% | 1,391 | 0.65% | -12,224 | -5.69% | 214,675 |
| Polk | 9,754 | 58.35% | 6,899 | 41.27% | 64 | 0.38% | 2,855 | 17.08% | 16,717 |
| Sherman | 627 | 62.45% | 371 | 36.95% | 6 | 0.60% | 256 | 25.50% | 1,004 |
| Tillamook | 4,488 | 54.26% | 3,747 | 45.30% | 36 | 0.44% | 741 | 8.96% | 8,271 |
| Umatilla | 9,272 | 61.62% | 5,759 | 38.27% | 16 | 0.11% | 3,513 | 23.35% | 15,047 |
| Union | 5,635 | 67.01% | 2,763 | 32.86% | 11 | 0.13% | 2,872 | 34.15% | 8,409 |
| Wallowa | 1,919 | 70.50% | 798 | 29.32% | 5 | 0.18% | 1,121 | 41.18% | 2,722 |
| Wasco | 4,742 | 58.82% | 3,300 | 40.93% | 20 | 0.25% | 1,442 | 17.89% | 8,062 |
| Washington | 49,918 | 59.30% | 33,955 | 40.34% | 300 | 0.36% | 15,963 | 18.96% | 84,173 |
| Wheeler | 357 | 53.68% | 307 | 46.17% | 1 | 0.15% | 50 | 7.52% | 665 |
| Yamhill | 10,054 | 56.85% | 7,573 | 42.82% | 59 | 0.33% | 2,481 | 14.03% | 17,686 |
| Total | 498,452 | 54.71% | 409,411 | 44.93% | 3,280 | 0.36% | 89,041 | 9.77% | 911,143 |