03:21 PM PST on Sunday, March 6, 2005

By CHARLES E. BEGGS, Associated Press Writer

SEASIDE, Ore. -- Oregon Republicans at their annual Dorchester Conference had mixed feelings about the party's prospects for governor Sunday in a straw poll favoring Congressman Greg Walden -- an avowed noncandidate -- over state GOP Chairman Kevin Mannix, who plans a second run for the state's top office.

AP

Rep. Greg Walden, R-Ore.

Walden drew 52 votes, compared to 50 for Mannix, in the poll that wound up the three-day unofficial beachside gathering. Portland lawyer Ron Saxton, who narrowly lost to Mannix in the 2002 Republican gubernatorial primary, was third with 33 votes.

Dorchester President Pam Leavitt of Portland said not too much should be made of a straw ballot more than a year ahead of even the May 2006 primary election.

"It sends an early message that people at Dorchester certainly are divided on the kind of people they're looking for," she said. "I wouldn't be surprised to see other names emerge."

Saxton is said to be planning another campaign for governor but has made no public announcement.

Mannix downplayed Walden's showing, saying the congressman likely benefited from an "upswell of emotion" after just having given the conference's closing speech.

Mannix said it was noteworthy he finished well ahead of Saxton among participants at Dorchester, which isn't an official party function. It was founded in 1965 by former Republican U.S. Sen. Bob Packwood as a forum for moderate to liberal Republicans.

"I clearly did better than any of the real candidates," Mannix said. "This is supposed to be Ron Saxton's back yard."

Walden said he was flattered by attention from the straw vote, but stressed he plans to run for re-election next year in the 2nd U.S. House District, a vast expanse of eastern and southern Oregon.

A former state lawmaker who considered running for governor in 1994, Walden said he's achieved a position which allows him to serve Oregon well as chairman of a House forestry subcommittee in Washington.

"It takes a while to get to a place where you can be effective," he said.

The Dorchester Conference has become more conservative in recent years but still draws loyal moderates. Some of them fear Mannix's anti-abortion position makes him unlikely to win statewide in traditionally pro-choice Oregon, even though he lost the governor's race only narrowly to Democrat Ted Kulongoski.

A scattering of other Republicans drew straw poll support. State Rep. Jeff Kropf of Sublimity, a farmer and radio talk show host, was fourth with 11 votes.

He said he was honored but won't run for the job in 2006. But that said, he added that he intends to seriously consider doing so "at some point."

State Sen. Jason Atkinson of Jacksonville, who is thinking of running for governor next year, got five votes.

On other policy resolutions, participants voted 180-74 in favor of the United States invading Iran to stop further nuclear weapons development, if diplomacy and "lesser military options" fail to do so.

They endorsed on a 230-16 vote allowing private Social Security accounts and voted 167-2 against Kulongoski's nomination of former Democratic Congressman Les AuCoin to the state Board of Forestry, a move that's sparking a confirmation fight in the state Senate because of timber industry opposition.