Here is the sixteenth installment in my alternate American election series.
Metropotamia
Alta California
North Carolina
New Jersey
Adams
Alabama
Rhode Island
Sequoyah
Assenisipia
East Florida
Tennessee
Kansas
Dakota
Arizona
Delaware
Oregon is the often forgotten state of the Left Coast, overshadowed by its larger neighbors Alta California and Columbia. Like the rest of the Left Coast the Progressive party is the natural ruling party, however in their most recent election this conventional trend was through through a loop by the rise of the Science Party.
The Science party was founded back in 2005 by eccentric tech CEO Joe Stevenson, who built a multi-billion international business empire in the late 90s through his widely popular line of "uPhones", "uComputers", etc. Seeking to bring Buddhist philosophy and rationalist thinking to politics his party would remain a niche party for technophiles for the next ten years. However following the election of 2013 the governing Progressives were rocked by a series of scandals. From their bureaucratic regulations of telecommunications that caused internet services to become lower in quality and higher in cost to their infamous attack on "white privilege" through the establishment of a diversity quota of at least 10% for all large businesses, the Progressives' popularity dropped to record lows and a large power vacuum appeared for the next election. Stevenson, took this opportunity to emphasize his centrist policies and focus on rational politics above any sort of partisan ideology.
Thus in the election of 2017 the Progressives collapsed on a scale never seen before, just barely staying above the Senate's 5% threshold, which they themselves had ironically set back in 2008 to help silence the United Left. Having this complete collapse following the minority government of California the national Progressive party was sent into panic mode, desperate to prevent the any further losses on the West Coast, especially with Columbia's major House and Senate election coming up in 2018.
Government:
Science Party - Founded in 2005 by the eccentric billionaire Joe Stevenson, its dedication to rationalist and centrist policies makes it extremely among young people and small businesses. Its historic win is likely to result in a new party system for the state, with the Science party taking over the title of the natural governing party. While the party's coziness with Big Business and Sinophile policies worries the far left and right alike its centrist-liberal ideology and brilliant marketing machine has Stevenson convinced of his party longevity.
Republicans - Originally the main opposition party to the Progressives, they have joined coalition with the Science party, making this the first time they constituted a part of government in Oregon for the first time since 1983. While the party is unsettled by Stevenson's plans to increase government spending through the construction of maglev trains all across the Willamette Valley it remains an improvement over the "Cultural Marxism" of the Progressive party and their plan to eliminate Oregon's corporate taxes pleases the Republican establishment very much.
Opposition:
Libertarians - The rural component of conservatism, their insistence on laissez-faire policies and the abolition of welfare is alien to most Oregonians, at least in the Willamette Valley. Outside of it, they remain very popular in rural areas among those who fear the bureaucrats of Salem.
Cascadian Left - A left-wing nationalist party, their economic policies are very similar to those of the Progressives except for the social realm, as they vehemently oppose "Cultural Marxism" and claim that anyone who isn't white is not a true Cascadian. While they managed to gain an impressive 8 seats from the Progressives collapse they remained unable to gain as many as they would have likely, largely due to the Science party's surge. Now with the Progressives out of the picture their rhetoric has become intensely anti-Stevenson, pointing out his ties to the East Asian Prosperity Sphere and support for Big Business.
Progressives - The original natural governing party of Oregon, they held control of the government nonstop for over three decades, leading to the state's reputation as an immense Progressive safe state. However with the Progressive's shift towards identity politics that began in the early 2000s with the increase of both Hispanic and Asian immigrants to the Left Coast, the white population of the state became increasingly disaffected by the Progressives. With over 80% of the state's population being white these identity politics were certain to lead to the party's death, with the rise of the Science party being the straw that broke the camel's back. Now reduced to their core supporters among Hispanics, African-Americans, and Native Americans, the party is unlikely to gain relevance anytime soon.
Asian Action - The Chinese funded party for Asian-Americans their supporters remain small but loyal and while they were left out of government in this election the victory of the Science party pleased their party leaders greatly.
United Left - The far left party of Oregon, their presence is not as strong in Oregon as in the rest of the Left Coast, mainly due to most union member's being a part of the Cascadian Left. Nevertheless they were able to pick a seat from the fall of the Progressives and are optimistic that they will be able to capture the black and brown vote in the future.
Credit for the basemap goes to Chicxulub.