Sporting a more confrontational tone on a wide range of subjects, Democratic Gov. Kate Brown and Republican Rep. Knute Buehler, R-Bend, ramped up attacks on each other's records during their second debate Thursday night in Medford.
On top Oregon issues, including public pension reform, homelessness, education funding, infrastructure investment and wild-land management, the candidates frequently pivoted to pointing out an inability to fix problems or inconsistencies between campaign statements and voting records.
Education key talking point in both debates
It was an at-times stark difference to Tuesday's debate in Portland, when rebuttal was limited and Buehler at times complimented the work Brown had done to move the state in a positive direction.
But similar to the first debate, education again was a significant point of interest.
"The most important issue right now facing Oregonians is education. Our K-12 is struggling," Buehler said. "It's time to rescue those kids from, really, a classroom funding crisis."
Buehler cited Oregon's dismal high school graduation rate (third-worst in the country) and cuts to programs because of the state's unfunded public pension liability, despite a strong economy.
In response, Brown said that there have been the greatest gains in high school graduation rates since they started keeping track during her time in office. She also said they've increased funding to K-12 education by 22 percent.
"We have certainly made progress," Brown said "but we have a lot more work to be done."
National political analysis organizations indicate Brown and Buehler may be in a close race. The Cook Political Report, a nonprofit election analysis newsletter, labels Oregon's gubernatorial race as "lean Democrat," a downgrade from their "likely Democrat" rating earlier this year.
The third major party candidate, Independent Patrick Starnes who joined Buehler and Brown Tuesday, didn't qualify for Thursday's debate because he received less than 10 percent support in recent polling.
Brown's record since becoming governor in early 2015 has been a focus for both candidates, a dynamic that continued Thursday.
Buehler points to areas such as poor graduation rates and the state's much maligned foster care system as examples of Brown's failed leadership.
When Brown raises those same topics, she tries to impress upon voters that progress has been made under her administration and, while there is still work to be done, she has put the state on the correct path.
But Brown took more opportunities Thursday to point out what her campaign calls inconsistencies between what Buehler has said as a candidate and what his voting record shows.
"Again, I feel like I’m running against two candidates: Rep. Buehler and candidate Buehler," Brown said.
She went after his decisions to vote against 2017's statewide transportation funding package, his votes against gun control legislation including expanded background checks and the creation of "extreme risk protection orders," and his vote against the "Cover All Kids" health care bill.
There was still some agreement. Both candidates basically agreed on the severity of the state's public pension crisis — when asked to rate it on a scale of 1-10, Brown gave it an 8 and Buehler gave it a 9.
They also agreed on some of the underlying problems with the state's marijuana industry. Brown and Buehler said that there were too many licenses issued and far too much supply produced.
When Brown said the Oregon Liquor Control Commission has reduced access to licenses and is focused on enforcement, Buehler took another chance to criticize the governor's response.
"Too little, too late. That should have been done right away," Buehler said. "It's another example of mismanagement of important state services under the Brown administration."
The third and final debate will be Tuesday, Oct. 9, in Portland hosted by KGW and The Oregonian.
Contact the reporter at cradnovich@statesmanjournal.com or 503-399-6864, or follow him on Twitter at @CDRadnovich