SALEM, Ore. — An effort to recall Gov. Kate Brown will not move forward after a campaign by the Oregon Republican Party failed to gather the 280,050 signatures by Monday's deadline.
A second effort to recall the governor, called the "Flush Down Kate Brown" campaign, delivered nine boxes of petitions to the office of the Oregon Secretary of State on Monday with a petition submission form that attested to an estimated 290,000 signatures.
Once the signatures were counted, "the total number of sheets submitted was 23,926," according to a release from the Oregon Secretary of State. "Since each sheet cannot contain more than 10 signatures, the submission fell short of the 280,050 signatures necessary to trigger a recall vote," the release stated.
The Oregon Republican Party did not make a submission to the Office of the Secretary of State.
The Statesman Journal reports Oregon GOP Chairman Bill Currier said on KXL radio's Lars Larson Show Monday that they came up short but plan to try again.
Opponents of the governor have said Brown overreached on issues including a greenhouse gas emissions cap-and-trade bill, a massive education tax package and a bill that would allow undocumented immigrants to get driver's licenses.
Brown was reelected governor last November by beating her nearest finisher, Republican nominee Knute Buehler, by more than 119,000 votes.
The Oregonian/OregonLive reports no drive to recall an Oregon governor has ever made the ballot.
Brown paid political adviser Thomas Wheatley said in a statement that "recalls should be used only when an elected official has committed a crime, not when someone disagrees with the policies of the governor or another elected official."