For those who do not know much about Oregon politics, the general breakup of the state in elections is as follows: the I-5 corridor from Portland to Eugene (including Salem and Corvallis) tends to vote Democratic while the rest of the state votes GOP. This trend has been upended to an extend by the constant influx of Californians, but nonetheless holds in most elections.

A new poll of 439 registered voters in Jackson County in the south of the state shows Kerry doing suprisingly well, however. The poll, done for the Mail Tribune newspaper and KTVL News, a local CBS affilitate, shows Bush leading Kerry 48 percent to 45 percent, well within the margin of error of plus or minus 5 percent. This is a county in which Bush beat Gore four years ago by a 46,052 to 33,153 margin, so if Kerry is able to run even with the President in Jackson County, he should have no problem winning the state this year.