Once polls closed on election day, Dudley had led in early vote counts, but Kitzhaber narrowly won due to wide margins in Multnomah and Lane counties.

[1] As a result, the Independent Party of Oregon did not file a candidate and instead chose to hold a month-long online primary in July.

[8] Republican Chris Dudley did not apply for the Independent Party nomination by the required date, so he was not on the ballot, but he could be written in.

[6] Following the primaries, the two leading candidates, Dudley and Kitzhaber, campaigned separately throughout the state for the summer.

[11] Throughout the last few months of the campaign, opinion polls showed a tight race with the lead apparently changing frequently.