Democrats appear headed toward defeat in the Oregon governor’s race, with GOP nominee Christine Drazan leading Democrat former Oregon House of Representatives  Speaker Tina Kotek. The poll shows Drazen with 36 percent and Kotek with 34%.

Joe Biden reportedly won the state by 16 points in 2020, making the potential loss for the Democrats a big deal as the GOP is poised to make a comeback at the polls in November.

The Daily Caller reports:

Drazan polled at 36% compared to Kotek’s 34%, while independent candidate Betsy Johnson pulled in 19% of the vote in the new poll; Johnson, a former Democrat, may be pulling voters away from Kotek. The poll comes after Sabato’s Crystal Ball at the University of Virginia reclassified the race from “leans Democratic” to “toss up” in August.

Drazan’s campaign has focused heavily on public safety, drawing attention to the surge in violent crime in Oregon cities in recent years. She has characterized the political response to widespread homelessness in cities like Portland as policy failures.

“An emergency declaration is a powerful tool we need to help homeless Oregonians,” she wrote. “We should’ve done this a long time ago, but my Democrat opponents have failed to come through for Oregon families. It’s time for a new direction.”

Her campaign has emphasized moving away from policies associated with rampant public drugs use, homelessness and crime; Kotek took the positions Drazan now criticizes on several key issues while serving in the state Senate. Kotek recently defended a 2020 ballot measure that decriminalized all drugs in small quantities, and in the summer of 2020 she urged police to take a more lax approach to protesters during violent clashes.

Voters are horrified over public safety, according to polls, with violent crime surging. Polls have found widespread concerns about public safety, with a majority of voters considering the city “very unsafe” after dark. Current Democrat Gov. Kate Brown has also contributed to GOP momentum in taking back the state’s governorship.