The larger issue is this: Republicans in Oregon almost always turn out at a greater rate than Democrats for general elections (2008, when former President Barack Obama was on the ballot for the first time was an exception). In what pundits and pollsters are calling a toss-up governor's race, state Rep. Knute Buehler (R-Bend), the GOP nominee needs the Republican base to turn out far more enthusiastically than they have so far.