Hannah Love, campaign manager for the Yes on Measure 101 campaign, speaks to supporters before polls close on Tuesday evening.
Hannah Love, campaign manager for the Yes on Measure 101 campaign, speaks to supporters before polls close on Tuesday evening. Doug Brown

Oregon’s big health care fight is over, and it doesn’t appear much has changed.

After millions spent on advertising, months of bitter debates, and a whole lot of terrible health care jargon, voters on Tuesday approved Measure 101. In doing so, Oregonians solidified a set of temporary taxes passed by the state legislature last summer, and aimed at providing health coverage to thousands low-income citizens.

The outcome of the measure appeared certain from the very first results Tuesday evening. Shortly after polls closed at 8 pm, the Oregon Secretary of State’s Office reported “yes” votes were leading with 63.5 percent of the vote, with a little more than 10 percent of precincts reporting. The Oregonian called the race in favor of the Yes on 101 campaign minutes later.

I'm a news reporter for the Mercury. I've spent a lot of the last decade in journalism — covering tragedy and chicanery in the hills of southwest Missouri, politics in Washington, D.C., and other matters...