George HW Bush Medford Button

In the heat of the 1992 campaign President George H.W. Bush made one of only three trips to Oregon during his term in the White House. He spoke at a lumber mill to workers from Southern Oregon and California. This was during the height of the 'spotted owl vs workers' debate and the 1992 presidential campaign in Oregon lay open the clear divisions between the urban and rural divide.

Here is some video coverage of the event. Watch NEWS CAST

This trip produced one button.

I tried to find a photo of the button in the news footage, but could not see much. There were some signs, shirts, and stickers in the crowd, but I couldn't see any buttons.

This button is fairly common and shows up in online sales often. You shouldn't have to dig deep to get this pin. Between five and ten dollars is probably a fair price.

1992 would not be GHWB's year. Facing increased competition from both Democrat Bill Clinton and Independent candidate Ross Perot would take its toll at the polls for Bush. In Oregon, a stronger than expected showing of Perot (often at the expense of the Bush campaign) was enough to give Clinton a plurality of the votes with 43% to Bush's 33% and Perot 24%.

Perot finished in 2nd place, beating Bush in two counties (Lincoln and Columbia) and came within 5 points or less of overtaking Bush in ten counties. Do you have any Bush-Quayle items from 1992 you would like to share? Feel free to send them our way and we will post them.