PORTLAND - An aggressive get-out-the-vote drive by pro-John Kerry groups coupled with the distaste a lot of Oregonians have for President Bush's faith-based conservatism helped Kerry make a stronger showing in Oregon than fellow Democrat Al Gore did in 2000, observers say.

Kerry defeated Bush by nearly 70,000 votes in Oregon's election Tuesday, well above the 6,675-vote margin by which Gore barely beat Bush four years ago.

A key factor in Kerry's showing was an unprecedented effort by unions and independent groups supporting Kerry. They signed up more than 150,000 new Democratic voters for the election.

"We're very proud of what we accomplished here in Oregon," said Tim Nesbitt, president of the Oregon AFL-CIO.

The 51 percent to 47 percent margin by which Kerry defeated Bush in Oregon was similar to Kerry's margin in Washington state, Portland pollster Tim Hibbitts noted.

Voters in the Northwest and Oregon in particular "have never been terribly enthusiastic about the Bush administration," Hibbitts said.

"Bush's cultural conservatism is more to the political right than a lot of Oregonians would prefer," he said. "The president clearly won nationally because of his support from the faith-based community, and that factor is not as strong here in Oregon."

Another difference from the 2000 election is that consumer activist Ralph Nader failed to qualify for Oregon's ballot this year, meaning that Kerry didn't have an independent siphoning voters from him.

Nader drew 5 percent of the Oregon vote in 2000, which many Democrats say came mostly at Gore's expense, although Hibbitts contends that most of those people wouldn't have voted for Gore or Bush in any case.

Further, Hibbitts said his own polling indicated that Nader would have drawn less than 1 percent of the vote even if he had qualified for Oregon's ballot this year.

A statewide poll for The Associated Press showed that Oregon's struggling economy was a key factor in Bush's defeat in the state Tuesday. The poll found that Kerry was favored by voters who felt Oregon's economy was doing badly, and they outnumbered the optimists nearly 3-to-1.

Oregon has been saddled with worst-in-the-nation unemployment rates throughout much of Bush's first term.

Of course, Ohio voters on Tuesday overlooked the loss of 280,000 jobs in their state as they delivered Ohio's crucial electoral votes to Bush to give the Republican president a second term.

But Nesbitt, the AFL-CIO president, said Ohio is a more politically conservative state than Oregon, and that Oregonians weren't as willing to look past the state's economic problems as they voted for president.

Bush came close to winning Oregon in 2000 by selling himself to the state's Democratic-leaning swing voters as a "uniter, not a divider," and a "compassionate conservative."

But Democratic U.S. Sen. Ron Wyden said the Bush administration has alienated moderate voters in Oregon with such moves as trying to overturn Oregon's assisted suicide law, which has twice been endorsed by voters.

"This administration puts its ideology over the vote of the people in Oregon," the senator said.

While Bush lost in traditionally Democratic Oregon for the second time on Tuesday, his supporters said there still was strategic value in having Bush compete for Oregon's seven electoral votes.

"Every day and every dollar Kerry had to spend in Oregon, was a day and a dollar that he couldn't spend in states like Ohio and Florida," said Republican U.S. Sen. Gordon Smith.