Lodgings and beer: In the Portland area you need to become familiar with the McMenamin's chain of funky lodgings - historic properties "re-purposed" (my vote for buzz phrase of the 2010s) to really enjoyable places. On the edge of the Columbia River Gorge (an absolutely must-see part of your trip) is McMenamin's Edgefield, with its combination of pubs, brewery, distillery, winery, restaurants, movie theater, wonderful art, gardens, golf, and affordable accommodations ranging from hostel-like dormitory rooms to very comfortable (but still very affordable) en-suite rooms, all plunked down in the former Multnomah county poor farm.

In Portland (but not downtown) look at their Kennedy School - a former elementary school similarly converted to the same uses. Blackboards in the bedrooms and all that.

Lodging in Seattle will tend to be a bit pricier (unfortunately nothing as fun as McMenamin's just yet, but on the way.) There are reasonably car-friendly hotels outside the downtown core - look for example at the Silver Cloud chain of properties, in particular their hotel on Lake Union just north of the city cent(e)r(e). Free parking and breakfast included, 100 yards to the streetcar that goes downtown, Lake Union (float planes to Victoria, waterfront cafes and bars) right across the street.

Another place to look in Seattle for affordable but fun accommodations is the MarQueen Hotel in the "lower Queen Anne" neighbo(u)rhood. You'll have to pay to park the car, but the price of the hotel ought to be low enough that the net cost is manageable. One of the best restaurants in town, Toulouse Petit, is right across the street, and there are numerous pubs etc. in the area for beer testing. The Marqueen also has kitchenette units, so take that Dungeness Crab you bought at the Pike Place market, some craft bread and butter from the market, and a bottle of good Washington or Oregon wine (or an equivalent amount of beer) and have a picnic in your room - by far the best "carry out" meal one can have in Seattle.

Public transport is very good in both Seattle and Portland, but both cities are very much a collection of neighborhoods, so to see different parts of both cities using buses or the limited tram/light rail offerings, you're constantly using the downtown "hubs" and then traveling out on the "spokes." A car really helps with time management in these cases. And in November rain happens, and the car can be useful in that respect, too.

I don't think you really have time to travel to places like Eugene or especially Spokane. And frankly, in early November I think you could use your time more profitably: In Portland visit the Columbia Gorge and Mount Hood, then I'd suggest a route I've taken a number of British friends on as a fun means to travel between Portland and Seattle, avoiding the (very boring) Interstate 5 freeway between the two cities.

Head east from Portland through the Columbia Gorge (use the "Historic Highway" between Troutdale and Hood River) then stop at the Maryhill Museum (including the nearby Stonehenge "copy") before heading north on US 97 toward Yakima. From Yakima take I-82 to the junction of I-90 and enter Seattle via Snoqualmie Pass over the Cascade Range. This route takes you into the sagebrush (and sunny) eastern side of both Oregon and Washington, through some marvelous "old West" scenery and the Yakama Indian Reservation, then the Yakima Valley wine country (maybe still some good autumn leaves about) and over the mountains into Seattle, the whole thing taking only a couple of hours longer than the slog up the freeway. Highly recommended. Map.

Between Seattle and Vancouver, a great day-trip alternate route to the freeway is to take the Mukilteo ferry (5 min. past the Boeing tour center) to Whidbey Island. Drive up Whidbey, stopping at the cute waterfront villages of Langley and Coupeville, then stop at Deception Pass State Park, next to the incredible churning channel between Whidbey and Fidalgo Islands. Then continue on WA Hwy 20 to the junction of WA Hwy 11 ("Chuckanut Drive") which follows the Puget Sound coastline into the Fairhaven (historic) district of Bellingham (hard "g") before connecting back with I-5. Again, this detour adds an hour or two to the otherwise boring drive along the freeway. Map.

Regarding election night, unless you're affiliated with one of the candidates or are a party member/donor, most election-night gatherings are low-key affairs. On the west coast things don't get going until quite late, as the polls don't close until 8 or 9 pm, and either (a) the outcome is known right away based on returns from the east, or (b) the outcome isn't known and won't be until the following day. Olympia on election night will be dead as a door nail; the action will be in some hotel ballrooms in Seattle and Bellevue, or in Portland in the case of Oregon. Frankly I'd find a good pub with a lot of TV screens, and toast the health of the winner, or commiserate, as the case may be.