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Oregon News
2026 ELECTION
WW’s May 2026 Endorsements: Statewide
Willamette Week
Governor
Christine Drazan
Sen. Christine Drazan (R-Canby) is correct when she says she’s the only person running in the Republican primary for Oregon governor with the breadth of experience necessary to challenge Gov. Tina Kotek in November.
Drazan and Kotek are longtime nemeses and, if our endorsement interview was any indication, Drazan plans to body the governor this fall. Her critique: Kotek has the wrong goals and can’t figure out how to achieve the goals she has. Crucially, Drazan thinks Kotek has failed to implement outcomes-based expectations for the taxpayer dollars the state gives to nonprofits and other contractors to distribute state services.
Three of Drazan’s rivals merit greater consideration, but none holds a candle to her.
Labor Commissioner
Christina Stephenson
We don’t blame anybody who wants to set a new direction at BOLI, but we can’t quite make the leap. We’ll give Stephenson another four years. This time, she’d better deliver.
WW’s May 2026 Endorsements: Oregon Senate
Willamette Week
Senate District 15
Janeen Sollman
Senate District 16
Courtney Bangs
Senate District 17
Lisa Reynolds
WW’s May 2026 Endorsements: Oregon House
Willamette Week
House District 27
Tammy Carpenter
House District 29
Mark Watson
Rep. Susan McLain, a former schoolteacher, has represented this comfortably blue patch of Washington County for six terms. She hasn’t earned a seventh.
House District 31
Tom Forest
House District 35
Farrah Chaichi
Her opponent, Johan Arteaga Cruz, is—somehow—running to Chaichi’s left. It is not a serious campaign.
House District 38
Daniel Nguyen
House District 40
Charles Gallia
House District 40
Adam Baker
House District 51
Darla Mead
House District 51
Matt Bunch
House District 52
Nick Walden Poublon
House District 52
Scott Hege
WW’s May 2026 Endorsements: Ballot Measures
Willamette Week
Measure 120
ODOT funding
NO
Measure 26-261
Oregon Historical Society levy
Yes
WW’s May 2026 Endorsements: Congress
Willamette Week
U.S. Senate
Jeff Merkley
He has grown adept at the filibuster—in our hour with him, we struggled to get a word in edgewise. Still, he’s not wrong, and his diagram of how Trump attacks voting by mail as a means to disenfranchise tens of thousands of Americans was so chilling it inspired this week’s cover illustration.
U.S. Senate
David Brock Smith
It’s unlikely a Republican will unseat U.S. Sen. Jeff Merkley, who hasn’t dipped below 55% of the vote in his two successful runs for Congress since his narrow victory over incumbent Gordon Smith in 2008. But Republicans’ best bet to do so this time is state Sen. David Brock Smith (R-Port Orford).
U.S. House District 1
Suzanne Bonamici
U.S. House District 5
Janelle Bynum
U.S. House District 5
Patti Adair
Editorial endorsements May 2026: Our editorial board’s voting recommendations
The Oregonian Editorial Board
Governor, Republican primary: Christine Drazan
(No endorsement on the Democratic side due to the lack of a competitive primary).
Labor commissioner: Christina Stephenson
Metro Council president: Juan Carlos González
Latest poll still shows 1 candidate leading in Republican primary race for governor, but many voters undecided
The Oregonian | By Carlos Fuentes
A new poll conducted last week shows Sen. Christine Drazan holding a substantial lead over her foremost opponents in the Republican primary race for governor.
Republican candidates for Oregon governor made a lot of claims in 2nd debate. Not all of them were true
The Oregonian | By Carlos Fuentes
Along the way, they cited various statistics to bolster their arguments.
Not all of those figures were accurate or supported by available evidence.
Oregon’s GOP seeks an upset to replace Gov. Kotek. Who will break from the pack?
Oregon Capital Chronicle | By Shaanth Nanguneri
While there is significant overlap between each candidates’ policy proposals, they differ greatly in style and background.
Know Your Candidates 2026: Oregon governor
KATU | By Zachary Barnes, Steve Benham
We are asking candidates for Oregon governor the same series of questions, so you can compare their answers.
Republicans:
Danielle Bethell
Hope A Dalrymple
Ed Diehl
Christine Drazan
Chris Dudley
Kyle M Duyck
David Medina
Robert Neuman
Brad T Peters
Paul J Romero Jr
DeAngelo Leroy Turner
Wen Waddell
Martin Ward
Tim O Youker
Democrats:
Forest (Fora) Alexander
James Atkinson IV
Donnie M Beckwith
David W Beem
Brittany Jones
Cal Kishawi
Tina Kotek
Steve William Laible
Tristan Sheppard
Miranda Weigler
Ed Diehl hopes to ride anti-tax momentum to the governor’s office
OPB | By Dirk VanderHart
The two-term Oregon state representative scored a stunning victory last year. Can he stage a repeat?
Clackamas sheriff seeks property tax increase in May election
The Oregonian | By Isabel Funk
Clackamas County voters will decide this May whether to increase their property taxes for public safety by approving the latest in a series of levies since 2006.
Oregon’s 5th Congressional District was a tossup in 2024. Now it’s seen as a shoo-in
OPB | By Bryce Dole
What was once seen as a high-profile swing district is widely viewed as a safe seat for incumbent Democratic U.S. Rep. Janelle Bynum. Observers are split on whether that will last.
Two Oregon Democrats are challenging U.S. Rep. Val Hoyle in May primary
Oregon Capital Chronicle | By Mia Maldonado
Both candidates cite their indigenous backgrounds as a motivation for their run for Congress.
POLITICS
A Portland councilor’s push to ban masked cops used a story police say isn’t true
The Oregonian | By Isabel Funk, Shane Dixon Kavanaugh
The outline of the case seemed especially terrifying in Portland City Councilor Sameer Kanal’s telling.
A masked man, he said, walked into a Southeast Portland 7-Eleven, identified himself as a federal immigration agent and tried to hold up an employee.
Except, not all of that was true. The 19-year-old man, whom police arrested a few blocks away, was never wearing a mask, police and prosecutors say.
Home Forward CEO resigns after scrutiny over taxpayer-funded trips
KOIN 6 | By Jashayla Pettigrew
Leadership changes are underway for a Portland-area housing authority that has experienced several woes over the past year.
Local politicians react to Supreme Court Voting Rights Act decision
KGW | By Alex Jensen
Home Forward CEO Ivory Mathews will resign from her position effective Friday, following reports that the public agency executive spent taxpayer money on lavish trips.
EDUCATION
Gov. Tina Kotek’s plan for ambitious academic goals gets scrutiny, then hesitant support, from Board of Education
The Oregonian | By Julia Silverman
With clear hesitation, the eight members of the State Board of Education signed off Tuesday on a plan, championed by Gov. Tina Kotek, that sets a host of far-reaching new academic performance targets for Oregon’s 550,000 public school students.
Portland Schools Superintendent discusses 2026-27 budget plan amid financial strain
KATU
Portland Public Schools (PPS) Superintendent Dr. Kimberlee Armstrong will present the proposed budget for the 2026–27 school year at a press conference Wednesday morning, as the district considers some tough decisions to close a roughly $56-million budget deficit.
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