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| Elections in Oregon |
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The 2026 Oregon gubernatorial election will be held on November 3, 2026, to elect the governor of Oregon. Incumbent Democratic Governor Tina Kotek is eligible to run for re-election to a second full term.
The governor of Oregon is the head of government of Oregon and serves as the commander-in-chief of the state's military forces. The title of governor was also applied to the office of Oregon's chief executive during the provisional and U.S. territorial governments.
The 2006 Oregon gubernatorial election took place on November 7, 2006. Incumbent Democratic Governor of Oregon Ted Kulongoski ran for a second and final term as governor. Kulongoski faced several challengers in his primary, whom he dispatched to win his party's nomination a second time, while Republican nominee Ron Saxton, the former Chair of the Portland Public Schools Board and a candidate for governor in 2002 emerged from a crowded primary. Kulongoski and Saxton were initially going to be challenged in the general election by State Senator Ben Westlund, but Westlund withdrew his candidacy before the general election. There were multiple independent and third party challengers on the ballot as well. In a hard-fought campaign, Kulongoski won re-election by a surprisingly wide margin, winning his second term as governor.
ChristineKotek is an American politician serving as the 39th governor of Oregon since 2023. A member of the Democratic Party, Kotek served eight terms as the state representative from the 44th district of the Oregon House of Representatives from 2007 to 2022, as majority leader of the Oregon House of Representatives from 2011 to 2013, and as Speaker of the Oregon House of Representatives from 2013 to 2022. She won the 2022 Oregon gubernatorial election, defeating Republican nominee Christine Drazan and independent candidate Betsy Johnson.
In the United States, a governor serves as the chief executive and commander-in-chief in each of the fifty states and in the five permanently inhabited territories, functioning as head of state and head of government therein. While like all officials in the United States, checks and balances are placed on the office of the governor, significant powers may include ceremonial head of state, executive, legislative, judicial, and military. As such, governors are responsible for implementing state laws and overseeing the operation of the state executive branch. As state leaders, governors advance and pursue new and revised policies and programs using a variety of tools, among them executive orders, executive budgets, and legislative proposals and vetoes. Governors carry out their management and leadership responsibilities and objectives with the support and assistance of department and agency heads, many of whom they are empowered to appoint. A majority of governors have the authority to appoint state court judges as well, in most cases from a list of names submitted by a nominations committee.
Chael Sonnen is an American submission grappling promoter, mixed martial arts (MMA) analyst, and retired mixed martial artist. Beginning his MMA career in 1997, Sonnen competed for the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC), where he became a top contender in both the light heavyweight and middleweight divisions and challenged for both the UFC Light Heavyweight and UFC Middleweight Championships. Sonnen has also fought in World Extreme Cagefighting, Pancrase, and most recently for Bellator MMA. Sonnen is often considered one of the best mixed martial artists never to have won a major MMA world championship and one of the sport's greatest trash-talkers.
Tobias Read is an American politician who is currently serving as the 30th Oregon Secretary of State since 2025. As a member of the Democratic Party he served as the 29th Oregon State Treasurer from 2017 to 2025. He was a member of the Oregon House of Representatives, representing the 27th district from 2007 to 2017, which comprises parts of Beaverton, southwest Portland, and unincorporated Multnomah and Washington Counties. He served as Speaker Pro Tempore and was formerly the Democratic Majority Whip.
The 76th Oregon Legislative Assembly convened beginning on January 11, 2011, for the first of its two regular sessions. All 60 seats of the House of Representatives and 16 of the 30 state senate seats were up for election in 2010. The general election for those seats took place on November 2. The Democrats retained the majority in the senate, but lost six seats in the house, leading to an even split (30-30) between Democrats and Republicans. The governor of Oregon during the session was John Kitzhaber, a Democrat, who was elected to a third term in 2010 following an eight-year absence from public office.
The 2016 Oregon gubernatorial special election took place on November 8, 2016, to elect the Governor of Oregon, concurrently with the 2016 U.S. presidential election, as well as elections for the U.S. Senate and U.S. House of Representatives, other gubernatorial elections and various state and local elections.
United States gubernatorial elections were held on November 8, 2022, in 36 states and three territories. As most governors serve four-year terms, the last regular gubernatorial elections for all but two of the seats took place in 2018. The gubernatorial elections took place concurrently with several other federal, state, and local elections, as part of the 2022 midterm elections.
District 44 of the Oregon House of Representatives is one of 60 House legislative districts in the state of Oregon. As of 2021, the district is contained entirely within Multnomah County and covers parts of north and northeast Portland, including the Portland International Airport. The current representative for the district is Democrat Travis Nelson of Portland.
The 2022 Oregon gubernatorial election took place on November 8, 2022, to elect the governor of Oregon. Incumbent Kate Brown took office when fellow Democrat John Kitzhaber resigned on February 18, 2015. She won the subsequent 2016 special election a full term in 2018. Due to term limits, she was unable to run again in 2022.
Christine Renee Drazan is an American politician who serves in the Oregon House of Representatives from the 51st district as a member of the Republican Party. She served from the 39th district from 2019 to 2022, before losing in the 2022 Oregon gubernatorial election to Democrat Tina Kotek. During her tenure in the state house she served as the minority leader from 2019 to 2021.
A general election was held in the U.S. state of Oregon on November 8, 2022. Primary elections were held on May 17, 2022.
The 2026 United States elections are scheduled to be held, in large part, on Tuesday, November 3, 2026. In this U.S. midterm election, which will occur during Republican President Donald Trump's non-consecutive second term, all 435 seats in the U.S. House of Representatives and 33 of the 100 seats in the U.S. Senate will be contested to determine the 120th United States Congress. Thirty-nine state and territorial U.S. gubernatorial elections, as well as numerous state and local elections, will also be contested.
United States gubernatorial elections are scheduled to be held on November 3, 2026, in 36 states and three territories. The previous gubernatorial elections for this group of states took place in 2022, except in New Hampshire and Vermont, where governors serve two-year terms and elected their governors in 2024. Many of the states with elections in this cycle have incumbents who are officially term-limited.
The 2026 Oklahoma gubernatorial election will take place on November 3, 2026, to elect the governor of Oklahoma. Incumbent Republican Governor Kevin Stitt is term-limited and will be prohibited by the Constitution of Oklahoma from seeking a third term. Oklahoma's current constitution term limits governors from serving for longer than 8 years, regardless of whether or not that time is consecutive.
The 2026 Guam gubernatorial election is scheduled to take place on November 3, 2026, to elect the next governor of Guam. Incumbent Democratic Governor Lou Leon Guerrero is term-limited and ineligible to seek a third consecutive term.
The 2022 Oregon Commissioner of Labor and Industries election was held on November 8, 2022, in order to elect the Oregon Commissioner of Labor and Industries. The election was held on a nonpartisan basis. Nevertheless, Christina Stephenson was favored by the Democrats while Cheri Helt was favored by the Republicans.
United States lieutenant gubernatorial elections are scheduled to be held on November 3, 2026, in 31 states and three territories. The previous lieutenant gubernatorial elections for this group of states took place in 2022, except in Vermont, where lieutenant governors serve two-year terms and elected their lieutenant governor in 2024. Twenty-four lieutenant governors run on the same ticket as the governor.
The 2026 Georgia lieutenant gubernatorial election will take place on November 3, 2026, to elect the lieutenant governor of Georgia. Incumbent Republican Lieutenant Governor Burt Jones is eligible to seek a second term.