The Oregon Legislative Assembly is the state legislature for the U.S. state of Oregon. The Legislative Assembly is bicameral, consisting of an upper and lower house: the Senate, whose 30 members are elected to serve four-year terms; and the House of Representatives, with 60 members elected to two-year terms. There are no term limits for either house in the Legislative Assembly.
The Oregon Republican Party is the state affiliate of the United States Republican Party in Oregon, headquartered in Salem. The party was established in the Oregon Territory in February 1857 as the "Free State Republican Party of Oregon" and held its first state convention on April 1, 1859, after Oregon achieved statehood.
The Independent Party of Oregon (IPO) is a centrist political party in the U.S. state of Oregon with more than 140,000 registrants since its inception in January 2007. The IPO is Oregon's third-largest political party and the first political party other than the Democratic Party and Republican Party to be recognized by the state of Oregon as a major political party.
Floyd Prozanski is an American Democratic politician who is a current member of the Oregon State Senate, representing the 4th District, since 2004. He previously served in the Oregon House of Representatives, from 1995 through 2000 and again for the 2003 session. He resigned from the House in December 2003 to accept appointment to the Senate seat that had been vacated by Tony Corcoran. He won election to the seat in November 2004.
Jeff Kruse is a former Republican member of the Oregon Senate, representing the 1st District from 1996 until his resignation for sexual harassment in 2018.
Sara Gelser Blouin is an American politician from Oregon. She is a member of the Democratic Party.
Brian James Boquist is an American politician from Oregon. He currently serves in the Oregon Senate representing District 12. A member of the Republican Party, he briefly defected to the Independent Party from 2021 until 2023. He previously served in the Oregon House of Representatives, representing District 23 in the mid-Willamette Valley, from 2005 to 2009.
Elizabeth Steiner, also known as Elizabeth Steiner Hayward, is a Democratic politician who is the Treasurer-elect of Oregon. She previously served as a member of the Oregon Senate, representing the 17th district. Steiner was appointed to the Senate in 2011 by commissioners from Multnomah and Washington counties following the resignation of her predecessor, Suzanne Bonamici.
Tim Knopp is an American Republican politician from Oregon. He is a member of the Oregon State Senate and served as the senate minority leader from 2021 to 2024. He previously served as a member of the Oregon House of Representatives from 1999 to 2005.
William S. Hansell is an American politician, farmer, and minister from Oregon. He served over four decades in local and state government positions including eight terms as an Umatilla County commissioner and three four-terms in the Oregon State Senate, representing a large rural district in eastern Oregon. As a young man, he spent twelve years as an evangelical Christian missionary in California and Australia.
Daniel Bonham is a Republican member of the Oregon State Senate. He represents the 26th district, encompassing rural Clackamas County and parts of Wasco, Hood River, and east Multnomah Counties making up the Columbia River Gorge.
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.
A series of Oregon Republican State Senator walkouts began in May 2019 when Republican members of the Oregon State Senate refused to attend floor sessions of the Oregon Senate in an effort to stymie Democratic efforts to pass House Bill 3427. Proposed during the 80th Oregon Legislative Assembly, the bill would have provided $2 billion for K-12 schools through a new tax package. The senators eventually returned after reaching a deal with Oregon Senate Democrats and Oregon Governor Kate Brown, but elected to "vanish" the following month over another bill, House Bill 2020. House Bill 2020 is designed to institute a carbon tax in Oregon. Republican senators argue that it would unduly burden their constituents, while Democrats argue it is necessary to place Oregon at the forefront of the fight against climate change.
Khanh Pham is an American politician and activist serving as a member of the Oregon House of Representatives from the 46th district. She assumed office on January 11, 2021.
The 81st Oregon Legislative Assembly was the legislative session of the Oregon Legislative Assembly that convened on January 11, 2021 and adjourned June 26th. Its even-year short session of 35 days convened on February 1, 2022 and adjourned sine die on March 4, 2022.
Kayse Jama is an American politician currently serving as Majority Leader of the Oregon State Senate. A Democratic member of the Oregon State Senate, he represents Oregon's 24th Senate district, which includes parts of Clackamas and Multnomah Counties. Jama was appointed by the Clackamas and Multnomah County Board of Commissioners to replace Shemia Fagan, who was elected Oregon Secretary of State in 2021.
Deb Patterson is an American politician from the state of Oregon. A Democrat, she has been a member of the Oregon State Senate since January 2021.
Oregon Ballot Measure 113, the Exclusion from Re-election for Legislative Absenteeism Initiative, was approved by Oregon voters in the 2022 Oregon elections. Measure 113 amended the Constitution of Oregon to provided that members of the Oregon Legislature with ten unexcused absences from floor sessions are disqualified from serving in the legislature following their current term. It is codified as Article IV, Section 15 of the Oregon Constitution.
Justin Hwang is an American restaurateur and politician from Oregon serving as the chair of the Oregon Republican Party since 2022. He is the first Asian American and Korean American to serve in the position. He previously served briefly as the vice chair from May to July of the same year. Hwang previously made unsuccessful bids for election to the Oregon House of Representatives and Oregon State Senate in 2018 and 2020, respectively.
The 2024 Oregon State Senate election was held in the U.S. state of Oregon on November 5, 2024, to elect 15 of the 30 members of the State Senate to the 83rd Oregon Legislature.
