Candidates File for Office in Oregon on Deadline Day

Posted by Pam Leavitt on March 17, 2026

In Oregon, “candidate filing day” was held on Tuesday, March 10^th just a few days after the conclusion of the 2026 legislative session.  This is the deadline for candidates to file for office to get on the ballot for the May primary election.  Everyone gathers on the House floor to watch the names appear throughout the day and at 5:00 pm, the Secretary of State gavels the closing of the official day.

Big picture: what’s on the ballot
In 2026, Oregon voters choose officials for: Governor, U.S. Senate (one seat), all six U.S. House seats, labor commissioner, about half the state Senate, and all state House seats, along with many local and metro positions for the May 19, 2026 primary run.

Governor
Democratic Governor Tina Kotek is running for a second term in 2026. She has drawn multiple Democratic primary challengers, including Forest (Fora) Alexander, James Atkinson IV, Donnie Backwith, David W. Beem, Brittany Jones, Cal Kishawi, Steve William Laible, Tristan Sheppard, and Miranda Weigler. Republican fields include previous candidate State Senator Christine Drazen, former Portland Trail Blazer and previous Governor candidate Chris Dudley, and House State Representative Ed Diel.

A total of 10 Democrats and 14 Republicans are running for Governor.

U.S. Senate and Congress
Senator Jeff Merkley (D) is running for a fourth term and faces at least one Democratic primary challenger, Paul Damian Wells. Seven Republicans have filed to seek the GOP nomination: Brent Barker, Deborah C. Brown, David Burch, Russell McAlmond, Jo Rae Perkins, Timothy Skelton, and State Senator David Brock Smith.​

For U.S. House, all six current members of Congress—Democrats Suzanne Bonamici, Janelle Bynum, Maxine Dexter, Val Hoyle, Andrea Salinas, and Republican Cliff Bentz—have been reported as expected or intending to seek reelection. In at least one Central Oregon race (House District 5 in the state legislature, not U.S. House), incumbent Janelle Bynum has one Democratic challenger, Zeve Rosenbaum, and two Republican challengers, Patti Adair and Jonathan Lockwood.

Oregon Legislature (State Senate and House)
Half of the 30 Oregon Senate seats are on the ballot in 2026. Four Republican senators—Daniel Bonham, Cedric Hayden, Kim Thatcher and Suzanne Weber—cannot run again because of a constitutional amendment barring lawmakers with 10 or more unexcused absences from seeking reelection. Competitive districts include those held by Republican Kim Thatcher and Suzanne Weber, as well as Democratic senators Jeff Golden (Ashland) and Deb Patterson (Salem).

Several state representatives are running for these open Senate seats, including Jeff Helfrich (for Bonham’s seat) and Jami Cate (for Hayden’s seat), while former GOP representative Tracy Cramer is running for Thatcher’s Senate seat. All 60 Oregon House seats are up; Democrats currently hold a 37–23 majority, partly due to Rep. Cyrus Javadi switching from Republican to Democrat. Some House members are leaving to run for other offices, such as Annessa Hartman running for the Clackamas County Commission, and others because they are seeking Senate seats, opening up additional House races.

Posted in Advocacy on the Move, Oregon Advocacy.