Oregon Primary Election Update

Posted by Pam Leavitt on May 21, 2026

The Oregon Primary Election held Tuesday had very little surprises. Please see the below summary.

Statewide Races

The biggest headline was the Republican race for governor, where a crowded field tried to earn the nomination to face Democratic Gov. Tina Kotek in November. With no big surprises, Christine Drazen won the primary election with 42% of vote, coming in second was Rep. Ed Diehl (one of the main organizers of the gas tax repeal) with 33%. After a million dollars from Phil Knight, former Portland Trailblazer Chris Dudley only received 16% of the vote. Tina Kotek won the Democratic governor primary with 84.13% of the vote, easily advancing to the general election.

Congressional Races

In Oregon’s 4th Congressional District, Val Hoyle won the Democratic primary with 77.37%, and Monique DeSpain won the Republican primary with 86.72%. These results set up the likely November matchup in that district. In Oregon’s 5th Congressional District, Rep. Janelle Bynum will be challenged by Patti Adair who is currently a Deschutes County Commissioner. Reps. Suzanne Bonamici (D-1), Maxine Dexter (D-3), and Andrea Salinas (D-6) all easily won their primaries along with Rep. Cliff Bentz (R ) in the 2nd Congressional District. In the U.S. Senate primaries, incumbent Jeff Merkley dominated the Democratic field with 93.30%, while the Republican race was still more spread out, with current State Senator David Brock Smith, Jo Rae Perkins, and Brent Barker among the top contenders in early returns. Brock Smith is leading with 30% of the vote.

Legislative Races

A majority of the incumbents are winning and doing well if they have a primary. However, we are watching several close races. The biggest legislative race is Senate District 16 held by incumbent Sen. Janeen Sollman (D-Hillsboro). Votes are still being counted but she is up 4397 votes to 4193 votes of her opponent Myrna Munoz, who is the sister of another state legislator. Another Senate race we are watching in in Senate District 6 where current House member, Jami Cate, is behind by only a few votes to Jack Tibbetts, a local businessman. That race is within 100 votes.

On the House side, the closest race in the state is House District 27 (Beaverton) between Tammy Carpenter and Ashley Hartmeier Prigg. That race is currently within 60 votes led by Hartmeier Prigg. On final race primary race that was being challenged in Lake Oswego did not turn out to be close and Rep. Daniel Nguyen easily won he primary challenge.

Ballot Measures

Measure 120, which would have raised gas taxes and related transportation fees, was rejected by a wide margin. Early reporting showed roughly 83% voting no, making it the clearest statewide outcome of the night. This “No” vote means that the legislative tax and fee increases will gut the core of the transportation package bringing the Oregon Department of Transportation back to the drawing table to determine funding for transportation needs around the state.

Turnout and Context

Turnout was still relatively modest during the counting period, with one report citing 16.5% turnout by early Friday morning and another noting nearly 20% by early Monday morning before Election Day. Because Oregon counts ballots by mail over several days, many races were still updating today.

Posted in Advocacy on the Move, Oregon Advocacy.