Chuck Thomsen recall, Oregon State Senate (2020)
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| Recall overview Political recall efforts, 2020 Recalls in Oregon Oregon recall laws State legislative recalls Recall reports |
An effort to recall Chuck Thomsen, a member of the Republican Party, from his elected position representing District 26 in the Oregon State Senate was launched on March 4, 2020. Supporters of the recall had up to 90 days—or no later than June 2, 2020—to collect the 9,025 signatures needed to force a recall election.
On May 30, 2020, the recall campaign announced that the effort had not received the necessary signatures to require a recall election. Recall petitioner Lara Dunn said, "The recall effort will come up short in gathering the required number of signatures to qualify for the ballot. Our efforts were really hampered by having to stop in-person signature gathering due to the pandemic."[1]
The recall petition criticized Thomsen over his walkout in the 2020 legislative session. On February 24, 2020, Thomsen and 10 other Republican members of the Oregon State Senate walked out of the 2020 legislative session amid disagreements on a cap-and-trade climate bill. Democrats held 18 seats, two short of the 20 members needed for quorum. The walkout ended on March 8, 2020. A nine-day walkout occurred in 2019 over similar legislation.[2]
Thomsen was elected to District 26 in the state Senate in 2010. He was re-elected in 2018 with 50.1% of the vote.
Recall supporters
Lara Dunn filed the recall petition with the office of Oregon's Secretary of State on March 4, 2020. The petition listed the following reasons for recall:[3]
| “ |
Sen. Chuck Thomsen broke his promise to represent us in the Legislature. He stopped going to work, but still collected his taxpayer-funded salary and daily stipend. He must be recalled and replaced by someone who will show up and fight for our jobs, our schools, our health care and our cities.[4] |
” |
Recall opponents
In relation to the recall effort, Thomsen "told the Sandy Post and Gresham Outlook — sister publications of the Tribune — that he had not been notified of the recall, but added: 'If keeping cap-and-trade from happening in Oregon leads to that (recall), at least I went down swinging.'"[3]
Path to the ballot
- See also: Laws governing recall in Oregon
The Oregon Secretary of State says this about the recall process in the state:[5]
1. The first step for a recall petition against a state public officer is the filing of a prospective recall petition with the Secretary of State, Elections Division. The chief petitioner for a recall must be a registered voter in the district from which the public officer is elected or appointed.
2. After receiving a sufficient prospective petition for a recall of a state public officer and no later than 3 business days after the prospective petition is filed, the Elections Division provides the chief petitioner with official templates of the cover and signature sheets for the petition. Once the chief petitioner has received the official templates, they may begin the approval for circulation process. The cover and signature sheets must be approved in writing by the Elections Division before the chief petitioner may begin circulating the recall petition.
3. Using the official templates provided by the Elections Division, the chief petitioner prepares and submits cover and signature sheets exactly as intended to circulate, including weight, style and color of paper with the cover sheet (SEL 350) copied on the reverse side of the signature sheet (SEL 351). Only a chief petitioner or authorized agents may submit cover and signature sheets for approval.
The chief petitioner must turn in the required number of signatures no later than 90 days after the prospective petition has been filed.
The recall petition was filed against state Sen. Thomsen on March 4, 2020. For the recall against Sen. Thomsen to be placed on the ballot, supporters of the recall needed to gather 9,025 signatures within 90 days of the recall petition being submitted. Recall supporters had until June 2, 2020, to turn in signatures for the recall to go forward. The chief petitioner announced on May 30, 2020, that the recall did not receive the necessary signatures to require a recall election.[1]
Election history
2018
- See also: Oregon State Senate elections, 2018
General election
General election for Oregon State Senate District 26
Incumbent Chuck Thomsen defeated Chrissy Reitz in the general election for Oregon State Senate District 26 on November 6, 2018.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ |  | Chuck Thomsen (R) | 50.1 | 29,472 |
| Chrissy Reitz (D) | 49.8 | 29,263 | ||
| Other/Write-in votes | 0.1 | 79 | ||
| Total votes: 58,814 (100.00% precincts reporting) | |||
 = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey. | ||||
| If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey. | ||||
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Democratic primary election
Democratic primary for Oregon State Senate District 26
Chrissy Reitz advanced from the Democratic primary for Oregon State Senate District 26 on May 15, 2018.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | Chrissy Reitz | 100.0 | 7,591 | |
| Total votes: 7,591 | |||
| = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey. | ||||
| If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey. | ||||
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team. | ||||
Republican primary election
Republican primary for Oregon State Senate District 26
Incumbent Chuck Thomsen advanced from the Republican primary for Oregon State Senate District 26 on May 15, 2018.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | | Chuck Thomsen | 100.0 | 5,942 |
| Total votes: 5,942 | |||
| = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey. | ||||
| If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey. | ||||
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team. | ||||
Historical state legislative recalls
Ballotpedia tracked 140 recall efforts against 133 state lawmakers from 1913 to 2019. During that time, 39 recalls made the ballot and 22 state legislators were successfully recalled.[6]
Michigan led the way with 36 state legislative recall efforts from 1913 to 2019. Of those 36 recall efforts, three were successful. Wisconsin followed with 30 state legislative recall efforts. Six of those recalls were successful.
See also
External links
Footnotes
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 KLCC, "Effort Fails To Recall Oregon Republican For State Senate Walk-Out," May 29, 2020
- ↑ The Register-Guard, "Oregon Republicans return to Senate floor after walkout, but it’s too late," March 8, 2020
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 Pamplin Media, "Recall petition targets Oregon Sen. Chuck Thomsen," March 5, 2020
- ↑ Note: This text is quoted verbatim from the original source. Any inconsistencies are attributable to the original source.
- ↑ Oregon Secretary of State, "Recall Manual," accessed September 9, 2019
- ↑ National Conference of State Legislatures, "Recall of State Officials," accessed August 13, 2021
