Your feedback ensures we stay focused on the facts that matter to you most—take our survey.
Kayse Jama
Kayse Jama (Democratic Party) is a member of the Oregon State Senate, representing District 24. He assumed office on January 11, 2021. His current term ends on January 11, 2027.
Jama (Democratic Party, Independent Party, Working Families Party) ran for re-election to the Oregon State Senate to represent District 24. He won in the general election on November 8, 2022. He advanced from the Democratic primary on May 17, 2022.
Jama was selected as majority leader of the Oregon State Senate ahead of the 2025 legislative session, replacing Kathleen Taylor (D). Jama described his approach to politics to the Oregon Capital Chronicle: "The way I work with people, it’s just really having synergy of caring for all Oregonians, regardless of their background, and really working in a sense that we have to, at the end of the day, put Oregonians first, before we put our positions that we hold as leaders."[1]
Jama was born in Somalia and emigrated to the United States in 1998 as a refugee, settling in Portland.[1] Jama earned a B.A. in sociology from Marylhurst University. Jama co-founded the Center for Intercultural Organizing (now Unite Oregon), whose stated goal is to "work across Oregon to build a unified, intercultural movement for justice."[2][3]
Jama was appointed to the Oregon Senate in January 2021 to replace Shemia Fagan (D), who was elected Oregon Secretary of State in 2020. He was selected by commissioners from both Multnomah and Clackamas counties, which constituted Fagan's district. Jama received endorsements from Gov. Kate Brown (D) and state Rep. Jeff Reardon (D). Following his appointment, he said, "My 20 plus years working in the community has been making sure people who are on the downside of power have a seat at the table." Jama previously ran for the same seat in 2018, finishing third in the primary behind Fagan and incumbent Rod Monroe (D).[4] Jama was re-elected in 2022 with 59% of the vote.
The Oregon Capital Chronicle's Julia Shumway highlighted housing policy as one of Jama's focuses. Serving as chair of the Housing and Development Committee, Shumway wrote that Jama "led legislative efforts to pass groundbreaking legislation, from COVID-era eviction protections to strengthened rent control laws to a compromise earlier this year between land use advocates and builders to allow more homes to be built on the outskirts of cities."[1]
Biography
Kayse Jama earned a B.A. in sociology from Marylhurst University. Jama's career experience includes working as a nonprofit executive director, policy advisor, and community organizer.[5]
Committee assignments
Note: This membership information was last updated in September 2023. Ballotpedia completes biannual updates of committee membership. If you would like to send us an update, email us at: editor@ballotpedia.org.
2023-2024
Jama was assigned to the following committees:
- Finance and Revenue Committee
- Housing and Development Committee, Chair
- Labor and Business Committee
- Joint Tax Expenditures Committee
2021-2022
Jama was assigned to the following committees:
Sponsored legislation
The following table lists bills this person sponsored as a legislator, according to BillTrack50 and sorted by action history. Bills are sorted by the date of their last action. The following list may not be comprehensive. To see all bills this legislator sponsored, click on the legislator's name in the title of the table.
Elections
2022
See also: Oregon State Senate elections, 2022
General election
General election for Oregon State Senate District 24
Incumbent Kayse Jama defeated Stan Catherman in the general election for Oregon State Senate District 24 on November 8, 2022.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ |  | Kayse Jama (D / Independent Party / Working Families Party) | 58.7 | 27,021 |
| Stan Catherman (R) | 41.2 | 18,948 | ||
| Other/Write-in votes | 0.1 | 50 | ||
| Total votes: 46,019 | |||
 = 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. | ||||
Democratic primary election
Democratic primary for Oregon State Senate District 24
Incumbent Kayse Jama advanced from the Democratic primary for Oregon State Senate District 24 on May 17, 2022.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | | Kayse Jama | 99.1 | 8,885 |
| Other/Write-in votes | 0.9 | 78 | ||
| Total votes: 8,963 | |||
| = 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 24
Stan Catherman advanced from the Republican primary for Oregon State Senate District 24 on May 17, 2022.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | Stan Catherman | 97.6 | 3,651 | |
| Other/Write-in votes | 2.4 | 90 | ||
| Total votes: 3,741 | |||
| = 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. | ||||
2018
- See also: Oregon State Senate elections, 2018
General election
General election for Oregon State Senate District 24
Shemia Fagan won election in the general election for Oregon State Senate District 24 on November 6, 2018.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ |  | Shemia Fagan (D) | 95.1 | 30,887 |
| Other/Write-in votes | 4.9 | 1,606 | ||
| Total votes: 32,493 | |||
| = 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. | ||||
Democratic primary election
Democratic primary for Oregon State Senate District 24
Shemia Fagan defeated incumbent Rod Monroe and Kayse Jama in the Democratic primary for Oregon State Senate District 24 on May 15, 2018.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | | Shemia Fagan | 62.0 | 6,628 |
 | Rod Monroe | 20.1 | 2,151 | |
| Kayse Jama | 17.8 | 1,906 | |
| Total votes: 10,685 | |||
| = 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. | ||||
Endorsements
- BerniePDX[5]
- Asian Pacific American Network of Oregon[5]
- Progressive Oregon[5]
- Independents for Progressive Action / Our Revolution[5]
Campaign themes
2022
Ballotpedia survey responses
See also: Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection
Kayse Jama did not complete Ballotpedia's 2022 Candidate Connection survey.
2018
Jama submitted the following campaign themes through Ballotpedia’s biographical information submission form:
| “ |
As a former refugee, I believe in the promise of America, land of equal opportunity. Yet, the wealth gap continues to widen. Parents work three jobs and still can't make ends meet. Student debt is skyrocketing. Medical bills bankrupt hardworking families and the housing crisis is leaving more of them homeless. Neighbors suffer the livability impacts of drug addiction, a public health epidemic. These issues are man-made. They are not permanent, and they can be solved with effective leadership and collective action. Through co-founding Unite Oregon, Fair Shot for All, and the Oregon Health Equity Alliance, I have worked with others to develop and push for solutions, including: - Health care for all children - Paid sick days - Tuition equity - Increasing the minimum wage - Banning law enforcement profiling Often the leadership for these initiatives has come from the community, not from Salem, and the Senate has repeatedly blocked progressive legislation. The reality is that lobbyists and corporate donors have more influence over our elected leaders than constituents. I will never take corporate PAC money. I'LL WORK WITH YOU TO: - Invest in education - Ensure health care as a human right - Solve the housing crisis - Champion economic justice policies that benefit all - Win paid family leave and affordable child care - Reform our criminal justice system - Address climate change - End corporate welfare It’s time for us to make our voices heard in Salem and fight for the future we deserve. Not me, WE.[6] |
” |
| —Kayse Jama[5] | ||
Campaign finance summary
Note: The finance data shown here comes from the disclosures required of candidates and parties. Depending on the election or state, this may represent only a portion of all the funds spent on their behalf. Satellite spending groups may or may not have expended funds related to the candidate or politician on whose page you are reading this disclaimer. Campaign finance data from elections may be incomplete. For elections to federal offices, complete data can be found at the FEC website. Click here for more on federal campaign finance law and here for more on state campaign finance law.
Scorecards
A scorecard evaluates a legislator’s voting record. Its purpose is to inform voters about the legislator’s political positions. Because scorecards have varying purposes and methodologies, each report should be considered on its own merits. For example, an advocacy group’s scorecard may assess a legislator’s voting record on one issue while a state newspaper’s scorecard may evaluate the voting record in its entirety.
Ballotpedia is in the process of developing an encyclopedic list of published scorecards. Some states have a limited number of available scorecards or scorecards produced only by select groups. It is Ballotpedia’s goal to incorporate all available scorecards regardless of ideology or number.
Click here for an overview of legislative scorecards in all 50 states. To contribute to the list of Oregon scorecards, email suggestions to editor@ballotpedia.org.
2024
| To view all the scorecards we found for this legislator in 2024, click [show]. |
|---|
|
In 2024, the Oregon State Legislature was in session from Februrary 5 to March 7.
|
2023
| To view all the scorecards we found for this legislator in 2023, click [show]. |
|---|
|
In 2023, the Oregon State Legislature was in session from January 17 to June 25.
|
2022
| To view all the scorecards we found for this legislator in 2022, click [show]. |
|---|
|
In 2022, the Oregon State Legislature was in session from February 1 to March 4.
|
2021
| To view all the scorecards we found for this legislator in 2021, click [show]. |
|---|
|
In 2021, the Oregon State Legislature was in session from January 21 to June 26.
|
See also
2022 Elections
External links
|
Officeholder Oregon State Senate District 24 |
Personal |
Footnotes
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 Oregon Capital Chronicle, "From refugee to Oregon Senate majority leader, Kayse Jama focuses on finding common ground," December 4, 2024
- ↑ Oregon Legislature, "Senator Jama Kayse Biography," accessed February 18, 2025
- ↑ Unite Oregon, "Our Work," accessed February 18, 2025
- ↑ Oregon Public Broadcasting, "Kayse Jama, community organizer and Somali immigrant, nominated to Oregon Senate," January 6, 2021
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 5.2 5.3 5.4 5.5 Information submitted on Ballotpedia's biographical information submission form on March 23, 2018
- ↑ Note: This text is quoted verbatim from the original source. Any inconsistencies are attributable to the original source.
| Political offices | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by Shemia Fagan (D) |
Oregon State Senate District 24 2021-Present |
Succeeded by - |
