Oregon's 2nd Congressional District

Oregon's 2nd Congressional District

Incumbent

Cliff Bentz

Assumed office: January 3, 2021

Oregon's 2nd Congressional District in the United States House of Representatives is represented by Cliff Bentz (R).

As of the 2020 Census, Oregon representatives represented an average of 706,917 residents. After the 2010 Census, each member represented 769,721 residents.

Elections

• 2030
• 2028
• 2026
• 2024
• 2022
• 2020
• 2018

See also: Oregon's 2nd Congressional District election, 2030

There are no official candidates yet for this election.

See also: United States House of Representatives elections in Oregon, 2028

There are no official candidates yet for this election.

See also: Oregon's 2nd Congressional District election, 2026

Note: At this time, Ballotpedia is combining all declared candidates for this election into one list under a general election heading. As primary election dates are published, this information will be updated to separate general election candidates from primary candidates as appropriate.

General election

The general election will occur on November 3, 2026.

General election for U.S. House Oregon District 2

The following candidates are running in the general election for U.S. House Oregon District 2 on November 3, 2026.

		Candidate
		Cliff Bentz (R)
	Submit photo	Peter Black (D)
	Submit photo	Mary Doyle (D)
	Submit photo	Mitchel Knight (D)
		Dawn Rasmussen (D)
	Submit photo	Patty Snow (D)
		Andrea Carr (R)
	Submit photo	Russell McAlmond (R)

---

	Incumbents are bolded and underlined.
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
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See also: Oregon's 2nd Congressional District election, 2024

General election

General election for U.S. House Oregon District 2

Incumbent Cliff Bentz (R) defeated Dan Ruby (D / Progressive Party) and Michael Stettler () in the general election for U.S. House Oregon District 2 on November 5, 2024.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Cliff Bentz (R)	63.9	224,601
		Dan Ruby (D / Progressive Party)	32.8	115,337
		Michael Stettler ()	3.2	11,255
		Other/Write-in votes	0.1%	296

---

	Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 351,489
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
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Democratic primary

Democratic primary for U.S. House Oregon District 2

Dan Ruby (D) defeated Steve William Laible (D) in the Democratic primary for U.S. House Oregon District 2 on May 21, 2024.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Dan Ruby	85.0	33,585
		Steve William Laible	13.5	5,325
		Other/Write-in votes	1.6%	620

---

	There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 39,530
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
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Republican primary

Republican primary for U.S. House Oregon District 2

Incumbent Cliff Bentz (R) defeated Jason Beebe (R) in the Republican primary for U.S. House Oregon District 2 on May 21, 2024.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Cliff Bentz	81.3	73,031
		Jason Beebe	18.3	16,403
		Other/Write-in votes	0.4%	360

---

	Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 89,794
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
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See also: Oregon's 2nd Congressional District election, 2022

General election

General election for U.S. House Oregon District 2

Incumbent Cliff Bentz (R) defeated Joseph Yetter (D) in the general election for U.S. House Oregon District 2 on November 8, 2022.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Cliff Bentz (R)	67.5	208,369
		Joseph Yetter (D)	32.4	99,882
		Other/Write-in votes	0.1%	425

---

	Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 308,676
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
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Democratic primary

Democratic primary for U.S. House Oregon District 2

Joseph Yetter (D) defeated Adam Prine (D) in the Democratic primary for U.S. House Oregon District 2 on May 17, 2022.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Joseph Yetter	69.1	27,814
		Adam Prine	29.0	11,669
		Other/Write-in votes	2.0%	788

---

	There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 40,271
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
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Republican primary

Republican primary for U.S. House Oregon District 2

Incumbent Cliff Bentz (R) defeated Mark Cavener (R) and Katherine Gallant (R) in the Republican primary for U.S. House Oregon District 2 on May 17, 2022.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Cliff Bentz	75.0	67,051
		Mark Cavener	19.4	17,372
	Submit photo	Katherine Gallant	5.1	4,598
		Other/Write-in votes	0.4%	386

---

	Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 89,407
= 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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Withdrawn or disqualified candidates

• Brett Cahill (R)
• Raiph Huber (R)

See also: Oregon's 2nd Congressional District election, 2020

General election

General election for U.S. House Oregon District 2

Cliff Bentz (R) defeated Alex Spenser (D) and Robert Werch (L) in the general election for U.S. House Oregon District 2 on November 3, 2020.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Cliff Bentz (R)	59.9	273,835
		Alex Spenser (D)	36.9	168,881
		Robert Werch (L)	3.1	14,094
		Other/Write-in votes	0.1%	623

---

	There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 457,433
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
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Withdrawn or disqualified candidates

• Patrick Archer (Independent)

Democratic primary

Democratic primary for U.S. House Oregon District 2

Alex Spenser (D) defeated Nick Heuertz (D), Chris Vaughn (D), Jack Howard (D), and John Holm (D) in the Democratic primary for U.S. House Oregon District 2 on May 19, 2020.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Alex Spenser	32.1	23,482
		Nick Heuertz	31.0	22,685
		Chris Vaughn	18.2	13,351
		Jack Howard	8.3	6,047
		John Holm	8.1	5,908
		Other/Write-in votes	2.4%	1,734

---

	There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 73,207
= 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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Withdrawn or disqualified candidates

• Raz Mason (D)
• Isabella Tibbetts (D)

Republican primary

Republican primary for U.S. House Oregon District 2

The following candidates ran in the Republican primary for U.S. House Oregon District 2 on May 19, 2020.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Cliff Bentz	31.3	37,488
		Knute Buehler	22.1	26,405
		Jason Atkinson	19.5	23,274
		Jimmy Crumpacker	18.0	21,507
		Travis Fager	3.6	4,265
		Jeff Smith	2.1	2,539
	Submit photo	Justin Livingston	1.1	1,350
		Mark Roberts	1.1	1,336
		David Campbell	0.3	418
		Glenn Carey	0.2	283
		Kenneth Medenbach	0.2	267
		Other/Write-in votes	0.4%	450

---

	There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified. Source 1 Source 2	Total votes: 119,582
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
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Withdrawn or disqualified candidates

• Justus Mayo (R)

Libertarian Party convention

Libertarian convention for U.S. House Oregon District 2

Robert Werch (L) advanced from the Libertarian Party convention for U.S. House Oregon District 2 on July 6, 2020.

		Candidate
✔		Robert Werch

---

	There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified. Source
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
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See also: United States House of Representatives elections in Oregon, 2018

General election

General election for U.S. House Oregon District 2

Incumbent Greg Walden (R) defeated Jamie McLeod-Skinner (D) and Mark Roberts (Independent Party of Oregon) in the general election for U.S. House Oregon District 2 on November 6, 2018.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Greg Walden (R)	56.3	207,597
		Jamie McLeod-Skinner (D)	39.4	145,298
		Mark Roberts (Independent Party of Oregon)	4.2	15,536
		Other/Write-in votes	0.1%	278

---

	Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 368,709 (100% precincts reporting)
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
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Democratic primary

Democratic primary for U.S. House Oregon District 2

The following candidates ran in the Democratic primary for U.S. House Oregon District 2 on May 15, 2018.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Jamie McLeod-Skinner	43.7	25,351
		Jennifer Neahring	24.2	14,020
		Jim Crary	11.7	6,774
		Timothy White	6.0	3,469
		Raz Mason	5.4	3,137
		Eric Burnette	4.7	2,734
		Michael Byrne	4.4	2,546

---

	There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified.	Total votes: 58,031
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
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Withdrawn or disqualified candidates

• Steven Cody Reynolds (D)

Republican primary

Republican primary for U.S. House Oregon District 2

Incumbent Greg Walden (R) defeated Paul Romero (R) and Randy Pollock (R) in the Republican primary for U.S. House Oregon District 2 on May 15, 2018.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Greg Walden	77.6	71,543
		Paul Romero	16.5	15,181
	Submit photo	Randy Pollock	6.0	5,514

---

	Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified.	Total votes: 92,238
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
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Independent Party of Oregon primary

Independent of Oregon primary for U.S. House Oregon District 2

Mark Roberts (Independent Party of Oregon) advanced from the Independent Party of Oregon primary for U.S. House Oregon District 2 on May 15, 2018.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Mark Roberts	100.0	3,441

---

	There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified.	Total votes: 3,441
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
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Previous election results

2016

See also: Oregon's 2nd Congressional District election, 2016

Heading into the election, Ballotpedia rated this race as safely Republican. Incumbent Greg Walden (R) defeated Jim Crary (D) in the general election on November 8, 2016. Walden defeated Paul Romero in the Republican primary on May 17, 2016.

U.S. House, Oregon District 2 General Election, 2016

Party		Candidate	Vote %	Votes
	Republican	Greg Walden Incumbent	71.7%	272,952
	Democratic	Jim Crary	28%	106,640
	N/A	Misc.	0.3%	1,147
Total Votes				380,739
Source: Oregon Secretary of State

U.S. House, Oregon District 2 Republican Primary, 2016

Candidate	Vote %	Votes
Greg Walden Incumbent	80.1%	85,039
Paul Romero	19.9%	21,099
Total Votes		106,138
Source: Oregon Secretary of State

2014

See also: Oregon's 2nd Congressional District elections, 2014

The 2nd Congressional District of Oregon held an election for the U.S. House of Representatives on November 4, 2014. Incumbent Greg Walden (R) defeated Aelea Christofferson (D) and Sharon Durbin (L) in the general election.

U.S. House, Oregon District 2 General Election, 2014

Party		Candidate	Vote %	Votes
	Republican	Greg Walden Incumbent	70.4%	202,374
	Democratic	Aelea Christofferson	25.7%	73,785
	Libertarian	Sharon Durbin	3.6%	10,491
	Miscellaneous	Miscellaneous	0.3%	775
Total Votes				287,425
Source: Oregon Secretary of State

2012

See also: Oregon's 2nd Congressional District elections, 2012

District 2 incumbent Greg Walden (R) won re-election to the U.S. House of Representatives on November 6, 2012.

U.S. House, Oregon District 2 General Election, 2012

Party		Candidate	Vote %	Votes
	Democratic	Joyce Segers	29.1%	96,741
	Republican	Greg Walden Incumbent	68.6%	228,043
	Libertarian	Joe Tabor	2.1%	7,025
	Write-In	N/A	0.1%	446
Total Votes				332,255
Source: Oregon Secretary of State "Official Election Results, 2012 General Election"

2010

On November 2, 2010, Greg Walden won re-election to the United States House. He defeated Joyce B. Segers (D) in the general election.

U.S. House, Oregon District 2 General Election, 2010
Party		Candidate	Vote %	Votes
	Republican	Greg Walden incumbent	74.1%	206,245
	Democratic	Joyce B. Segers	25.9%	72,173
Total Votes				278,418

2008

On November 4, 2008, Greg Walden won re-election to the United States House. He defeated Noah Lemas (D), Richard Hake (Pacific Green) and Tristin Mock (Constitution) in the general election.

U.S. House of Representatives, Oregon District 2 General Election, 2008
Party		Candidate	Vote %	Votes
	Republican	Greg Walden incumbent	69.5%	236,560
	Democratic	Noah Lemas	25.8%	87,649
	Pacific Green	Tristin Mock	2.8%	9,668
	Constitution	Richard Hake	1.7%	5,817
	N/A	Miscellaneous	0.2%	685
Total Votes				340,379

2006

On November 7, 2006, Greg Walden won re-election to the United States House. He defeated Carol Voisin (D) and Jack Alan Brown (Constitution) in the general election.

U.S. House of Representatives, Oregon District 2 General Election, 2006
Party		Candidate	Vote %	Votes
	Republican	Greg Walden incumbent	66.8%	181,529
	Democratic	Carol Voisin	30.4%	82,484
	Constitution	Jack Alan Brown	2.6%	7,193
	N/A	Other	0.2%	513
Total Votes				271,719

2004

On November 2, 2004, Greg Walden won re-election to the United States House. He defeated John McColgan (D), Jim Lindsay (Libertarian) and Jack Alan Brown (Constitution) in the general election.

U.S. House of Representatives, Oregon District 2 General Election, 2004
Party		Candidate	Vote %	Votes
	Republican	Greg Walden incumbent	71.6%	248,461
	Democratic	John McColgan	25.6%	88,914
	Libertarian	Jim Lindsay	1.4%	4,792
	Constitution	Jack Alan Brown	1.2%	4,060
	N/A	Miscellaneous	0.2%	638
Total Votes				346,865

2002

On November 5, 2002, Greg Walden won re-election to the United States House. He defeated Peter Buckley (D) and Mike Wood (Libertarian) in the general election.

U.S. House of Representatives, Oregon District 2 General Election, 2002
Party		Candidate	Vote %	Votes
	Republican	Greg Walden incumbent	71.9%	181,295
	Democratic	Peter Buckley	25.8%	64,991
	Libertarian	Mike Wood	2.3%	5,681
	N/A	Miscellaneous	0.1%	317
Total Votes				252,284

2000

On November 7, 2000, Greg Walden won re-election to the United States House. He defeated Walter Ponsford (D) in the general election.

U.S. House of Representatives, Oregon District 2 General Election, 2000
Party		Candidate	Vote %	Votes
	Republican	Greg Walden incumbent	73.6%	220,086
	Democratic	Walter Ponsford	26.1%	78,101
	N/A	Miscellaneous	0.2%	720
Total Votes				298,907

1998

On November 3, 1998, Greg Walden won election to the United States House. He defeated Kevin Campbell (D), Lindsey Bradshaw (Libertarian) and Rohn (Grandpa) Webb (Socialist) in the general election.

U.S. House of Representatives, Oregon District 2 General Election, 1998
Party		Candidate	Vote %	Votes
	Republican	Greg Walden	61.5%	132,316
	Democratic	Kevin Campbell	34.8%	74,924
	Libertarian	Lindsey Bradshaw	2.2%	4,729
	Socialist	Rohn (Grandpa) Webb	1.3%	2,773
	N/A	Miscellaneous	0.2%	474
Total Votes				215,216

District map

Redistricting

2020-2021

See also: Redistricting in Oregon after the 2020 census

Gov. Kate Brown (D) signed a new congressional map into law on September 27, 2021. The map was approved by the Oregon House of Representatives 33-16, and approved in the Oregon State Senate 18-6. This was the third time the Oregon State Legislature successfully enacted a congressional redistricting map since 1910 without gubernatorial veto, court ordered re-drawing, or authority for map drawing being passed to the secretary of state. This map took effect for Oregon’s 2022 congressional elections.

Before the maps were approved, all but one House Republican did not attend the special session on Sept. 25, expressing dissatisfaction with the process and proposed maps. Sixteen of the twenty-three House Republicans returned when the session resumed on Sept. 27, meaning the House was able to reach a quorum and move forward with the redistricting votes. Rep. Suzanne Weber (R) said "Many of us [Republicans] are only here because we don’t trust the secretary of state Shemia Fagan (D) to draw these maps."

The Oregonian said the map created three safe Democratic seats, one safe Republican seat, one seat that leans Democratic, and one seat that is a toss-up.

How does redistricting in Oregon work? In Oregon, congressional and state legislative district lines are drawn by the state legislature. District lines are subject to veto by the governor.

If the legislature fails to establish a redistricting plan for state legislative districts, it falls to the secretary of state to draw the boundaries.

State law requires that congressional and state legislative districts meet the following criteria:

• Districts must be contiguous.
• Districts must "utilize existing geographic or political boundaries."
• Districts should not "divide communities of common interest."
• Districts should "be connected by transportation links."
• Districts "must not be drawn for the purpose of favoring a political party, incumbent or other person."

2020

2024

2010-2011

This is the 2nd Congressional District prior to the 2010 redistricting.

See also: Redistricting in Oregon after the 2010 census

In 2011, the Oregon State Legislature approved a new map of the congressional districts based on updated population information from the 2010 census. It was the first time in 60 years the Oregon legislature agreed on a bipartisan redistricting map.

District analysis

See also: The Cook Political Report's Partisan Voter Index

See also: FiveThirtyEight's elasticity scores

2026

Heading into the 2026 elections, based on results from the 2024 and 2020 presidential elections, the Cook Partisan Voter Index for this district is R+14. This meant that in those two presidential elections, this district's results were 14 percentage points more Republican than the national average. This made Oregon's 2nd the 89th most Republican district nationally.

2024

Heading into the 2024 elections, based on results from the 2020 and 2016 presidential elections, the Cook Partisan Voter Index for this district was R+15. This meant that in those two presidential elections, this district's results were 15 percentage points more Republican than the national average. This made Oregon's 2nd the 81st most Republican district nationally.

Daily Kos calculated what the results of the 2020 presidential election in this district would have been following redistricting. Donald Trump (R) would have defeated Joe Biden (D) 61.1%-36.6%.

2022

Heading into the 2022 elections, based on results from the 2020 and 2016 presidential elections, the Cook Partisan Voter Index for this district was R+15. This meant that in those two presidential elections, this district's results were 15 percentage points more Republican than the national average. This made Oregon's 2nd the 84th most Republican district nationally.

Daily Kos calculated what the results of the 2020 presidential election in this district would have been following redistricting. Joe Biden (D) would have received 36.6% of the vote in this district and Donald Trump (R) would have received 61.1%.

2018

Heading into the 2018 elections, based on results from the 2016 and 2012 presidential elections, the Cook Partisan Voter Index for this district was R+11. This meant that in those two presidential elections, this district's results were 11 percentage points more Republican than the national average. This made Oregon's 2nd Congressional District the 120th most Republican nationally.

FiveThirtyEight's September 2018 elasticity score for states and congressional districts measured "how sensitive it is to changes in the national political environment." This district's elasticity score was 1.15. This means that for every 1 point the national political mood moved toward a party, the district was expected to move 1.15 points toward that party.

See also

• Redistricting in Oregon
• Oregon's 2nd Congressional District election, 2024
• Oregon's 2nd Congressional District election, 2022
• Oregon's 2nd Congressional District election, 2020
• Oregon's 2nd Congressional District election, 2018

External links

• GovTrack District 2

Footnotes

[show]

Oregon's current delegation to the United States Congress

Senators

Jeff Merkley (D)

Ron Wyden (D)

Representatives

District 1

Suzanne Bonamici (D)

District 2

Cliff Bentz (R)

District 3

Maxine Dexter (D)

District 4

Val Hoyle (D)

District 5

Janelle Bynum (D)

District 6

Andrea Salinas (D)

Democratic Party (7)

Republican Party (1)