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Notable Oregon races, 2016
| Notable Oregon Races | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Primary | May 17, 2016 |
| General | November 8, 2016 |
| 2016 Notable Races | |
|---|---|
| Choose a state below: | |
Ballotpedia identified eight notable Oregon state legislative races in 2016.
Overview
State legislature was likely to remain Democratic
- Main articles: Oregon House of Representatives elections, 2016 and Oregon State Senate elections, 2016
Though Democrats most likely kept their majority in the Oregon House after November, they were one seat short of a three-fifths supermajority. Democrats were also defending more open seats than Republicans, which might help Republicans deny the Democrats a supermajority.
The Oregon Senate remained Democratic after November since too few Democratic seats were up for election.
| Partisan breakdown of the Oregon Legislature | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Republicans | Democrats | |
| Oregon House | 25 seats | 35 seats | |
| Oregon Senate | 12 seats | 18 seats | |
What makes a race notable?
Ballotpedia uses these criteria to identify notable races:
- Incumbents facing more conservative or liberal challengers
- Rematches between candidates
- Races that receive considerable media attention
- Races that could significantly affect the state's partisan balance
- Competitive races involving party leaders
- Open, competitive races with Republican and Democratic primaries
- Races that capture money and attention from outside groups, including key endorsements
Know of an interesting race we should include here? Email us!
Notable primary elections
State House District 26
- Three Republican candidates competed for the open seat left by the Republican incumbent.
Incumbent state Rep. John Davis (R) declined to run for re-election, leaving an open seat. Three Republicans competed in the Republican primary contest: John Boylston (R), Richard Vial (R), and Matt Wingard (R). Vial won the Republican nomination. Ray Lister (D) defeated Patrick Whewell (D) in the Democratic primary contest.
Wingard was the state representative of Oregon House District 26 from 2009 to 2013. Vial and Boylston are private attorneys. Wingard sought the same seat in 2012 but withdrew from the race after he had admitted to a sexual relationship with a former staffer.
The Republican candidates received the following key endorsements:[1][2][3]
| Key endorsements | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wingard | Vial | Boylston | ||
| Former state Rep. Julie Parrish (R) | The Oregonian | |||
| Willamette Week | ||||
State House District 40
- Three Democrats competed for an open seat left by the Democratic incumbent.
Incumbent state Rep. Brent Barton (D) declined to run for re-election. Three Democrats competed in the Democratic primary contest: Mark Meek (D), Steven Cade (D), and Terry Gibson (D). Meek won the Democratic nomination and faced Evon Tekorius (R) in November.
Meek is a small business owner and real estate broker. Cade is a private attorney; Gibson is a landscape architect.
The candidates' websites highlighted their main campaign themes. Meek's website highlighted affordable housing, public education, and job growth as his campaign themes, among others. Gibson's website highlighted transportation improvements, preservation of natural resources, and affordable housing, among others. Cade's website highlighted job growth, education reform, and affordable healthcare.
The Democratic candidates received the following key endorsements:[4][5][6]
| Key endorsements | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Meek | Cade | Gibson | ||
| NARAL Pro-Choice Oregon | Working Families Organization | Milwaukie Mayor Mark Gamba | ||
| AFSCME | West Linn City Council President Jenni Tan | |||
| The Oregonian | Metro Councilor Carlotta Collette | |||
| Former state House Speaker Dave Hunt (D) | ||||
State House District 43
- Three Democrats competed for an open seat left by the Democratic incumbent.
Incumbent state Rep. Lew Frederick (D) declined to run for re-election. Three Democrats competed for the Democratic nomination: Roberta Phillip-Robbins (D), Robert Andrews, Jr. (D), and Tawna Sanchez (D). Phillip-Robbins won the Democratic nomination and was unopposed in the general election as no Republicans filed to run for the seat.
According to The Oregonian, "The 43rd legislative district, in Portland, is one of the most progressive in the state."[3]
The Willamette Week described Phillip-Robbins and Sanchez as "two evenly matched candidates with strong credentials." Phillip-Robbins is a gang violence prevention counselor; Sanchez is a former addiction counselor and a director of family services at the Native American Youth and Family Center. Andrews is a pastor.[7]
The two Democratic front-runners received multiple key endorsements leading up to the primary contest:[8][9]
| Key endorsements | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sanchez | Phillip-Robbins | |||
| Outgoing incumbent Rep. Lew Frederick (D) | State Sen. Chip Shields (D) | |||
| Former Oregon Gov. Barbara Roberts (D) | State Sen. Chuck Riley (D) | |||
| Former state Sen. Avel Gordly (D) | State Rep. Joe Gallegos (D) | |||
| Former state Sen. Margaret Carter (D) | Former Portland Mayor Sam Adam | |||
| State Rep. Rob Nosse (D) | Former Portland Mayor Tom Potter | |||
| State Rep. Shemia Fagan (D) | Former Oregon City Commissioner Kathy Sherer Roth | |||
Notable general elections
State Senate District 25
- The Democratic incumbent was challenged by a Republican candidate and a Libertarian candidate.
Incumbent Laurie Monnes Anderson (D) defeated Tamie Tlustos-Arnold (R) and Jeffrey Ricks (L) in the November 2016 general election.[10] Monnes Anderson was re-elected to the seat in 2012 by a margin of victory of 9.3 percent.
State House District 20
- The Democratic incumbent was challenged by a Republican candidate in a closely divided district.
Incumbent state Rep. Paul Evans (D) defeated Laura Morett (R) in the November 2016 general election. Evans was elected to the seat in 2014 by a margin of victory of 3.1 percent.[10]
State House District 24
- The 2014 Democratic candidate sought the seat left by the Republican incumbent, who declined to run for re-election.
Incumbent state Rep. Jim Weidner (R) declined to run for re-election, leaving the seat open. Ken Moore (D), who ran against Weidner in 2014, was defeated by Ron Noble (R) in the November 2016 general election.[10]
Without Weidner on the ballot and without a minor-party candidate in the race, Democrats had a chance to pick up the seat. In 2014, Weidner received 51 percent of the vote to Moore's 45 percent in a three-way race; Libertarian candidate Kohler Johnson received 2.8 percent of the vote that year.
State House District 30
- The 2014 Republican candidate sought the seat left by the Democratic incumbent, who declined to run for re-election.
Incumbent state Rep. Joe Gallegos (D) declined to run for re-election, leaving an open seat. Dan Mason (R), who lost to Gallegos in 2014, was defeated by Janeen Sollman (D) in the November 2016 general election.[10]
Without Gallegos on the ballot and without a minor-party candidate in the race, Republicans had a chance to pick up the seat.
In 2014, Gallegos won 50 percent of the vote to Mason's 40.8 percent in a three-way race; Libertarian candidate Kyle Markley received 8.9 percent of the vote.
Gallegos faced a closer election in 2012 when he defeated then-incumbent Rep. Shawn Lindsey (R) by roughly 1,200 votes out of 24,836 votes cast. Libertarian candidate Kyle Markley also ran and garnered 5.8 percent of the vote that year.
State House District 51
- Republicans and Democrats competed for an open seat left by the Democratic incumbent.
Incumbent state Rep. Shemia Fagan (D) declined to run for re-election, leaving an open seat. Janelle Bynum (D) defeated Randy Shannon (D) and Adrienne Enghouse (D) in the Democratic primary contest. Bynum faced Lori Chavez-DeRemer (R) in November. At the time of the latest update, this race was still too close to call.[10]
Previous elections in the district have been competitive. Fagan, the outgoing incumbent, defeated a Republican incumbent in 2012 by a margin of 52 to 47. In 2014, Fagan won by the same margin against her Republican challenger.
This district was included in the Democratic Legislative Campaign Committee's list of "2016 Essential Races." Read more »
This district was included in the Republican State Leadership Committee's list of "16 in '16: Races to Watch." Read more »
Freshman legislators
The following is a list of challengers who won election on November 8.
- Alan DeBoer (Republican), .Oregon State Senate, District 3
- David Brock Smith (Republican), .Oregon House of Representatives, District 1
- Dennis Linthicum (Republican), .Oregon State Senate, District 28
- Diego Hernandez (Democratic), .Oregon House of Representatives, District 47
- E. Werner Reschke (Republican), .Oregon House of Representatives, District 56
- Janeen Sollman (Democratic), .Oregon House of Representatives, District 30
- Janelle Bynum (Democratic), .Oregon House of Representatives, District 51
- Julie Fahey (Democratic), .Oregon House of Representatives, District 14
- Karin Power (Democratic), .Oregon House of Representatives, District 41
- Kathleen Taylor (Oregon) (Democratic), .Oregon State Senate, District 21
- Lew Frederick (Democratic), .Oregon State Senate, District 22
- Mark Meek (Democratic), .Oregon House of Representatives, District 40
- Pam Marsh (Democratic), .Oregon House of Representatives, District 5
- Richard Vial (Republican), .Oregon House of Representatives, District 26
- Ron Noble (Republican), .Oregon House of Representatives, District 24
- Sheri Malstrom (Democratic), .Oregon House of Representatives, District 27
- Tawna Sanchez (Democratic), .Oregon House of Representatives, District 43
- Teresa Alonso Leon (Democratic), .Oregon House of Representatives, District 22
Defeated incumbents
The following is a list of incumbents who were defeated on November 8.Results will be added as they are updated.
See also
- Oregon House of Representatives
- Oregon State Senate
- Oregon State Legislature
- State legislative elections, 2016
External links
Footnotes
- ↑ Williamette Week, "WW’s 2016 Endorsements: State of Oregon," accessed May 4, 2016
- ↑ Matt Wingard 2016 campaign website, "Supporters," accessed May 4, 2016
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 OregonLive.com, "The Oregonian's recommendations for state House, Senate: Editorial Endorsements," April 27, 2016
- ↑ Working Families, "2016 Primary Endorsements," March 16, 2016
- ↑ Terry John Gibson 2016 campaign website, "Endorsements," accessed May 4, 2016
- ↑ Mark Meek 2016 campaign website, "Endorsements," accessed May 4, 2016
- ↑ Willamette Week, "WW’s 2016 Endorsements: State of Oregon," accessed May 4, 2016
- ↑ Roberta Phillip-Robins 2016 campaign website, "Endorsements," accessed April 26, 2016
- ↑ Tawna Sanchez 2016 campaign website, "Endorsements," accessed April 26, 2016
- ↑ 10.0 10.1 10.2 10.3 10.4 New York Times, "Oregon Election Results," accessed November 14, 2016"
