Rob Wagner
Rob Wagner (Democratic Party) is a member of the Oregon State Senate, representing District 19. He assumed office on January 30, 2018. His current term ends on January 11, 2027.
Wagner was elected president of the Senate ahead of the 2023 legislative session. He replaced Peter Courtney (D), who held the position for 20 years.[1] Wagner served as Senate majority leader from 2020 to 2023.[2]
Wagner was born in California in 1973 and grew up in Lake Oswego, Oregon, and graduated from Lake Oswego High School. Wagner earned a bachelor's degree from Portland State University and a master's in public policy from George Washington University. Wagner worked as a legislative aide in the Oregon House, director of political and legislative affairs for the American Federation of Teachers, and associate vice president of college advancement for Portland Community College.[3][4]
Wagner won election unopposed to the Lake Oswego School Board in May 2017.[5] The Washington, Clackamas, and Multnomah County boards of commissioners appointed Wagner to the Senate in 2018. He replaced Richard Devlin (D), who was appointed to the Northwest Power and Conservation Council. Wagner served simultaneously in both offices, but resigned from the school board in 2020 citing the demands of his legislative job.[6][7] Wagner won re-election to the Senate with 66% of the vote in both 2018 and 2022.
Wagner was elected president on a party-line vote, with 17 Democrats voting in support and 13 Republicans voting in opposition. Following the vote, Wagner said, "I look forward to working with my colleagues to build on our culture of inclusion and openness – across the aisle and across the state – to make sure that Oregonians across the state feel represented and supported by the work we do." Then-Minority Leader Tim Knopp (R) said of Wagner, "Senator Wagner has shown he is untrustworthy, deeply partisan and doesn’t have the necessary skills to run the Senate in a bipartisan fashion.”[8]
Wagner presided over the chamber during the 2023 Republican walkout, when all but two members of the caucus left the capitol and denied quorum for 45 days (the longest walkout in state history). Measure 113, approved by voters in 2022 following multiple walkouts during the 2021 session, disqualified any legislator absent for more than 10 days from running for re-election. Nine Republicans (including Knopp) and one independent were absent for more than 10 days, making them ineligible to run for re-election in 2024. The walkout ended following compromises on legislation dealing with abortion access, medical treatment for transgender adults and minors, and firearms. To read more, click here.
Biography
Rob Wagner was born in California in 1973 and grew up in Lake Oswego, Oregon. He earned a bachelor's degree in political science from Portland State University in 1997 and a master's in public policy from George Washington University in 2001. Wagner worked as a legislative aide in the Oregon House, director of political and legislative affairs for the American Federation of Teachers, and associate vice president of college advancement for Portland Community College.[3][9][10]
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
Wagner was assigned to the following committees:
2021-2022
Wagner was assigned to the following committees:
2019-2020
Wagner 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
2026
See also: Oregon State Senate elections, 2026
General election
The general election will occur on November 3, 2026.
General election for Oregon State Senate District 19
Incumbent Rob Wagner is running in the general election for Oregon State Senate District 19 on November 3, 2026.
Candidate | ||
 | Rob Wagner (D) | |
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Endorsements
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2022
See also: Oregon State Senate elections, 2022
General election
General election for Oregon State Senate District 19
Incumbent Rob Wagner defeated Ben Edtl in the general election for Oregon State Senate District 19 on November 8, 2022.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | | Rob Wagner (D / Independent Party) | 66.0 | 48,309 |
 | Ben Edtl (R) | 33.9 | 24,767 | |
| Other/Write-in votes | 0.1 | 85 | ||
| Total votes: 73,161 | |||
| = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey. | ||||
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Democratic primary election
Democratic primary for Oregon State Senate District 19
Incumbent Rob Wagner advanced from the Democratic primary for Oregon State Senate District 19 on May 17, 2022.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | | Rob Wagner | 99.3 | 17,883 |
| Other/Write-in votes | 0.7 | 135 | ||
| Total votes: 18,018 | |||
| = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey. | ||||
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Republican primary election
Republican primary for Oregon State Senate District 19
Ben Edtl defeated Wendy O'Riley in the Republican primary for Oregon State Senate District 19 on May 17, 2022.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | | Ben Edtl | 67.3 | 6,164 |
 | Wendy O'Riley | 32.0 | 2,929 | |
| Other/Write-in votes | 0.8 | 71 | ||
| Total votes: 9,164 | |||
| = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey. | ||||
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2018
- See also: Oregon State Senate elections, 2018
In addition to running as a Democratic Party candidate, Wagner cross-filed to also run with the Working Families Party in 2018.[11]
General election
General election for Oregon State Senate District 19
Incumbent Rob Wagner defeated David Poulson in the general election for Oregon State Senate District 19 on November 6, 2018.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | | Rob Wagner (D) | 65.5 | 47,521 |
 | David Poulson (R) | 34.3 | 24,913 | |
| Other/Write-in votes | 0.2 | 116 | ||
| Total votes: 72,550 | |||
| = 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 19
Incumbent Rob Wagner advanced from the Democratic primary for Oregon State Senate District 19 on May 15, 2018.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | | Rob Wagner | 100.0 | 12,347 |
| Total votes: 12,347 | |||
| = 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 19
David Poulson advanced from the Republican primary for Oregon State Senate District 19 on May 15, 2018.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | | David Poulson | 100.0 | 5,783 |
| Total votes: 5,783 | |||
| = 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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Campaign themes
2026
Ballotpedia survey responses
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2022
Rob Wagner did not complete Ballotpedia's 2022 Candidate Connection survey.
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.
Notable endorsements
This section displays endorsements this individual made in elections within Ballotpedia's coverage scope.
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]. |
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In 2024, the Oregon State Legislature was in session from Februrary 5 to March 7.
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2023
| To view all the scorecards we found for this legislator in 2023, click [show]. |
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In 2023, the Oregon State Legislature was in session from January 17 to June 25.
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2022
| To view all the scorecards we found for this legislator in 2022, click [show]. |
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In 2022, the Oregon State Legislature was in session from February 1 to March 4.
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2021
| To view all the scorecards we found for this legislator in 2021, click [show]. |
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In 2021, the Oregon State Legislature was in session from January 21 to June 26.
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2020
| To view all the scorecards we found for this legislator in 2020, click [show]. |
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In 2020, the Oregon State Legislature was in session from February 3 to March 5. Special sessions were convened from June 24 to June 26 and on August 10.
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2019
| To view all the scorecards we found for this legislator in 2019, click [show]. |
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In 2019, the Oregon State Legislature was in session from January 22 through June 30.
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2018
| To view all the scorecards we found for this legislator in 2018, click [show]. |
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In 2018, the 79th Oregon State Legislature, second session, was in session from February 5 through March 3. There was also a one-day special session on May 21, 2018.
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See also
2026 Elections
External links
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Candidate Oregon State Senate District 19 |
Officeholder Oregon State Senate District 19 |
Personal |
Footnotes
- ↑ Oregon Capital Chronicle, "Three of four Oregon legislative caucuses select leaders," November 23, 2022
- ↑ The Oregonian, "Oregon Senate Democrats choose Lake Oswego lawmaker as new leader," May 22, 2020
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 Secretary of State of Oregon, "State Senators by District," acessed September 4, 2025
- ↑ Oregon State Legislature, "Senator Rob Wagner Biography," accessed March 18, 2025
- ↑ Lake Oswego Review, "Pocklington, Wagner reflect on election's mandate for change," May 25, 2017
- ↑ Lake Oswego Review, "Lake Oswegan seeks Devlin's seat in Senate," October 24, 2017
- ↑ Lake Oswego Review, "Rob Wagner to step down from Lake Oswego School Board," May 26, 2020
- ↑ Oregon Capital Chronicle, "Three of four Oregon legislative caucuses select leaders," November 23, 2022
- ↑ Oregon State Legislature, "Senator Rob Wagner Biography," accessed March 18, 2025
- ↑ LinkedIn, "Robert Wagner," accessed September 4, 2025
- ↑ Oregon Secretary of State, "Candidate Filing Search Results: 2018 General Election," accessed October 30, 2018
| Political offices | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by Richard Devlin (D) |
Oregon State Senate District 19 2018-Present |
Succeeded by - |
