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Tracy Thompson
Tracy Thompson (Democratic Party) ran for election to the Oregon State Senate to represent District 2. He lost in the general election on November 5, 2024.
Thompson completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey in 2024. Click here to read the survey answers.
Biography
Tracy Thompson was born in Palo Alto, California. He served in the U.S. Army from 1979 to 1982. He earned a high school diploma from Palo Alto High School and a bachelor's degree from San Jose State University in 1990. His career experience includes working as a scientist.[1]
Elections
2024
See also: Oregon State Senate elections, 2024
General election
General election for Oregon State Senate District 2
Noah Robinson defeated Tracy Thompson in the general election for Oregon State Senate District 2 on November 5, 2024.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ |  | Noah Robinson (R) | 66.9 | 50,872 |
 | Tracy Thompson (D)  | 32.9 | 25,040 | |
| Other/Write-in votes | 0.2 | 123 | ||
| Total votes: 76,035 | |||
| = 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 2
Tracy Thompson advanced from the Democratic primary for Oregon State Senate District 2 on May 21, 2024.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | | Tracy Thompson | 97.4 | 6,047 |
| Other/Write-in votes | 2.6 | 162 | ||
| Total votes: 6,209 | |||
| = 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 2
Noah Robinson defeated Christine Goodwin in the Republican primary for Oregon State Senate District 2 on May 21, 2024.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | | Noah Robinson | 61.1 | 13,228 |
 | Christine Goodwin | 38.7 | 8,367 | |
| Other/Write-in votes | 0.2 | 51 | ||
| Total votes: 21,646 | |||
| = 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
Ballotpedia did not identify endorsements for Thompson in this election.
Campaign themes
2024
Ballotpedia survey responses
See also: Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection
Tracy Thompson completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey in 2024. The survey questions appear in bold and are followed by Thompson's responses. Candidates are asked three required questions for this survey, but they may answer additional optional questions as well.
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While I am a veteran and spent three years in the Army, that does not define me. I believe we should have some sort of national service, so when people say, “Thank you for your service.” it ignores all the other types of service Americans provide for one another. I founded two biotech companies working on cancer immunotherapies and led large teams of researchers. My work here and elsewhere in nanotechnology results in several patents, showcasing innovation. As for my values, I believe in truth, transparency, integrity and helping others to achieve their highest selves. This is reflected in the fact that, even without a PhD, I was affiliate faculty at Oregon State University helping both undergraduate and PhD students on their academic journeys. For me education is an important part of personal growth and I believe that the best way to encourage critical thinking is to expose students to a broad range of ideas. I am a critical thinker and am always willing to change my beliefs based on data and information that is raw and unfiltered.
I am a capitalist who believes that the best of capitalism is when those who benefit the most from it give back to the society that enabled them to achieve their good fortune.- First of all it is critical that we get away from partisan politics. I am a centrist and as a result of 30+ years in international business recognize that compromise is essential to progress and success. The attitude, as expressed by some in this race, ot ‘no compromise’ is a losing strategy for the people we are elected to represent. There are always areas where agreement can be found and I believe it is critical to work from those positions and build on them. No one gets everything they want, but if a no-compromise position is taken, then you will find you get nothing and those who lose are the people in our communities.
- I choose to work from a position of hope and optimism. It is a well known neuroscience fact that fear is a stronger emotional state, but I refuse to be afraid of this world and the rapid changes we constantly experience. We have to be able to adapt to those things that are impacting our lives today and in the near future. From advanced automation to AI to our global economy, adaptation is what allows species to thrive. Rather than fear these changes I embrace them and the new opportunities they offer.
- I love our Constitution. So much so that I took a year course in Constitutional law as an elective. When I took the oath of service when entering the Army, I really took it to heart. I never thought the phrase “defend it against all enemies, foreign and domestic” would likely be more focused on domestic terrorism today than when I joined. I will fully defend the Constitution and the rights it protects. We have a system and processes in place that need to be respected. When people don;t like the outcome of elections and take matters into their own hands, that goes against everything we stand for and what the world has come to admire in the USA.
Second is affordable housing and homelessness. There is no reason why in the richest nation on Earth we have the housing problem we do. I believe government should play an essential role in catalyzIng solutions to solve the problem.
Another critical issue I have been involved with is healthcare. I strongly support a healthcare for all model that provides at least a basic support system and eliminates catastrophic healthcare costs as the number one cause of bankruptcy.
First of all, transparency is important. Who’s is paying for the candidate’s campaign. If you follow the money you will understand the motives. I have seen candidates go against their constituent’s best interest simply because of the donations. I would like to see election finance laws changes to reflect those of countries where the amount of funding is capped or provided by the government. It essentially favors a plutocracy.
For me integrity means being true to yourself, not being a hypocrite and doing the right thing versus the most politically beneficial. This is perhaps one of the most frustrating areas of politics for me in that people with the most integrity aren’t usually the best politicians because they just aren’t good liars. It is one thing to be diplomatic, but the flagrant hypocrisy is astonishing. It usually is the result of a mindset that the ends justify the means.
I realize this is not always possible, but have not forgotten that the human element is just as important.
I also believe it is critical for the person elected to this role to provide outside the box ideas that may generate new solutions as opposed to a rehash of failed attempts of the past.
Finally, it is also incumbent on the person in this role to take along with them the people, so they are not alienated by proposed changes or new programs. As previously stated fear is a powerful motivator and needs to be addressed when changes are proposed.
The other primary challenge facing Oregon with its vast forests and surface water is climate change. There is strong evidence that it is happening faster than imagined. This is both a problem and an opportunity for us. Since Oregon lost so much of its timber revenue, we need to think creatively how we can use or forests as carbon sinks and monetize the value therefrom.
That said, I do believe that it is important to understand the dynamics of political processes and how to get things done.
Even in my campaign I say I work to build bridges that connect us and break down the walls that divide us. This is a critical tenet of any cooperative situation.
As for Eisenhower, here was a warrior who understood the value of separating the 'enemy' from the person. He was a true statesman who was open about his concern for the path our country was on in terms of our growing military spending. A lesson we have yet to learn.
Healthcare because Oregon is leading the charge to create a healthcare for all system and my 35 years of healthcare experience can offer global perspective on what works elsewhere in the world.
Regarding accountability, unless there is fraud, graft or other illegal activities the people have the right to vote out their representative at the next election, so to a degree accountability is already built into the system.
Note: Ballotpedia reserves the right to edit Candidate Connection survey responses. Any edits made by Ballotpedia will be clearly marked with [brackets] for the public. If the candidate disagrees with an edit, he or she may request the full removal of the survey response from Ballotpedia.org. Ballotpedia does not edit or correct typographical errors unless the candidate's campaign requests it.
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.
See also
2024 Elections
External links
Footnotes
- ↑ Information submitted to Ballotpedia through the Candidate Connection survey on April 21, 2024
