United States Senate election in Oregon, 2026

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← 2022
U.S. Senate, Oregon
General election
Election details
Filing deadline: March 3, 2026
Primary: May 19, 2026 General: November 3, 2026
How to vote
Poll times: 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. Voting in Oregon
Race ratings
Cook Political Report: Solid Democratic DDHQ and The Hill: Pending Inside Elections: Solid Democratic Sabato's Crystal Ball: Safe Democratic
Ballotpedia analysis
U.S. Senate battlegrounds U.S. House battlegrounds Federal and state primary competitiveness Ballotpedia's Election Analysis Hub, 2026
See also
U.S. Senate, Oregon U.S. Senate • 1st • 2nd • 3rd • 4th • 5th • 6th Oregon elections, 2026 U.S. Congress elections, 2026 U.S. Senate elections, 2026 U.S. House elections, 2026 Alabama U.S. Senate raceAlaska U.S. Senate raceArkansas U.S. Senate raceColorado U.S. Senate raceDelaware U.S. Senate raceGeorgia U.S. Senate raceIdaho U.S. Senate raceIllinois U.S. Senate raceIowa U.S. Senate raceKansas U.S. Senate raceKentucky U.S. Senate raceLouisiana U.S. Senate raceMaine U.S. Senate raceMassachusetts U.S. Senate raceMichigan U.S. Senate raceMinnesota U.S. Senate raceMississippi U.S. Senate raceMontana U.S. Senate raceNebraska U.S. Senate raceNew Hampshire U.S. Senate raceNew Jersey U.S. Senate raceNew Mexico U.S. Senate raceNorth Carolina U.S. Senate raceOklahoma U.S. Senate raceOregon U.S. Senate raceRhode Island U.S. Senate raceSouth Carolina U.S. Senate raceSouth Dakota U.S. Senate raceTennessee U.S. Senate raceTexas U.S. Senate raceVirginia U.S. Senate raceWest Virginia U.S. Senate raceWyoming U.S. Senate raceSubmit

Voters in Oregon will elect one member to the U.S. Senate in the general election on November 3, 2026. The election will fill the Class II Senate seat held by Jeff Merkley (D), who first took office in 2009. To learn more about other elections on the ballot, click here.

Candidates and election results

Note: The following list includes official candidates only. Ballotpedia defines official candidates as people who:

• Register with a federal or state campaign finance agency before the candidate filing deadline
• Appear on candidate lists released by government election agencies

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. Senate Oregon

Incumbent Jeff Merkley, Jacob Ryan, and Timothy Skelton are running in the general election for U.S. Senate Oregon on November 3, 2026.

		Candidate
		Jeff Merkley (D)
	Submit photo	Jacob Ryan (D)
		Timothy Skelton (R)

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	Incumbents are bolded and underlined.
= 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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Candidate profiles

There are currently no candidate profiles created for this race. Candidate profiles will appear here as they are created. Encourage the candidates in this race to complete Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey so that their profile will appear here. You can ask candidates in this race to fill out the survey by clicking their names below:

• Timothy Skelton
• Jacob Ryan
• Jeff Merkley

Voting information

See also: Voting in Oregon

Ballotpedia will publish the dates and deadlines related to this election as they are made available.

Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey responses

Ballotpedia asks all federal, state, and local candidates to complete a survey and share what motivates them on political and personal levels. Candidates are asked three required questions for this survey, but they may answer additional optional questions as well.

No candidate in this race has completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey. Ballotpedia is seeking 100 percent participation so voters can learn more about all the candidates on their ballots.

You can ask candidates in this race to fill out the survey by clicking their names below:

• Jacob Ryan
• Jeff Merkley
• Timothy Skelton

Campaign finance

Name	Party	Receipts*	Disbursements**	Cash on hand	Date
Jeff Merkley	Democratic Party	$4,045,046	$3,185,575	$4,665,032	As of June 30, 2025
Jacob Ryan	Democratic Party	$0	$0	$0	Data not available***
Timothy Skelton	Republican Party	$0	$0	$0	Data not available***
Source: Federal Elections Commission, "Campaign finance data," 2026. This product uses the openFEC API but is not endorsed or certified by the Federal Election Commission (FEC). * According to the FEC, "Receipts are anything of value (money, goods, services or property) received by a political committee." ** According to the FEC, a disbursement "is a purchase, payment, distribution, loan, advance, deposit or gift of money or anything of value to influence a federal election," plus other kinds of payments not made to influence a federal election. *** Candidate either did not report any receipts or disbursements to the FEC, or Ballotpedia did not find an FEC candidate ID.

General election race ratings

See also: Race rating definitions and methods

Ballotpedia provides race ratings from four outlets: The Cook Political Report, Inside Elections, Sabato's Crystal Ball, and DDHQ/The Hill. Each race rating indicates if one party is perceived to have an advantage in the race and, if so, the degree of advantage:

• Safe and Solid ratings indicate that one party has a clear edge and the race is not competitive.
• Likely ratings indicate that one party has a clear edge, but an upset is possible.
• Lean ratings indicate that one party has a small edge, but the race is competitive.
• Toss-up ratings indicate that neither party has an advantage.

Race ratings are informed by a number of factors, including polling, candidate quality, and election result history in the race's district or state.

Race ratings: U.S. Senate election in Oregon, 2026
Race tracker	Race ratings
	9/9/2025	9/2/2025	8/26/2025	8/19/2025
The Cook Political Report with Amy Walter	Solid Democratic	Solid Democratic	Solid Democratic	Solid Democratic
Decision Desk HQ and The Hill	Pending	Pending	Pending	Pending
Inside Elections with Nathan L. Gonzales	Solid Democratic	Solid Democratic	Solid Democratic	Solid Democratic
Larry J. Sabato's Crystal Ball	Safe Democratic	Safe Democratic	Safe Democratic	Safe Democratic
Note: Ballotpedia reviews external race ratings every week throughout the election season and posts weekly updates even if the media outlets have not revised their ratings during that week.

Ballot access

This section will contain information on ballot access related to this state's elections when it is available.

Election history

The section below details election results for this state's U.S. Senate elections dating back to 2016.

2022

See also: United States Senate election in Oregon, 2022

General election

General election for U.S. Senate Oregon

Incumbent Ron Wyden defeated Jo Rae Perkins, Chris Henry, and Dan Pulju in the general election for U.S. Senate Oregon on November 8, 2022.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Ron Wyden (D / Independent Party)	55.8	1,076,424
		Jo Rae Perkins (R / Constitution Party)	40.9	788,991
		Chris Henry (Progressive Party)	1.9	36,883
		Dan Pulju (Pacific Green Party)	1.2	23,454
		Other/Write-in votes	0.1	2,197

---

	Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 1,927,949
= 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.

Withdrawn or disqualified candidates

• Michael Stettler (Constitution Party)
• Bret Westwood (Independent)
• Thomas Verde (Independent)
• John Newton (L)

Democratic primary election

Democratic primary for U.S. Senate Oregon

Incumbent Ron Wyden defeated William Barlow and Brent Thompson in the Democratic primary for U.S. Senate Oregon on May 17, 2022.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Ron Wyden	88.8	439,665
		William Barlow	7.1	35,025
	Submit photo	Brent Thompson	3.5	17,197
		Other/Write-in votes	0.7	3,279

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	Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 495,166
= 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 U.S. Senate Oregon

The following candidates ran in the Republican primary for U.S. Senate Oregon on May 17, 2022.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Jo Rae Perkins	33.0	115,701
		Darin Harbick	30.7	107,506
		Samuel Palmer	12.2	42,703
		Jason Beebe	11.3	39,456
		Christopher Christensen	8.1	28,433
	Submit photo	Robert Fleming	1.9	6,821
		Ibrahim Taher	1.9	6,659
		Other/Write-in votes	0.9	3,024

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	There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 350,303
= 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.

2020

General election

General election for U.S. Senate Oregon

Incumbent Jeff Merkley defeated Jo Rae Perkins, Gary Dye, and Ibrahim Taher in the general election for U.S. Senate Oregon on November 3, 2020.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Jeff Merkley (D / Independent / Working Families Party)	56.9	1,321,047
		Jo Rae Perkins (R)	39.3	912,814
		Gary Dye (L)	1.8	42,747
		Ibrahim Taher (Pacific Green Party / Progressive Party)	1.8	42,239
		Other/Write-in votes	0.1	2,402

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	Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 2,321,249
= 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.

Watch the Candidate Conversation for this race!

Democratic primary election

Democratic primary for U.S. Senate Oregon

Incumbent Jeff Merkley advanced from the Democratic primary for U.S. Senate Oregon on May 19, 2020.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Jeff Merkley	98.7	564,878
		Other/Write-in votes	1.3	7,386

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	Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 572,264
= 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 U.S. Senate Oregon

Jo Rae Perkins defeated Paul Romero, Robert Schwartz, and John Verbeek in the Republican primary for U.S. Senate Oregon on May 19, 2020.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Jo Rae Perkins	49.2	178,004
		Paul Romero	30.4	109,783
		Robert Schwartz	11.1	40,196
		John Verbeek	8.1	29,382
		Other/Write-in votes	1.2	4,250

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	There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 361,615
= 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.

Watch the Candidate Conversation for this race!

Withdrawn or disqualified candidates

• Matthew Kulow (R)

Libertarian convention

Libertarian convention for U.S. Senate Oregon

Gary Dye advanced from the Libertarian convention for U.S. Senate Oregon on July 6, 2020.

		Candidate
✔		Gary Dye (L)

---

	There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified. Source
= 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.

Pacific Green Party convention

Pacific Green Party convention for U.S. Senate Oregon

Ibrahim Taher advanced from the Pacific Green Party convention for U.S. Senate Oregon on June 6, 2020.

		Candidate
✔		Ibrahim Taher (Pacific Green Party)

---

	There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified. Source
= 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.

2016

U.S. Senate, Oregon General Election, 2016

Party		Candidate	Vote %	Votes
	Democratic	Ron Wyden Incumbent	56.6%	1,105,119
	Republican	Mark Callahan	33.3%	651,106
	Working Families	Shanti Lewallen	3.2%	61,915
	Independent	Steven Cody Reynolds	3%	59,516
	Pacific Green	Eric Navickas	2.5%	48,823
	Libertarian	Jim Lindsay	1.2%	23,941
	N/A	Misc.	0.1%	2,058
Total Votes				1,952,478
Source: Oregon Secretary of State

Election analysis

This section will contain facts and figures related to this state's elections when those are available.

See also

Oregon	2026 primaries	2026 U.S. Congress elections
Oregon congressional delegation Voting in Oregon Oregon elections: 2026 • 2025 • 2024 • 2023 • 2022 • 2021 • 2020 • 2019 • 2018	Democratic primary battlegrounds Republican primary battlegrounds U.S. Senate Democratic primaries U.S. Senate Republican primaries U.S. House Democratic primaries U.S. House Republican primaries	U.S. Congress elections U.S. Senate elections U.S. House elections Special elections Ballot access

External links

• Search Google News for this topic

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)

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