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United States Senate election in Oregon, 2020 (May 19 Republican primary)

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U.S. Senate, Oregon
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Democratic primary
Republican primary
General election
Election details
Filing deadline: March 10, 2020
Primary: May 19, 2020
General: November 3, 2020
Pre-election incumbent:
Jeff Merkley (Democratic)
How to vote
Poll times: No polling hours (vote-by-mail)
Voting in Oregon
Race ratings
Cook Political Report: Solid Democratic
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, 2020
See also
U.S. Senate, Oregon
U.S. Senate • 1st • 2nd • 3rd • 4th • 5th
Oregon elections, 2020
U.S. Congress elections, 2020
U.S. Senate elections, 2020
U.S. House elections, 2020

Jo Rae Perkins won the Republican primary for U.S. Senate in Oregon on May 19, 2020, defeating three other candidates. Perkins received 49.3% of the vote, followed by Paul Romero with 30.3%, Robert Schwartz with 11.1%, and John Verbeek with 8.1%. Write-in candidates received 1.2% of the vote.[2] Perkins faced incumbent U.S. Sen. Jeff Merkley (D) in the November 3, 2020, general election.

Perkins and Romero participated in a Candidate Conversation with Ballotpedia and EnCiv. Click here to watch. All four candidates participated in a video voters guide sponsored by the League of Women Voters. Click here to watch.

At the time of the primary, both of Oregon's U.S. Senate seats have been held by Democrats since Jeff Merkley (D) defeated incumbent Gordon Smith (R) 49% to 45% in 2008. Merkley sought re-election in 2020. At the time of the primary, Republicans held majority control of the U.S. Senate at 53-45. Click here to learn more about what's at stake in the general election.

Click on candidate names below to view their key messages:


Perkins
Romero
Schwartz
Verbeek


This page focuses on Oregon's United States Senate Republican primary. For more in-depth information on the state's Democratic primary and the general election, see the following pages:

Democratic Party United States Senate election in Oregon, 2020 (May 19 Democratic primary)
Independent United States Senate election in Oregon, 2020

Election procedure changes in 2020

See also: Changes to election dates, procedures, and administration in response to the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, 2020

Ballotpedia provided comprehensive coverage of how election dates and procedures changed in 2020. While the majority of changes occurred as a result of the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, some changes occurred for other reasons.

Oregon made no changes to its primary election.

For a full timeline about election modifications made in response to the COVID-19 outbreak, click here.


Candidates and election results

Republican primary election

Republican primary for U.S. Senate Oregon

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

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

Total votes: 361,615
Candidate Connection = 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

Candidate profiles

This section includes candidate profiles created in one of two ways. Either the candidate completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey or Ballotpedia staff created a profile after identifying the candidate as noteworthy.[3] Ballotpedia staff compiled profiles based on campaign websites, advertisements, and public statements.

Jo Rae Perkins

Image of Jo Rae Perkins

WebsiteFacebookTwitterYouTube

Party: Republican Party

Incumbent: No

Political Office: None

Submitted Biography:  "Jo Rae and her husband George, were married in 1978 and made their home in Albany, Oregon. They have 2 adult married children and 14 grandkids! Jo Rae's professional background includes experience as a real estate agent, personal banker, financial advisor and insurance agent. She has owned her own financial planning business. Her husband George is a self-employed carpet installation contractor. She has also been active with several organizations over the years in the Albany, Oregon, area. In the past, she was a member of Greater Albany Rotary, Beta Sigma Phi, founding chair of Mid-Willamette Women's Council of Realtors, Willamette Association of Realtors. Jo Rae Perkins is a Main Street American who believes the US Constitution strongly and clearly spells out the role of the US Senate and the federal government."

Key Messages

To read this candidate's full survey responses, click here.

I will work to shrink the size of the federal government agencies. This should lead to curtailing out of control spending and reduce the over reach of those agencies.

I support term limits, 12 years maximum in Congress. No more career politicians

I support Medical Freedom, am Pro life and Pro 2nd Amendment.

This information was current as of the candidate's run for U.S. Senate Oregon in 2020.

Paul Romero

Image of Paul Romero

WebsiteFacebookTwitter

Party: Republican Party

Incumbent: No

Political Office: None

Biography:  Romero received a bachelor's degree in workforce education and development from Southern Illinois University in 2010. He served in the U.S. Navy as a cryptologic technician from 1985 to 1996. His professional experience encompassed communications, customer service, sales, project management, and materials. As of the primary, Romero was the CEO of YouWalk Today, a walker-wheel chair manufacturer.


Key Messages

The following key messages were curated by Ballotpedia staff. For more on how we identify key messages, click here.

Romero said he supported the timber industry and forest management. According to The Roseburg Beacon, he prioritized "getting back to the management of the federal forests for the benefit of the state and local jurisdictions." He said he supported expanding logging on federal land.

Romero said Oregon needed political balance in its U.S. Senate leadership. He said, "We have two Democrat senators that ... I don't even like calling them Democrats. Because I don't really see them as Democrats. I see them as socialists. And that is a problem."

Romero said he was not a career politician and that he supported term limits. He said, "The longer you're in, the more likely you are to be corrupted." He argued that U.S. Senators and Representatives should be limited to 12 years: two six-year terms in the Senate and six two-year terms in the House.

Show sources

Sources: The News-Review, "Roseburg Republican seeks senate seat held by Democrat Jeff Merkley," September 20, 2019, The Roseburg Beacon, "Former Navy analyst running for U.S. Senate," May 6, 2020, The Register-Guard, "Four Republicans competing to challenge Sen. Jeff Merkley," May 2, 2020; YouWalk Today, "About Us," accessed May 14, 2020, information submitted on Ballotpedia's biographical information submission form, July 14, 2019

This information was current as of the candidate's run for U.S. Senate Oregon in 2020.

Robert Schwartz

Image of Robert Schwartz

Website

Party: Republican Party

Incumbent: No

Political Office: None

Biography:  In a voters guide, Schwartz described his occupation as fitness-related with a background in fitness and building management. He was the Republican candidate for Oregon State Senate in District 6 in 2018 where he faced incumbent Sen. Lee Beyer (D).


Key Messages

The following key messages were curated by Ballotpedia staff. For more on how we identify key messages, click here.

Schwartz highlighted his stance regarding the timber industry, saying, "Logging improves the health of forests ... [and] greatly reduces forest fires." He said, "Healthy forests means jobs and prosperity for rural Oregon along with funding for rural schools."

Schwartz said, "With all the untrained people who are now firearm owners society would be better off if everyone had been trained." He mentioned Senate Bill 801 in 2019, titled "Relating to firearm safety instruction at public schools," which was introduced on his behalf. 

Schwartz said, "I will demand the food stamp program to improve health benefits and change its name to the health benefit program." He said, "7 Billion food stamp dollars spent on soda in 2016. In return, people get diabetes ... and massive health care expenses."

Show sources

Sources: Schwartz's 2020 campaign website, "Issues," accessed May 18, 2020, OregonVotes, "Robert Schwartz," accessed May 18, 2020

This information was current as of the candidate's run for U.S. Senate Oregon in 2020.

John Verbeek

Image of John Verbeek

Facebook

Party: Republican Party

Incumbent: No

Political Office: None

Biography:  Verbeek received a bachelor's in liberal arts from Nyenrode Business University in the Netherlands and a master's in business administration from the University of Georgia. He worked in the international banking and insurance industries. Verbeek began his own insurance and financial strategies business in 2011.


Key Messages

The following key messages were curated by Ballotpedia staff. For more on how we identify key messages, click here.

Verbeek said he would limit the size of the federal government and its role in the economy. He said, "We have too much government control of the economy in Oregon," adding, "The more government we have, the less individual freedom that individual citizens have."

Verbeek listed the protection of constitutional rights as one of this top priorities, saying, "[I]t's very important to uphold those rights in any legislation." He said he was "concerned about ... gradually replacing the Constitutional rights with civil rights for a few protected classes."

Verbeek argued that "more people need to pay their own bills." He said, "it's one thing to pay for national issues like a military ... but when it comes to redistributing income that some people get money from other taxpayers ... we should be a lot more careful with that." 

Show sources

Sources: iVoterGuide, "John Verbeek," accessed May 18, 2020, YouTube, "Video Voter Guide: U.S. Senate | John Verbeek," May 1, 2020, The Register-Guard, "Four Republicans competing to challenge Sen. Jeff Merkley," May 2, 2020; LinkedIn, "John Verbeek," accessed May 18, 2020

This information was current as of the candidate's run for U.S. Senate Oregon in 2020.


Candidate Conversations

Click below to watch the conversation for this race.

Campaign finance

This section contains campaign finance figures from the Federal Election Commission covering all candidate fundraising and spending in this election.[4] It does not include information on fundraising before the current campaign cycle or on spending by satellite groups. The numbers in this section are updated as candidates file new campaign finance reports. Candidates for Congress are required to file financial reports on a quarterly basis, as well as two weeks before any primary, runoff, or general election in which they will be on the ballot and upon the termination of any campaign committees.[5] The chart below contains data from financial reports submitted to the Federal Election Commission.

Name Party Receipts* Disbursements** Cash on hand Date
Jo Rae Perkins Republican Party $143,211 $117,366 $25,859 As of December 31, 2020
Paul Romero Republican Party $7,985 $6,596 $10 As of December 31, 2020
Robert Schwartz Republican Party $0 $0 $0 Data not available***
John Verbeek Republican Party $0 $0 $0 Data not available***

Source: Federal Elections Commission, "Campaign finance data," 2020. 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.


Debates and forums

May 1 video voters guide

On May 1, 2020, Tualatin Valley Community Television released four video interviews with the U.S. Senate candidates hosted by the League of Women Voters:

Perkins

May 1, 2020, Perkins interview - TVCTV

Romero

May 1, 2020, Romero interview - TVCTV

Schwartz

May 1, 2020, Schwartz interview - TVCTV

Verbeek

May 1, 2020, Verbeek interview - TVCTV

Primaries in Oregon

A primary election is an election in which registered voters select a candidate that they believe should be a political party's candidate for elected office to run in the general election. They are also used to choose convention delegates and party leaders. Primaries are state-level and local-level elections that take place prior to a general election. Oregon generally utilizes a closed primary process. The selection of a party's candidates in an election is limited to registered party members for presidential and legislative elections.[6][7]

For information about which offices are nominated via primary election, see this article.

What's at stake in the general election?

U.S. Senate elections were held on November 3, 2020, and coincide with the 2020 presidential election. Thirty-three of the Senate's 100 seats were up for regular election in November. There were also two special elections in 2020. The results determined control of the U.S. Senate in the 117th Congress.

At the time of the election, the Republican Party had a 53-seat Senate majority, while Democrats had 45 seats. There were also two independents who caucus with the Democratic Party. Republicans faced greater partisan risk than Democrats in 2020 because they were defending 23 seats compared to 12 for the Democrats. Both parties had two incumbents representing states the opposite party's presidential nominee won in 2016.

In 2018, Democrats and Democratic-caucusing independents defended 26 of the 35 seats up for election, while Republicans defended the other nine. Republicans won 11 seats to the Democrats' 24, for a GOP net gain of two.

In the 24 previous Senate elections that coincided with a presidential election, the president's party had gained Senate seats in 16 elections and lost seats in nine. In years where the president's party gained seats, the average gain was three seats. In years where the president's party lost seats, the average loss was five seats. Click here for more information on presidential partisanship and down-ballot outcomes.


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.[8]
  • 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.[9][10][11]

Race ratings: U.S. Senate election in Oregon, 2020
Race trackerRace ratings
November 3, 2020October 27, 2020October 20, 2020October 13, 2020
The Cook Political ReportSolid DemocraticSolid DemocraticSolid DemocraticSolid Democratic
Inside Elections with Nathan L. GonzalesSolid DemocraticSolid DemocraticSolid DemocraticSolid Democratic
Larry J. Sabato's Crystal BallSafe DemocraticSafe DemocraticSafe DemocraticSafe Democratic
Note: Ballotpedia updates external race ratings every week throughout the election season.

Pivot Counties

See also: Pivot Counties by state

Two of 36 Oregon counties—5.6 percent—are Pivot Counties. Pivot Counties are counties that voted for Barack Obama (D) in 2008 and 2012 and for Donald Trump (R) in 2016. Altogether, the nation had 206 Pivot Counties, with most being concentrated in upper midwestern and northeastern states.

Counties won by Trump in 2016 and Obama in 2012 and 2008
County Trump margin of victory in 2016 Obama margin of victory in 2012 Obama margin of victory in 2008
Columbia County, Oregon 11.46% 5.16% 12.02%
Tillamook County, Oregon 5.58% 4.86% 9.89%

In the 2016 presidential election, Hillary Clinton (D) won Oregon with 50.1 percent of the vote. Donald Trump (R) received 39.1 percent. In presidential elections between 1900 and 2016, Oregon cast votes for the winning presidential candidate 73.3 percent of the time. In that same time frame, Oregon supported Republican candidates for president more often than Democratic candidates, 56.7 to 43.3 percent. The state, however, favored Democrats in every election between between 2000 and 2016.

Presidential results by legislative district

The following table details results of the 2012 and 2016 presidential elections by state House districts in Oregon. Click [show] to expand the table. The "Obama," "Romney," "Clinton," and "Trump" columns describe the percent of the vote each presidential candidate received in the district. The "2012 Margin" and "2016 Margin" columns describe the margin of victory between the two presidential candidates in those years. The "Party Control" column notes which party held that seat heading into the 2018 general election. Data on the results of the 2012 and 2016 presidential elections broken down by state legislative districts was compiled by Daily Kos.[12][13]

In 2012, Barack Obama (D) won 39 out of 60 state House districts in Oregon with an average margin of victory of 26.9 points. In 2016, Hillary Clinton (D) won 36 out of 60 state House districts in Oregon with an average margin of victory of 31.6 points. Clinton won four districts controlled by Republicans heading into the 2018 elections.
In 2012, Mitt Romney (R) won 21 out of 60 state House districts in Oregon with an average margin of victory of 20.3 points. In 2016, Donald Trump (R) won 24 out of 60 state House districts in Oregon with an average margin of victory of 24 points. Trump won three districts controlled by Democrats heading into the 2018 elections.


Election history

2016

U.S. Senate, Oregon General Election, 2016
Party Candidate Vote % Votes
     Democratic Green check mark transparent.pngRon 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

2014

U.S. Senate, Oregon General Election, 2014
Party Candidate Vote % Votes
     Democratic Green check mark transparent.pngJeff Merkley Incumbent 55.7% 814,537
     Republican Monica Wehby 36.9% 538,847
     Libertarian Mike Montchalin 3.1% 44,916
     Constitution James Leuenberger 1.7% 24,212
     Green Christina Jean Lugo 2.2% 32,434
     Miscellaneous Miscellaneous 0.5% 6,672
Total Votes 1,461,618
Source: Oregon Secretary of State

2010

On November 2, 2010, Ron Wyden won re-election to the United States Senate. He defeated Jim Huffman (R), Bruce Cronk (Working Families), Marc Delphine (Libertarian) and Rick Staggenborg (Progressive) in the general election.[14]

U.S. Senate, Oregon General Election, 2010
Party Candidate Vote % Votes
     Democrat Green check mark transparent.pngRon Wyden incumbent 57.3% 825,507
     Republican Jim Huffman 39.3% 566,199
     Working Families Bruce Cronk 1.3% 18,940
     Libertarian Marc Delphine 1.1% 16,028
     Progressive Rick Staggenborg 1% 14,466
Total Votes 1,441,140

State profile

See also: Oregon and Oregon elections, 2020
USA Oregon location map.svg

Partisan data

The information in this section was current as of April 23, 2020.

Presidential voting pattern

Congressional delegation

State executives

  • Democrats held three and a Republican held one of Oregon's 13 state executive offices. Elections for the other offices are nonpartisan.
  • Oregon's governor was Democrat Kate Brown.

State legislature

Oregon Party Control: 1992-2025
Seventeen years of Democratic trifectas  •  No Republican trifectas
Scroll left and right on the table below to view more years.

Year 92 93 94 95 96 97 98 99 00 01 02 03 04 05 06 07 08 09 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25
Governor D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D
Senate D D D R R R R R R R R S S D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D
House R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R D D D D S S D D D D D D D D D D D D D

Oregon quick stats
  • Became a state in 1859
  • 33rd state admitted to the United States
  • Oregon is home to the single largest organism in the world.
  • Members of the Oregon State Senate: 30
  • Members of the Oregon House of Representatives: 60
  • U.S. senators: 2
  • U.S. representatives: 5
More Oregon coverage on Ballotpedia:


Demographic data for Oregon
 OregonU.S.
Total population:4,024,634316,515,021
Land area (sq mi):95,9883,531,905
Race and ethnicity**
White:85.1%73.6%
Black/African American:1.8%12.6%
Asian:4%5.1%
Native American:1.2%0.8%
Pacific Islander:0.4%0.2%
Two or more:4.1%3%
Hispanic/Latino:12.3%17.1%
Education
High school graduation rate:89.8%86.7%
College graduation rate:30.8%29.8%
Income
Median household income:$51,243$53,889
Persons below poverty level:18.4%11.3%
Source: U.S. Census Bureau, "American Community Survey" (5-year estimates 2010-2015)
Click here for more information on the 2020 census and here for more on its impact on the redistricting process in Oregon.
**Note: Percentages for race and ethnicity may add up to more than 100 percent because respondents may report more than one race and the Hispanic/Latino ethnicity may be selected in conjunction with any race. Read more about race and ethnicity in the census here.


See also

External links

Footnotes

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 Oregon is a vote-by-mail state. Polling hours apply to vote centers where individuals can instead vote in person.
  2. ↑ Oregon Secretary of State, "Primary Election May 19, 2020," accessed May 20, 2020
  3. ↑ Candidate Connection surveys completed before September 26, 2019, were not used to generate candidate profiles. In battleground primaries, Ballotpedia based its selection of noteworthy candidates on polling, fundraising, and noteworthy endorsements. In battleground general elections, all major party candidates and any other candidates with the potential to impact the outcome of the race were included.
  4. ↑ Fundraising by primary candidates can be found on the race's respective primary election page. Fundraising by general election candidates can be found on the race's general election page.
  5. ↑ Federal Election Commission, "2022 Quarterly Reports," accessed March 2, 2022
  6. ↑ National Conference of State Legislatures,"State Primary Election Types," accessed October 4, 2024
  7. ↑ Oregon Secretary of State,"Frequently Asked Questions," accessed October 4, 2024
  8. ↑ Inside Elections also uses Tilt ratings to indicate an even smaller advantage and greater competitiveness.
  9. ↑ Amee LaTour, "Email correspondence with Nathan Gonzalez," April 19, 2018
  10. ↑ Amee LaTour, "Email correspondence with Kyle Kondik," April 19, 2018
  11. ↑ Amee LaTour, "Email correspondence with Charlie Cook," April 22, 2018
  12. ↑ Daily Kos, "Daily Kos Elections' statewide election results by congressional and legislative districts," July 9, 2013
  13. ↑ Daily Kos, "Daily Kos Elections' 2016 presidential results for congressional and legislative districts," February 6, 2017
  14. ↑ U.S. Congress House Clerk, "Statistics of the Congressional Election of November 2, 2010," accessed March 28, 2013


Oregon's current delegation to the United States Congress
Senators
Jeff Merkley (D)
Ron Wyden (D)
Representatives
District 1
District 2
District 3
District 4
Val Hoyle (D)
District 5
District 6
Democratic Party (7)
Republican Party (1)


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