United States Senate election in Oregon, 2026 (May 19 Democratic primary)
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| U.S. Senate, Oregon |
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| Democratic primary Republican primary General election |
| Election details |
| Filing deadline: March 3, 2026 (incumbent) March 10, 2026 (non-incumbent) |
| Primary: May 19, 2026 General: November 3, 2026 |
| How to vote |
| Poll times:
7 a.m. to 8 p.m. |
| Race ratings |
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 • 1st • 2nd • 3rd • 4th • 5th • 6th Oregon elections, 2026 U.S. Congress elections, 2026 U.S. Senate elections, 2026 U.S. House elections, 2026 |
A Democratic Party primary takes place on May 19, 2026, in Oregon to determine which Democratic candidate will run in the state's general election on November 3, 2026.
| Candidate filing deadline | Primary election | General election |
|---|---|---|
March 10, 2026 (non-incumbent) |
Heading into the election, the incumbent is Jeff Merkley (Democrat), who was first elected in 2008.
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 law allows parties to decide whether unaffiliated voters can vote in their primaries. As of March 2026, both major parties utilized a closed primary process where only registered party members may participate.[1][2]
For information about which offices are nominated via primary election, see this article.
Thirty-three of the 100 U.S. Senate seats are up for election, and another two seats are up for special election. Democrats hold 13 of the seats up for election, and Republicans hold 22. As of January 2026, 11 members of the U.S. Senate announced they are not running for re-election. To read more about the U.S. Senate elections taking place this year, click here.
This page focuses on Oregon's United States Senate Democratic primary. For more in-depth information on the state's Republican primary and the general election, see the following pages:
- United States Senate election in Oregon, 2026 (May 19 Republican primary)
- United States Senate election in Oregon, 2026
Candidates and election results
Democratic primary
Democratic primary for U.S. Senate Oregon
Incumbent Jeff Merkley (D) and Paul Damian Wells (D) are running in the Democratic primary for U.S. Senate Oregon on May 19, 2026.
Candidate | ||
 | Jeff Merkley | |
 | Paul Damian Wells | |
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 = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey. | ||||
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Withdrawn or disqualified candidates
- Jacob Ryan (D)
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:
Voting information
- See also: Voting in Oregon
Campaign finance
| Name | Party | Receipts* | Disbursements** | Cash on hand | Date |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jeff Merkley | Democratic Party | $6,114,210 | $3,968,072 | $5,951,699 | As of December 31, 2025 |
| Paul Damian Wells | Democratic Party | $0 | $0 | $0 | Data not available*** |
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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." |
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Ballot access
The table below details filing requirements for U.S. Senate candidates in Oregon in the 2026 election cycle. For additional information on candidate ballot access requirements in Oregon, click here.
| Filing requirements for U.S. Senate candidates, 2026 | ||||||
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| State | Office | Party | Signatures required | Filing fee | Filing deadline | Source |
| Oregon | U.S. Senate | Ballot-qualified party | The lesser of either 1,000 signatures or 2% of the number of votes cast for the candidates of that major political party for presidential electors at the last presidential election. Must include signatures from at least 100 electors registered in each congressional district. | $150 | Incumbents: 3/3/2026, New candidates: 3/10/2026 | Source |
| Oregon | U.S. Senate | Unaffiliated | 22,445 | N/A | Incumbents: 8/18/2026, New candidates: 8/25/2026 | Source |
See also
- United States Senate election in Oregon, 2026 (May 19 Republican primary)
- United States Senate election in Oregon, 2026
- United States Senate Democratic Party primaries, 2026
- United States Senate Republican Party primaries, 2026
- United States Senate elections, 2026
- U.S. Senate battlegrounds, 2026
External links
Footnotes
- ↑ Oregon Laws, "Or. Rev. Stat. § 254.365," accessed March 24, 2026
- ↑ Andrew Bahl, "Email exchange with Connor Radnovich, Oregon Secretary of State's office," March 24, 2026
