Where does your vote matter? November 2026

These are the races where votes matter the most — outcomes are not a given and one candidate is a substantially better choice than the other. They're worth the effort of completing and returning your ballot, and maybe even talking about with other voters. If you haven't already used your Oregon political donation tax credit this year, you might even want to consider making a donation to them.

• Multnomah County Chair — 1. Shannon Singleton 2. Sharon Meieran 3. No candidate
• Multnomah County Circuit Court Position 2 — Diana Sykes
• Portland City Council District 3 — 1. Tiffany Koyama Lane 2. Angelita Morillo 3. Esther León 4. Cristal Otero 5. Tom Sollitt 6. No candidate.
• Portland City Council District 4 — 1. Mitch Green 2. Jamey Evenstar 3. Jeremy Beausoleil Smith 4. Jayne Cronlund 5. No Candidate 6. No Candidate
• Measure 26-267 — Yes

Want to understand why I'm prioritizing these races? I've shown the analysis behind these picks below, along with what I think about the races I'm not prioritizing.

US Congress

Senate

Jeff Merkley is running for re-election, seeking a fourth term. There are three other candidates in the race: Gary Lyndon Dye (Libertarian), Chris Henry (Progressive / Pacific Green), and David Brock Smith (Republican). Neither Dye nor Henry look likely to make a significant showing, though Henry may do better than the 1.9% of votes he earned in his 2022 campaign against Ron Wyden due to some Democrats' dissatisfaction with Merkley's age. Smith is putting some effort into his campaign, but as of the June FEC reporting deadline he'd only raised $120,760 to Merkley's $7,893,849. Smith may be able to win over up to 40% of voters, but is unlikely to win.

House of Representatives

Congressional District 1

Suzanne Bonamici is running for re-election and looks likely to win. In her last four re-election campaigns, she pulled well over 60% of votes and she's on track for a similarly large win. I was a bit surprised to see Barbara Kahl win the Republican primary for the district with more than double the number of votes John Verbeek pulled in, but even if she can pick up all of Verbeek's supporters, Kahl isn't going to have the numbers in a district that hasn't elected a Republican since 1975.

Congressional District 3

Maxine Dexter is running for re-election and looks likely to win. While there is technically another candidate in the race, Republican Loran Ayles has done minimal campaigning. He hasn't responded to any interview or information requests that I'm aware of, did not submit material for the Oregon Voters' Pamphlet, and has minimal online presence.

Congressional District 5

Janelle Bynum is running for re-election. CD5 is Oregon's most contested federal election. Bynum won the seat in 2024, beating out incumbent Republican Lori Chavez-DeRemer by just a little more than 10,000 votes. However, many news sources describe Bynum's seat as safe in this election. She's facing Republican Patti Adair this go around and Adair doesn't have the name recognition or fundraising capacity that Chavez-DeRemer was able to wield. Andrea Townsend is also running, representing the Pacific Green Party, as she did in 2024.

At this point, the biggest threat to Bynum may be her own politics: her Congressional voting record in her first-term disappointed many Multnomah County Democrats to the point that a group of precinct committee persons and other activists proposed a resolution to the group in July to request Bynum resign and drop out of the election. While the resolution didn't pass, it's still a sign of Bynum's struggles with turning out leftist voters. If Townsend can double the 4,155 votes she won in 2024 and Adair can get the Republican base out, Adair will have a good shot at the seat. Despite that possibility, it's tough to get excited about the race.

Oregon

Governor

Tina Kotek is running for re-election in a race that has sparked breathless headlines about how Oregon may elect its first Republican governor in 44 years. She's facing Christine Drazan, as she did in 2022. The third party candidates on the ballot have changed, though: rather than Betsy Johnson and a few other names, the only other candidate on the ballot is Brett Smith of the Pacific Green Party. So what has the pollsters so hot and bothered? Well, the polls this year have had both Drazan and Kotek hovering around 45%, with enough undecided voters to turn either candidate into a winner. Smith's numbers are drifting between 3 and 6%, which could help tip the scale in Drazan's favor. Drazan has been able to leverage these polls for fundraising, including a $1 million donation from the Republican Governors Association in early October, putting her in a much stronger position than in 2022. Kotek remains ahead in fundraising at the time I'm writing this analysis, and significantly ramped up campaign spending in September. She reported $5.8 million in spending in September, which was more than in the prior eight months combined.

Turnout will be key in this election, and I don't think Kotek is going to be a strong enough pull on her own. Down ticket races may be the deciding factor on who decides to complete and return a ballot and I could easily see Kotek securing re-election based more on the campaigns ran by Portland city council candidates than on her own merits. I could just as easily see Drazan eking out a win due to Kotek's routinely centrist politics pushing away Democrat and further left voters, much in the way that Nathan Vasquez beat Mike Schmidt in Multnomah County's 2024 district attorney election. And in similar ways, letting Drazan slip into the governor's seat would be harmful for Oregonians. While I wouldn't consider this race one to put a ton of effort into as there are already plenty of people sinking millions of dollars into affecting its outcome, voting for Kotek is a better choice than leaving your ballot blank or voting for Smith.

Oregon Senate

District 17

Lisa Reynolds is running for election. While she is the incumbent, she was appointed to the seat in late 2024. Reynolds may have a little less name recognition than the typical incumbent, but she's pulled in most of the endorsements and donors I'd expect an established Democrat in this seat to be able to land. Republican John Chee is also running; however, the Republican Party has struggled to find viable candidates for District 17 in the past and it looks like Chee is no exception. While Chee's platform is focused on investing in young men (who he considers to be the most neglected and demonized group in modern America), I'd be surprised if he manages to win over a majority of that demographic, let alone the rest of the majority Democrat district.

Oregon House of Representatives

All of the seven Oregon House races below follow a set pattern: The incumbent is a Democrat who was elected with more than 75% of votes (often above 85%). There's another candidate in the race (usually Republican but occasionally Libertarian), who has run in a few other races but who hasn't been elected to any office and has raised minimal funds. While I don't like to claim any election outcome is guaranteed, these incumbents all have re-election within easy reach so I'm not going to spend much time on the details.

District 33

Shannon Isadore is running for re-election against Republican Ciatta Thompson. The most interesting fact about this race is that Thompson was a long-time Democrat who switched parties, reportedly based on experiences working downtown.

District 41

Mark Gamba is running for re-election against Republican Elvis Clark. Clark ran unsuccessfully for the seat in both 2022 and 2024 and does not appear to be doing anything differently this go-around.

District 42

Rob Nosse is running for re-election. For the second election in a row, the Republicans have failed to field a challenger. Libertarian Morey Straus is on the ballot though he is refusing all donations and endorsements as he considers the Oregon state government to be illegitimate.

District 43

Tawna Sanchez is running for re-election. Republican Tim LeMaster is running against Sanchez for the third time, and maybe the third time will be the charm for LeMaster to manage to win over more than 8% of voters in the district. I'm not holding my breath though.

District 44

Travis Nelson is running for re-election. Republican Margo Logan is running against Nelson though Logan does not appear to have a website and did not submit information for the Oregon Voters' Pamphlet. She does have a substantial social media presence that includes a significant amount of misinformation, including about Oregon elections.

District 45

Thuy Tran is running for re-election. Republican Jason Boyce is running against Tran. Interestingly, his campaign website includes material about how he will work with Republican gubernatorial candidate Robert Neuman (who did run in the Republican primary this May and garnered 680 votes total). The website also suggests that Boyce gets his mail in Salem, despite running for a seat in Portland.

District 46

Willy Chotzen is running for re-election. Republican Leo Morley is running against Chotzen in this election. Morley has a social media presence for his campaign but has not updated his accounts in nearly a month as I'm writing this analysis.

Multnomah County

This election is the first time Multnomah County will use ranked-choice voting to elect officials. While I'm familiar with the results of past elections in the county, even predicting turnout for this election feels a little difficult because the electoral process is significantly different. For example, I can't look at primary outcomes when predicting what might happen in the general election. That said, two of the races' outcomes are already obvious: Nicole Pexton is running unopposed for auditor and Nicole Morrisey O'Donnell is running unopposed for sheriff.

Multnomah County Chair

Three candidates are running to lead Multnomah County: Shannon Singleton (who is currently the Multnomah County Commissioner for District 2), Sharon Meieran (who was the commissioner for District 1 from 2017 to 2025), and Julia Brim-Edwards (currently commissioner for District 3). Singleton has been a consistent presence in pushing for evidence-based solutions to homelessness in Oregon for two decades and has proven an effective voice for communities Multnomah County's government rarely remembers to take into account. Whether Singleton can win the seat, however, is a more complicated question.

In elections past, I might have assumed that Brim-Edwards' years as a lobbyist for Nike would make her the most likely winner — she can out-fundraise any comers and can leverage her connections for big name endorsements, as she's demonstrated in her steady climb up the local political ladder. But ranked choice voting may provide enough leverage to change the outcomes of this race. One reason for that is the Don't Rank Julia campaign, which is devoted to convincing voters to, well, not rank Brim-Edwards at all. While there are some other campaigns focused on getting voters to not rank certain candidates, the Don't Rank Julia campaign is unique: it's focused on just one candidate, has a professional appearance, and is operated by a full-fledged PAC devoted to defeating Brim-Edwards. The campaign has helped bring more attention to damning information about Brim-Edwards, such as the open letter seven of her colleagues on the Portland Public Schools board published in July about their difficulties working with Brim-Edwards and concerns about her future involvement in politics. I'm not yet sure how substantially the Don't Rank Julia campaign can affect the election, but it's promising. Of course, not ranking Brim-Edwards isn't enough to ensure Singleton's election — Meieran is still in the race.

Meieran's complained vigorously about how much she hates the idea of running for office again, but she's is actively campaigning and touting a big plan for improving the county. The 23-page plan promises to restructure the county's approach to operations, including creating a functioning approach to reducing homelessness within two years, a concept that certainly appeals to most voters. However, a close read of Meieran's road map shows no real consideration of the root causes of either Multnomah County's struggles with operations or issues like homelessness. It certainly doesn't address how Meieran will get other elected officials on board with changes that limit their power — a crucial step in a county where a district attorney can snap his fingers and derail months of work on a plan to provide treatment for people experiencing addiction rather than criminalizing them. Despite these concerns (and a formal complaint that Meieran may have violated campaign finance laws in creating her plan), Meieran's likely to attract enough voters of all affiliations willing to at least rank her second on the ballot to make her a viable compromise candidate.

Commissioner District 2

Seven candidates are running for the District 2 seat: Bri Williams, Nathan Ong Norris, Serena Cruz, Nabil Zaghloul, Tony Robertson, Bruce Broussard, and Herman Greene. Williams seems best positioned to do meaningful work as a commissioner: She's already familiar with the way the county functions as a county employee and she's handled leadership positions at the county (such as on the county's policy council on HIV/AIDs-specific healthcare). Williams' campaign has gathered endorsements from key progressive organizations around Portland and she seems poised to perform well in the election.

Norris and Cruz have built equally effective campaigns and could do well in the seat. Norris' background in emergency management could be a useful addition to the commission and he's been able to leverage his connections to democratic socialist organizations in ways that will certainly ensure his supporters return their ballots on time. Cruz, on the other hand, already has been a county commissioner — as well as the chief operating officer of Multnomah County. She's already embedded in Portland's power structures and has built a long list of local organizations and elected officials willing to advocate for her as well as donate to her campaign. If ranked choice voting wasn't a factor, I'd expect Cruz to win this race.

Zaghloul and Robertson are both long-time government employees running somewhat smaller campaigns. Zaghloul has worked for Multnomah County for more than 30 years while Robertson works for the Oregon Bureau of Labor and Industry. While Zaghloul has garnered a decent list of endorsements, his fundraising suggests that support isn't deep — he hasn't gotten many donations from elected officials, unions, or other power brokers beyond a $250 donation from Dan Ryan's PAC. Robertson's endorsement list is short and his fundraising doesn't appear to have hit the legal reporting threshold at the time I'm writing.

While voters can rank up to six candidates for this race, I'd suggest only ranking five. While neither Broussard nor Greene have been targeted by any of the Don't Rank campaigns I've seen, both have records that suggest they would do particularly poorly in the seat. Broussard is a perennial candidate with well over a dozen campaigns ranging from city council to governor his credit — but not a single win. Greene served on the Portland Public School board until last year and has since worked as a paid consultant to Procedo, a private firm that landed a contract with PPS worth $61.5 million.

Multnomah County Circuit Court

Three judges' seats are on the ballot. Two are run-off races — in both cases, no candidate earned more than 49% of votes on the primary ballot, so the two candidates earning the most ballots in both races advanced to the general ballot. The third is for Position 6 and is essentially confirming the appointment of Sonia Montalbano to the seat in August since Montalbano is not facing an opponent.

Position 2

Diana Sykes is running against Laura Maurer Rowan for Position 2. I consider this race to be one of the most important on this ballot because its outcome will directly impact people's lives — and it's one where even a small number of voters is likely to have a significant impact, since many voters consistently skip judicial races. Position 2 covers Multnomah County's mental health diversion court. Sykes is, by far, the candidate less likely to compound the harms the carceral system enacts, especially in cases where mental health is a factor. Her work in creating the Oregon Department of Justice's Civil Rights Unit, as well as in legal aid and private practice, demonstrates an ability to recognize systemic failures that Rowan seems to lack.

Rowan, in contrast, is a prosecutor's prosecutor. During her time in the Multnomah County District Attorney, she was the point person for handling involuntary commitments on mental health grounds and consistently demonstrated a willingness to criminalize mental illness. Rowan has close ties with the Portland Police Bureau, an organization that the US Department of Justice found to have a "pattern and practice" of using excessive force against people experiencing mental health crises. Given that Rowan has pulled in large donations from the law-and-order crowd, she's been able to spend more on marketing for her campaign. However, Sykes has gathered endorsements from the Portland Mercury and the Oregonian that will likely outweigh Rowan's fundraising advantage.

Position 14

Elizabeth Savage and Joe Hagedorn are running for Position 14. Position 14 is the family law court and both candidates bring relevant experience to the table. Hagedorn has gathered endorsements from the Portland Mercury, Willamette Week, and the Oregonian, which may be enough to clinch a win given the relatively little attention on judicial races.

East Multnomah Soil & Water Conservation District

Zone 3

Brad Hunter is running for re-election against Silas Morgan. Hunter was appointed to the seat in 2026 and, despite his short tenure, has been endorsed by other EMSWCD directors. His background in natural resources management and governance seems to have allowed him to jump into the district's work. While Morgan has some relevant experience in geology and farming, Hunter's relevant work experience and incumbency will likely appeal to more voters.

At Large 2

Four candidates are running in this election: Daniel Newberry, Steph Routh, Jeremy Wood, and Alix Parise. Newberry and Routh likely have the most name recognition. Newberry has a long history of involvement with a variety of government organizations dealing with natural resources, including a stint as the former chair of Portland's Urban Forestry Commission and the Johnson Creek Watershed Council. Routh has a long history of policy work in the Portland area, as well as a 2024 run for Portland City Council under her belt where she performed well. Routh is running one of the most active campaigns I've seen in a while for a conservation district seat. While either could do well in the position, Vivek Shandas' endorsement of Newberry bumped Newberry up in my estimation. Shandas' work on addressing climate change in cities rarely comes up in elections, even when a candidate prioritizes climate issues, so seeing a candidate seek Shandas' endorsement feels like a big deal.

West Multnomah Soil & Water Conservation District

Zone 5

Terri Preeg Riggsby is running for re-election against Joy VanDervort Fields and Shari Freshman. Riggsby is a long-time incumbent, as well as the executive director of the Network of Oregon Watershed Councils. She looks poised to keep her seat, though Fields presents an interesting alternative. Fields is Clackamas County's principal planner, an expertise underrepresented on the district's board.

Portland

More than thirty candidates are running in Portland's two city council races. I'm limiting my discussion to candidates who seem to be running serious campaigns, typically evidenced by collecting donations and endorsements, participating in interviews, and engaging with voters beyond their personal circle of acquaintances.

Portland's auditor, Simone Rede, is also up for re-election but does not face a challenger.

City Council District 3

Angelita Morillo, Tiffany Koyama Lane, and Steve Novick, District 3's incumbent councilors, are all running for re-election. Morillo and Lane have both been effective representatives of the district as well as advocates for marginalized communities throughout the city. They're two of the three top fundraisers through the city's Small Donors program and are consistently turning out supporters for campaign events. They both look poised to turn that support into the voter turnout necessary to keep them on the city council.

While Novick's fundraising isn't far behind his fellow councilors, he's been tagged in two separate Don't Rank campaigns, based on his voting record supporting big businesses and increasing police funding. That voting record has been rewarded with continuing support from organizations like United for Portland (the political arm of the Portland Metro Chamber). He's positioned himself as enough of a moderate that the Don't Rank campaigns may not prevent his re-election. Kellie Torres is in a similar position, albeit with a less visible career and less name recognition. Torres, who formerly served as Dan Ryan's chief of staff, has raised as much money through the Small Donors program as Novick, despite being on at least one Don't Rank list.

Of the other seventeen candidates in the race, Esther León, Tom Sollitt, Joel Corcoran, and Cristal Otero are running the most significant campaigns. León and Sollitt are both participating in the Small Donors program. León has gathered some significant endorsements, especially those tied to her campaign priorities around affordable housing, community-based public safety programs (like Portland Street Response), and climate preparedness. Sollitt's campaign may seem a little light on endorsements, but that's by choice: he pledged to not accept endorsements or donations from organizations that receive money from the City of Portland or regularly lobby city leaders. Corcoran has a long résumé in Portland politics, including stints as policy counsel for Loretta Smith and Jeff Merkley and treasurer for the Portland Metro Chamber's United for Portland PAC. Otero is on her second run for city council and is leaning on her experience as a program specialist for the Multnomah County Homeless Services Department to talk about key issues like affordability.

While it currently seems likely that Morillo and Lane will be re-elected, the third city council seat seems a bit more up in the air. Centrist and right-leaning voters will likely dictate the third seat, with either Novick returning or Torres moving forward. However, it's still worth ranking other candidates. I'd suggesting the following ranking: 1. Tiffany Koyama Lane 2. Angelita Morillo 3. Esther León 4. Cristal Otero 5. Tom Sollitt 6. No candidate.

City Council District 4

Mitch Green, Olivia Clark, and Eric Zimmerman, District 4's incumbent councilors, are all running for re-election. Green's re-election campaign has gathered quite a bit of attention from opponents looking to manufacture scandals. Those range from Portland Police Chief Bob Day's comments on old anti-police social media posts Green made in 2020 and has since deleted to an attempt to file a campaign finance violation complaint on the basis of Green's use of his official social media accounts. Those efforts don't seem to have harmed Green's fundraising or support from left-leaning groups, though.

Clark and Zimmerman are both on multiple Don't Rank lists and there seems to be a small Don't Rank campaign solely focused on Zimmerman. Both Clark and Zimmerman have consistently opposed police accountability measures and supported increasing police funding. They're also both performing well in the Small Donors program and seem to have enough institutional support to do well in the coming election. But Eli Arnold, who was the first runner up in the 2024 election for District 4, is currently the top fundraiser in the Small Donors program. Arnold has similar politics to Clark and Zimmerman and may be poised to knock either Clark or Zimmerman out of the running, especially given the support he's gathered as an active member of the Portland Police Bureau.

Three other candidates are running substantive campaigns at this point: Jamey Evenstar, Jayne Cronlund, and Jeremy Beausoleil Smith. Evenstar has gathered most of the progressive and left-leaning endorsements in the race and seems to be leveraging her experience in Candace Avalos' and Chloe Eudaly's offices effectively. Cronlund's campaign has focused on the city's parks and supporting small businesses, two platform planks that make sense given her experiences working in land conservancy and running small businesses. She's landed an endorsement from Willamette Week on the expectation that she wouldn't automatically side with existing voting blocs on the city council. Beausoleil Smith has a lengthy history of local organizing, most recently with the Democratic Socialists of America, that combined with his solid fundraising suggests that he'll be able to turn out a respectable number of voters.

While the outcomes in District 4 seem a little less certain than in District 3, voters could easily return the three incumbents to the city council. Arnold may be able to outspend other challengers to unseat either Clark or Zimmerman. But the various Don't Rank campaigns in play may be able to change the numbers enough to give another candidate a shot. I'd suggest the following ranking: 1. Mitch Green 2. Jamey Evenstar 3. Jeremy Beausoleil Smith 4. Jayne Cronlund 5. No Candidate 6. No Candidate

Maywood Park City Councilor

Maywood Park is an independent city entirely surrounded by Portland. Their city council is elected by ranked choice voting. In this election, the two candidates receiving the most votes will serve a four-year term and the third will serve a two-year term. Two incumbents are running: Jim Akers, the current mayor, and Kevin Bussema, the current council president. The three other candidates on the ballot are Katy Collins, Winn Holly, and Kelly Ripley Feller. Akers and Bussema have an obvious advantage in the race that suggests they'll be re-elected. Ripley Feller has garnered substantial endorsements, while Holly regularly publishes a newsletter about Maywood Park's government. Both Holly and Ripley Feller could do well in the election, though Holly seems most likely to bring a new and more inclusive perspective to the council.

Ballot Measures

Measure 26-267 - Amends Charter: Portland residents decide 2% of city’s annual discretionary budget.

This ballot measure would create a new participatory budgeting program in the City of Portland. Despite some suggestions to the contrary, this wouldn't be the first participatory budgeting program in the area. The Oregon Cultural Trust's tax credit program likely has that honor. However, the program this ballot measure could create would be larger than the other participatory budgeting programs currently operating here, setting aside an estimated $16.4 million for city residents' allocation. While starting with a smaller pilot program might have been more appealing to many voters, this ballot measure reflects the reality of how budgeting works in the various local governments around Portland. We've seen multiple ballot measures over the past several elections that create new taxes to cover specific programs that stakeholders haven't been able to get local governments to take on. Many of these programs are important and worth the work that's gone into them, like Preschool for All and the Clean Energy Fund. But they've made paying taxes here much more complicated than in other cities. The only way to avoid even more of these necessary but clunky ballot measures in the future is to give city residents a say in how existing budgets are spent.

The ballot measure appears to be well supported. Your 2 Cents PDX is the organization working to pass the measure. They got a record-breaking 78,743 Portlanders to sign the petition putting this measure on the ballot. In addition to all that work preparing for this election, they've convinced a long list of donors to support the campaign. Most of those donors are contributing amounts under $250. In contrast, Protect Our City Services, the organization campaigning against the ballot measure, has a total of nine donors, with the majority of their funds coming from the Fire Fighters PAC and the Keep Portland Safe PAC.