A sign on a desk in the House Chamber at the Oregon State Capitol on Monday, Sept. 20, 2021. (Amanda Loman/Oregon Capital Chronicle)

Nearly 200 people are running for 76 seats in the Oregon House and Senate and will appear on primary ballots in May. Voters’ choices only matter in a handful of races. 

Only registered Democrats or Republicans can vote in party primaries. The nearly 1.2 million voters – roughly 40% of the electorate – who aren’t members of either party don’t get a say until the general election in November. Candidates nominated by minor parties will appear on the ballot in November and have separate deadlines to file for office. 

In many legislative districts, Oregon’s 1 million registered Democrats and 730,000 registered Republicans also won’t get to cast votes that matter in primaries. All 60 House seats and 16 of the 30 in the Senate are up for election this year, and many districts only managed to attract one candidate per party. 

They are competing for a job that pays about $33,000 a year and increasingly requires persistent campaign fundraising. The primary election is May 17.

Here’s a statewide look at the legislative races to watch, the ones that won’t have matchups until the general election in November and the candidates who can already start planning how they’ll decorate their capitol offices. 

At least eight races will be settled  in the primary, either because one party didn’t field a candidate or because the district overwhelmingly favors one party. Winners will appear on the general election ballot, but alone.

Rep. Brad Witt, D-Clatskanie, originally said last fall he wouldn’t run for re-election because his district was “heavily gerrymandered.” Now, the Democrat who has served in the House since 2005 is running in the Salem-based 19th House District, claiming he lives at a home he bought in 2005 but has never before claimed as his primary address. 

Witt was removed from House committees in 2021 after Rep. Vikki Breese-Iverson, now the House Republican leader, accused him of sending her sexually harassing text messages. He’ll face two Salem city councilors, Jackie Leung and Tom Andersen, in the May primary. Salem insurance agent T.J. Sullivan is unopposed in the Republican primary.

Just to the north, an open seat in the Keizer-based 21st House District is one of the few true tossups, and both parties have contested primaries. Financial analyst Robert Husseman and auto repair shop owner Ramiro Navarro Jr. are vying for the Democratic nomination.

Kevin Mannix, an attorney, former legislator and former chairman of the Oregon Republican Party, is seeking a return to the Capitol. He’ll face forklift operator Kyler McNaught in the Republican primary. 

The race to replace Salem Democrat Peter Courtney in the Senate President’s office will play out among leading Senate Democrats over the coming months. The race to replace him as the senator from north Salem depends on the outcome of two contested primaries. 

Sen. Kim Thatcher, R-Keizer, was drawn into the same district as Coutney.  She’ll face a primary challenge from Marcello De Cicco, who describes himself as a small business owner. Anthony Rosilez, executive director of the Oregon Teacher Standards and Practices Commission, Pacific University instructor Eric Swenson and attorney Richard Walsh are running in the Democratic primary. 

Republicans hold a slight advantage in the 12th House District east of Eugene, and four are vying for the open seat. Charlie Conrad, a Dexter man who works for Lane County; Nicole de Graff, a Springfield business owner and executive director of a group opposed to vaccination mandates ; Cottage Grove millwright Jeff Gowing and retired pharmaceutical salesman Bob Ledford of Eugene are all seeking the Republican nomination. 

Michelle Emmons, program manager of the Upper Willamette Watershed, is unopposed in the Democratic primary. The 12th district was the subject of an unsuccessful lawsuit after state Rep. Marty Wilde, D-Eugene, said fellow Democrats added his neighborhood to a Republican district to punish him for criticizing Oregn’s partisan redistricting process and prevent him from challenging a Democratic senator. 

Rep. Jami Cate, R-Lebanon, eked out a primary victory by just 33 votes in 2020. The Lebanon farmer has another Republican primary in the 11th House District east of Corvallis with field service technician Tyler Collins and real estate agent Heather Dillon, both of Brownsville. 

Retiring Sen. Chuck Thomsen, R-Hood River, gave Rep. Daniel Bonham, R-The Dalles, his blessing in running for Senate in the 26th Senate District along the Columbia River. But Bonham faces a three-way primary with Steve Bates, the owner of a fire equipment sales company in Boring, and Michael Nugent, a program manager for the Oregon Health Authority who lives in Corbett. 

The winner will meet Democrat Raz Mason, a private security provider, and neither party has a clear advantage in the redrawn district. 

Sen. Bill Kennemer, R-Oregon City, faces a primary challenge from Tim Large, a Gladstone audio/video operator, in Clackamas County’s 20th Senate District. The winner will face Rep. Mark Meek, D-Gladstone. 

Six current legislators  have no competition in either the primary or general elections and will coast to re-election. 

Democratic Reps. Maxine Dexter, Rob Nosse, Khanh Pham and Tawna Sanchez, all of Portland, as well as Dacia Grayber, D-Tigard, Dan Rayfield, D-Corvallis and Paul Holvey, D-Eugene, are all unopposed in primaries in safely Democratic districts. The same goes for Sens. Elizabeth Steiner Hayward, D-Beaverton, and Rob Wagner, D-Lake Oswego. 

A number of other races drew only one Republican and one Democrat, meaning candidates can start preparing for the general election now. Among the highlights:

Correction and clarification: An earlier version of this story misspelled Tom Andersen's name. The article was also updated to note that candidates from minor parties have later deadlines to file for office.

▪ You must give Oregon Capital Chronicle credit, including https://oregoncapitalchronicle.com and author.

▪ If you publish online, include the links from the story, and a link to Oregon Capital Chronicle.

▪ Stories may be edited for in-house style or to shorten. More substantial changes should be noted as additional and conducted by your publication.

▪ You can publish our graphics and any photos that are credit to Oregon Capital Chronicle with the stories with which they originally appeared. For any other uses, you must seek permission from us at [email protected]

▪ If you share the story on social media, please mention @OrCapChronicle on Twitter and OrCapChronicle on Facebook.

▪ Don’t sell ads against the story. Feel free, however, to publish it on a page with ads you’ve already sold.

▪ Content should not be published behind a paywall; please reach out to the editor-in-chief if you have questions about your particular paywall system.

by Julia Shumway, Oregon Capital Chronicle March 14, 2022

Nearly 200 people are running for 76 seats in the Oregon House and Senate and will appear on primary ballots in May. Voters’ choices only matter in a handful of races. 

Only registered Democrats or Republicans can vote in party primaries. The nearly 1.2 million voters – roughly 40% of the electorate – who aren’t members of either party don’t get a say until the general election in November. Candidates nominated by minor parties will appear on the ballot in November and have separate deadlines to file for office. 

In many legislative districts, Oregon’s 1 million registered Democrats and 730,000 registered Republicans also won’t get to cast votes that matter in primaries. All 60 House seats and 16 of the 30 in the Senate are up for election this year, and many districts only managed to attract one candidate per party. 

They are competing for a job that pays about $33,000 a year and increasingly requires persistent campaign fundraising. The primary election is May 17.

Here’s a statewide look at the legislative races to watch, the ones that won’t have matchups until the general election in November and the candidates who can already start planning how they’ll decorate their capitol offices. 

At least eight races will be settled  in the primary, either because one party didn’t field a candidate or because the district overwhelmingly favors one party. Winners will appear on the general election ballot, but alone.

!function(){"use strict";window.addEventListener("message",(function(e){if(void 0!==e.data["datawrapper-height"]){var t=document.querySelectorAll("iframe");for(var a in e.data["datawrapper-height"])for(var r=0;r<t.length;r++){if(t[r].contentWindow===e.source)t[r].style.height=e.data["datawrapper-height"][a]+"px"}}}))}();

Rep. Brad Witt, D-Clatskanie, originally said last fall he wouldn’t run for re-election because his district was “heavily gerrymandered.” Now, the Democrat who has served in the House since 2005 is running in the Salem-based 19th House District, claiming he lives at a home he bought in 2005 but has never before claimed as his primary address. 

Witt was removed from House committees in 2021 after Rep. Vikki Breese-Iverson, now the House Republican leader, accused him of sending her sexually harassing text messages. He’ll face two Salem city councilors, Jackie Leung and Tom Andersen, in the May primary. Salem insurance agent T.J. Sullivan is unopposed in the Republican primary.

Just to the north, an open seat in the Keizer-based 21st House District is one of the few true tossups, and both parties have contested primaries. Financial analyst Robert Husseman and auto repair shop owner Ramiro Navarro Jr. are vying for the Democratic nomination.

Kevin Mannix, an attorney, former legislator and former chairman of the Oregon Republican Party, is seeking a return to the Capitol. He’ll face forklift operator Kyler McNaught in the Republican primary. 

The race to replace Salem Democrat Peter Courtney in the Senate President’s office will play out among leading Senate Democrats over the coming months. The race to replace him as the senator from north Salem depends on the outcome of two contested primaries. 

Sen. Kim Thatcher, R-Keizer, was drawn into the same district as Coutney.  She’ll face a primary challenge from Marcello De Cicco, who describes himself as a small business owner. Anthony Rosilez, executive director of the Oregon Teacher Standards and Practices Commission, Pacific University instructor Eric Swenson and attorney Richard Walsh are running in the Democratic primary. 

Republicans hold a slight advantage in the 12th House District east of Eugene, and four are vying for the open seat. Charlie Conrad, a Dexter man who works for Lane County; Nicole de Graff, a Springfield business owner and executive director of a group opposed to vaccination mandates ; Cottage Grove millwright Jeff Gowing and retired pharmaceutical salesman Bob Ledford of Eugene are all seeking the Republican nomination. 

Michelle Emmons, program manager of the Upper Willamette Watershed, is unopposed in the Democratic primary. The 12th district was the subject of an unsuccessful lawsuit after state Rep. Marty Wilde, D-Eugene, said fellow Democrats added his neighborhood to a Republican district to punish him for criticizing Oregn’s partisan redistricting process and prevent him from challenging a Democratic senator. 

Rep. Jami Cate, R-Lebanon, eked out a primary victory by just 33 votes in 2020. The Lebanon farmer has another Republican primary in the 11th House District east of Corvallis with field service technician Tyler Collins and real estate agent Heather Dillon, both of Brownsville. 

Retiring Sen. Chuck Thomsen, R-Hood River, gave Rep. Daniel Bonham, R-The Dalles, his blessing in running for Senate in the 26th Senate District along the Columbia River. But Bonham faces a three-way primary with Steve Bates, the owner of a fire equipment sales company in Boring, and Michael Nugent, a program manager for the Oregon Health Authority who lives in Corbett. 

The winner will meet Democrat Raz Mason, a private security provider, and neither party has a clear advantage in the redrawn district. 

Sen. Bill Kennemer, R-Oregon City, faces a primary challenge from Tim Large, a Gladstone audio/video operator, in Clackamas County’s 20th Senate District. The winner will face Rep. Mark Meek, D-Gladstone. 

!function(){"use strict";window.addEventListener("message",(function(e){if(void 0!==e.data["datawrapper-height"]){var t=document.querySelectorAll("iframe");for(var a in e.data["datawrapper-height"])for(var r=0;r<t.length;r++){if(t[r].contentWindow===e.source)t[r].style.height=e.data["datawrapper-height"][a]+"px"}}}))}();

Six current legislators  have no competition in either the primary or general elections and will coast to re-election. 

Democratic Reps. Maxine Dexter, Rob Nosse, Khanh Pham and Tawna Sanchez, all of Portland, as well as Dacia Grayber, D-Tigard, Dan Rayfield, D-Corvallis and Paul Holvey, D-Eugene, are all unopposed in primaries in safely Democratic districts. The same goes for Sens. Elizabeth Steiner Hayward, D-Beaverton, and Rob Wagner, D-Lake Oswego. 

A number of other races drew only one Republican and one Democrat, meaning candidates can start preparing for the general election now. Among the highlights:

Correction and clarification: An earlier version of this story misspelled Tom Andersen's name. The article was also updated to note that candidates from minor parties have later deadlines to file for office.

Oregon Capital Chronicle is part of States Newsroom, a network of news bureaus supported by grants and a coalition of donors as a 501c(3) public charity. Oregon Capital Chronicle maintains editorial independence. Contact Editor Les Zaitz for questions: info@oregoncapitalchronicle.com. Follow Oregon Capital Chronicle on Facebook and Twitter.

Our stories may be republished online or in print under Creative Commons license CC BY-NC-ND 4.0. We ask that you edit only for style or to shorten, provide proper attribution and link to our web site.

Julia Shumway has reported on government and politics in Iowa and Nebraska, spent time at the Bend Bulletin and most recently was a legislative reporter for the Arizona Capitol Times in Phoenix. An award-winning journalist, Julia most recently reported on the tangled efforts to audit the presidential results in Arizona.

Oregon Capital Chronicle focuses on deep and useful reporting on Oregon state government, politics and policy. We help readers understand how those in government are using their power, what’s happening to taxpayer dollars, and how citizens can stake a bigger role in big decisions.

DEIJ Policy | Ethics Policy | Privacy Policy

Our stories may be republished online or in print under Creative Commons license CC BY-NC-ND 4.0. We ask that you edit only for style or to shorten, provide proper attribution and link to our web site.