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Gov. Tina Kotek stands with Portland leaders and Portland Police Chief Bob Day at a press conference in Portland, Oregon on Saturday, Sept. 27, 2025. She highlighted similar experience when announcing her 2026 bid for reelection on Thursday, Dec. 4.
Gov. Tina Kotek stands with Portland leaders and Portland Police Chief Bob Day at a press conference in Portland, Oregon on Saturday, Sept. 27, 2025. She highlighted similar experience when announcing her 2026 bid for reelection on Thursday, Dec. 4.
Gov. Tina Kotek formally announced her 2026 reelection bid Thursday, Dec. 4, leaving her less than a year to convince Oregonians she remains the best choice to lead the state.
The news came after weeks of clear signals that Kotek, whose campaign has been emailing supporters for months to fundraise, was officially gearing up for the November 2026 election. Kotek’s most prominent political opponent, state Sen. Christine Drazan, R-Canby revealed in late October that she would be trying her hand for the governorship again, teeing up a possible rematch with a rival who came within a few percentage points of defeating her in 2022.
As Oregonbattlessluggish economic growth and rising unemployment, Kotek framed herself as a champion of the state’s values who was aware of the plight of working families. Kotek, a Pennsylvania native who began her career as an advocate for the Oregon Food Bank, rose to political prominence as the state’s longest-serving House Speaker from 2013 to 2022. She worked to pass progressive policies in the Legislature before becoming one of the nation’s two first openly lesbian governors alongside Massachusetts Gov. Maura Healey.
On Thursday, Kotek highlighted her central role in fighting President Donald Trump’s attempted deployment of the National Guard to Portland and his administration’s opposition to releasing food assistance during the recent government shutdown.
“We stopped an unnecessary military deployment, restored SNAP benefits and got help to families fast,” Kotek said in a Thursday morning statement. “The choice is between a governor who will stand up for Oregon and protect what we believe in, or a governor who will let Donald Trump do whatever he wants.”
The official “Tina for Oregon” announcement marks a notable shift in tone from when Kotekannouncedher 2022 bid and denounced “the politics of division” on the heels of the COVID-19 pandemic. Since then, her approval ratings have rankedamongsome of the most unpopular Democratic and Republican governors.
One of her most high-profile controversies involved thenixed“Office of the First Spouse” Kotek was considering creating in 2024 amid scrutiny over multiple departures of staff from her office. The Oregon Government Ethics Commission went on to dismiss complaints against her on the grounds that there was noevidencethat Kotek or her wife would benefit from an unpaid volunteer position.
But a challenger to Kotek will likely face an uphill battle, with the most recent Republican Oregon governor winning election in the 1980s. Results from off-year and special elections suggest the upcoming election year will also be difficult for Republicans, who have majorities in both chambers of Congress while an unpopular Republican president holds office. A recentpollof Oregon voters commissioned by the Democratic Governor’s Association found that 61% of respondents prefer a candidate who will challenge Trump’s policies, while 34% said they were in favor of someone who will implement them.
Kotek could also face headwinds due to the ongoing limbofacingthe $4.3 billion transportation package that the Legislature struggled to get across the finish line this year. Drazan in June led House Republicans in effectively running out the clock and preventing the effort from moving forward. That left Democrats to pass an emergency funding measure during a lengthyspecialsession through increases in the state’s gas tax, vehicle registration and title fees and a transit payroll tax.
The Republican lawmakers now leading a push to place the measure on the November 2026 ballot for voters to undo the tax and fee hikes have reported receiving nearly double the 78,116 signatures needed. Political observers havespeculatedthat Oregon lawmakers may work to schedule the measure for the May 2026 primary election instead of running their general election candidates while defending unpopular tax hikes.
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 Lynne Terry for questions: info@oregoncapitalchronicle.com.
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