Live updates: 2026 midterm election

Oregonians will decide who leads the state for the next four years, pick six U.S. representatives and a U.S. senator and elect 75 members of the state Legislature.

For the first time in decades, they won’t weigh in directly on any statewide ballot measures, though many will face questions about school and fire funding, marijuana, psilocybin and other issues in their cities or counties.

Ballots must be returned to an official ballot box by 8 p.m.

The Capital Chronicle crew will be reporting from election watch parties in the Portland area and the home base here in Salem tonight. Check for quick updates here or on Bluesky.

Key Events

• Nov. 3, 2026 10:33 pm Oregon Democrats on track to take historic number of State House seats
• Nov. 3, 2026 10:18 pm Democrats on track to grow Oregon Senate majority
• Nov. 3, 2026 9:23 pm Drazan supporters not ready to give up
• Nov. 3, 2026 9:22 pm Democrats celebrate in Portland ahead of Kotek taking the stage
• Nov. 3, 2026 8:59 pm Oregon on track to keep its congressional incumbents
• Nov. 3, 2026 8:52 pm Drazan supporters dejected by initial results
• Nov. 3, 2026 8:10 pm Bynum says she’s not taking reelection for granted
• Nov. 3, 2026 7:48 pm Drazan campaign expects 400 supporters at private Hillsboro watch party
• Nov. 3, 2026 7:32 pm Oregon Democrats are optimistic as they gather for watch party
• Nov. 3, 2026 4:22 pm Photos: Voting in Multnomah County
• Nov. 3, 2026 1:15 pm Oregon on track for historic midterm voter turnout, secretary of state says
• Nov. 3, 2026 10:17 am Pre-Election Day ballot returns near 50%
• Nov. 3, 2026 5:49 am Election Day’s just a formality for these candidates

Oregon Democrats on track to take historic number of State House seats

By Alex Baumhardt - Tuesday November 3, 2026 10:33 pm

If current leads hold, Oregon Democrats are on track to hold a record number of seats in the Oregon House in 2027.

Democrats led in 39 of the 60 House races, with double-digit leads in some of the state’s most competitive races. If those leads hold, they’re set to surpass their previous record of 38 seats won in 1974, another year where Democrats made huge gains nationwide.

Last updated: 10:36 pm

Democrats on track to grow Oregon Senate majority

By Alex Baumhardt - 10:18 pm

Democrats held significant leads in two competitive Oregon Senate districts, while Republicans led by slim margins in two others Tuesday night.

Half of Oregon’s 30 Senate seats were up for grabs this election, but few are competitive. If current margins hold, Democrats would have 19 of 30 seats in the 2027 session, above the three-fifths supermajority needed to pass new taxes or increase existing ones without Republican support.

Read more here.

Drazan supporters not ready to give up

By Mia Maldonado - 9:23 pm

In Hillsboro, supporters of Sen. Christine Drazan, the Republican candidate for Oregon governor, aren’t ready to give up.

“We know Democrats vote early and Republicans vote late,” Rep. Shelly Boshart Davis, R-Albany, told supporters.

Democrats celebrate in Portland ahead of Kotek taking the stage

By Shaanth Nanguneri - 9:22 pm

Democratic voters were ecstatic in Portland as speakers including the state’s members of Congress and union leaders spoke. Union members took to the stage with signs containing messages such as “Solidarity Forever” and “Workers over billionaires.” Labor unions have long made up a key constituency and fundraising source for Gov. Tina Kotek and Democratic candidates in Oregon.

Graham Trainor, president of Oregon’s AFL-CIO, told the crowd that workers were up against wealthy donors and those opposed to labor unions this election.

“They sure as hell don’t have the people we do, am I right?” he asked.

Oregon on track to keep its congressional incumbents

By Mia Maldonado - 8:59 pm

All seven of Oregon’s incumbent members of Congress appear on track to keep their seats, early results show.

The state’s five Democratic and one Republican U.S. representatives and Democratic U.S. Sen. Jeff Merkley were leading their races with more than 1 million votes counted as of 8 p.m. The Associated Press has called elections for Merkley and Democratic Reps. Suzanne Bonamici and Maxine Dexter.

The closest race is in the 5th Congressional District, where Democratic U.S. Rep. Janelle Bynum is leading Deschutes County Commissioner Patti Adair by nearly 10 points.

Read more.

Drazan supporters dejected by initial results

By Mia Maldonado - 8:52 pm

The room went silent at Oregon Republican gubernatorial nominee Christine Drazan’s watch party upon seeing initial gubernatorial election results that had Gov. Tina Kotek leading by double digits.

Some people booed as they heard news coverage of U.S. Sen. Jeff Merkley’s victory speech denouncing the Trump administration and celebrating a wave of Democrats across the country flipping seats in Congress.

Bynum says she’s not taking reelection for granted

By Alex Baumhardt - 8:10 pm

While many were still getting checked in at the Oregon Democrats’ celebration at the Portland Hilton, U.S. Rep. Janelle Bynum spoke to reporters in the hotel’s Ballroom. Forecasters expect Bynum, a Democrat, to win reelection to Oregon’s 5th Congressional District over Republican challenger Patti Adair, a Deschutes County Commissioner.

Bynum said she doesn’t take her odds for reelection for granted in the swing district and that she is riding on the hope that Democrats gain the majority in the U.S. House and Senate. Bynum has outspent Adair by about $2 million.

“My job was to defend this seat and make sure that Democrats could regain control of the House,” she said. “This was a hard fought seat to begin with. It was $37.5 million the first time. We wanted to make it a non-contest this time.”

Drazan campaign expects 400 supporters at private Hillsboro watch party

By Mia Maldonado - 7:48 pm

State Sen. Christine Drazan and her supporters are awaiting election results at the Hillsboro Airport, where staff said they estimate a turnout of 400 people. Drazan, dressed in a brown pantsuit, is greeting and taking photos with supporters with ’80s rock music playing in the background.

Press are set up in the back of the airport warehouse, far from the stage where Drazan is expected to speak tonight. Drazan’s team specifically asked reporters not to approach any guests for interviews.

Oregon Democrats are optimistic as they gather for watch party

By Shaanth Nanguneri - 7:32 pm

The mood in the air in the Grand Ballroom of Hilton Portland Downtown, where Oregon Democrats have gathered for an election night watch party, is optimistic. Hundreds of attendees are watching news coverage of the midterm elections nationwide and nearly 100 people are waiting in line to check in.

A few have already began to don stickers in support of unions or Gov. Tina Kotek, who’s running for reelection against Republican state Sen. Christine Drazan.

Photos: Voting in Multnomah County

By Jordan Gale - 4:22 pm

At the Multnomah County Elections Division in Portland, a steady stream of voters are turning in their ballots or choosing to vote in person. Behind the scenes, workers are busy processing returned ballots with mere hours to go before the ballot return deadline.

Oregon on track for historic midterm voter turnout, secretary of state says

By Alex Baumhardt - 1:15 pm

Voter turnout for Oregon’s midterm election could be on track to reach historic highs, according to Secretary of State Tobias Read.

As of Tuesday morning, more than 1.5 million eligible Oregon voters had already cast their ballots, and Read said overall turnout is expected to surpass recent years’ midterms with average turnout in the high 60% of registered voters.

The turnout numbers were among election updates Read and other Democratic state leaders, including U.S. Sen. Ron Wyden and Attorney General Dan Rayfield, shared at a news conference at Portland State University on Tuesday.

Ballot box access and voter intimidation at drop sites has not been an issue so far, Read said. President Donald Trump and the U.S. Department of Justice for the first time in history has sent election monitors to all 50 states.

In Oregon, 10 were sent to Multnomah County, Read said, including some who are Oregonians. The Multnomah County Elections Division has also sent out observers to monitor the federal monitors, according to Read.

Read more here.

Last updated: 1:17 pm

Pre-Election Day ballot returns near 50%

By Julia Shumway - 10:17 am

Nearly half of Oregon’s eligible voters had returned their ballots as of Tuesday morning.

Unofficial ballot returns the Secretary of State’s Office posted before 7 a.m. showed that more than 1.5 million of the state’s more than 3.1 million voters had returned their ballots, a turnout rate of 48.3%.

Ballots returned to drop boxes or county elections office by 8 p.m. Tuesday, as well as any ballots postmarked by Election Day that arrive by mail in the next week, will be counted. Oregon’s turnout in recent midterm elections has averaged around 67%, meaning hundreds of thousands of voters still have to return their ballots to reach that threshold.

Oregon, which mails ballots to all registered voters, consistently has some of the highest turnout rates in the nation.

Election Day’s just a formality for these candidates

By Julia Shumway - 5:49 am

While most candidates for state or federal office have an opponent — or two or three — a dozen current legislators are set to return to their seats with no opposition.

Two Democratic senators, six Democratic representatives and four Republican representatives are the only names in their ballot sections. They are:

Senate

• Sen. Floyd Prozanski, D-Eugene
• Sen. Kayse Jama, D-Portland and the Senate majority leader

House

• Rep. Virgle Osborne, R-Roseburg
• Rep. Alek Skarlatos, R-Winston
• Rep. David Gomberg, D-Otis
• Rep. Sarah Finger McDonald, D-Corvallis
• Rep. Lucetta Elmer, R-McMinnville and the House minority leader
• Rep. Daniel Nguyen, D-Hillsboro
• Rep. April Dobson, D-Happy Valley
• Rep. Andrea Valderrama, D-Portland
• Rep. Jason Kropf, D-Bend
• Rep. Emily McIntire, R-Eagle Point