It’s the eve of a highly-anticipated midterm election, and voters are flocking en masse to ballot boxes across the Pacific Northwest.
The ballot includes a rematch for Oregon’s next governor and a congressional race in Southwest Washington that could determine control of the U.S. House of Representatives.
So far, voter turnout is outpacing the 2022 midterm elections. Nationwide, the GOP is trying to maintain its majority, despite President Trump’s unpopularity, which has Democrats predicting a blue wave. In Oregon, Democrats are seeking to hold on to their supermajority power in the Legislature and retain the state’s top office.
Here’s what you need to know heading into Tuesday’s election:
Oregon governor’s race
In the race for Oregon’s next governor, Gov. Tina Kotek is up against her political rival, Republican state Sen. Christine Drazan. It’s been four years since their last matchup, which included Independent Betsy Johnson.
Democrats believe Kotek will be buoyed by voters’ dissatisfaction with the president’s second term. Throughout her campaign, she has sought to tie Drazan to Trump, all while emphasizing the Republican’s pro-life stance and accusing her of not doing enough to combat the encroachment of data centers.
Drazan has honed her message on Kotek’s unpopularity, saying the former Democratic House Speaker has failed to make progress on key issues — like homelessness, education and the state’s economy — that the governor has pledged to solve.
Polls indicate the race is neck-and-neck.
Southwest Washington
U.S. Rep. Marie Gluesenkamp Perez is trying to hang onto her seat in Washington’s competitive 3rd Congressional District. The two-term Democrat is running against Republican state Sen. John Braun, who is endorsed by President Trump.
The race is one of many across the country that could determine majority power in Congress, prompting the politically powerful to flood the race with millions of dollars in campaign contributions.
Widely considered a blue-collar, middle-of-the-road Democrat, Gluesenkamp Perez has recently defied the odds in the district. It includes rural areas and towns that are powered by trade and agriculture, where voters have voted for Trump three times by single-digit margins. More than a third of its voters consider themselves politically independent.
Both candidates are running on a promise to put constituents ahead of their party’s agenda. Gluesenkamp Perez, who ran an auto repair shop with her husband before she was elected, is honing her campaign on boosting small businesses, protecting rural health care and ending the war in Iran. Braun is campaigning on cutting taxes, bolstering energy production and upholding public safety.
The race is a dead heat, according to polling conducted by the nonpartisan firm DHM Research and commissioned by OPB.
Control of Congress
In Oregon, pollsters aren’t predicting any upsets that could surprise congressional incumbents. But in much of the country, it’s widely understood that Congress is up for grabs.
Democrats are bullish that they have a good shot of taking control of the U.S. House, and maybe the Senate too. Candidates are campaigning to lower the nation’s high prices, stop the war in Iran and push back against the administration’s immigration crackdown.
Midterm elections rarely go well for the party that controls the White House. Many Republicans are distancing themselves from the president, hoping their own records and experience will be enough to maintain the majority. Still, others are hoping the president’s influence will once again bring political victory.
Since his reelection, the Trump administration has sought to dramatically shrink federal spending, reshape the social safety net and carry out a tariff war with the promise of reducing prices, among other things. Those policies have prompted frequent protests throughout the Pacific Northwest.
Whoever controls Congress could set the tone for how the president carries out his agenda for the remainder of his term.
Oregon Democrats’ supermajority
In Oregon, there’s a very different political reality than the rest of the country. Democrats are practically assured to maintain their majority power in the Oregon Legislature. The question is by how much.
Democrats have a supermajority in both chambers, which means they can pass new taxes on a party-line vote. A handful of races will determine whether they keep that power. Those include Senate races in Southern Oregon and the Salem area, and House races in the Willamette Valley, the Columbia River Gorge and on the Oregon Coast.
State Democrats are expecting voters’ repudiation of the president will help them maintain the supermajority, or even add to it. Their Republican opponents are promising to cut taxes and bring accountability to what they describe as runaway spending in Salem.
The majority party has so far struggled to make headway on some of its biggest issues, drawing criticism that they have failed to fully utilize their supermajority power. Tuesday’s election will determine whether they get another chance.
Portland metro elections
Much of the political landscape in the Portland metro area is about as blue as the waters of Crater Lake. This week, voters will pick some of the most powerful elected officials in the region.
Voters will pick commission chairs in Multnomah and Washington counties — top jobs that help direct policy on everything from homelessness to addiction to public safety and more.
In Multnomah County, the race includes two commissioners, Julia Brim-Edwards and Shannon Singleton, and a previous commissioner, Sharon Meieran, who are running in the county’s first ranked choice election. In Portland, half of the seats on the city council are also on the ballot, just two years after a historic government overhaul.
In Washington County, two commissioners are also facing off: Pam Treece and Nafisa Fai. Across that county, a slew of progressive candidates, backed largely by the local Democratic party, are trying to band together to win elections on city councils, the county commission and in the state Legislature.
What else to know
Voters in Oregon and Washington have until 8 p.m. Tuesday to drop off their ballot at official ballot boxes across the region.
This story comes to you from the Northwest News Network, a collaboration between public media organizations in Oregon and Washington.
