This election determined who fills the remaining two years of the term of Democratic governor John Kitzhaber, who was re-elected in 2014 and resigned in 2015. The incumbent governor is Democrat Kate Brown, who succeeded to the governor's office as Oregon Secretary of State. Brown won re-election; the next gubernatorial election is in 2018 .
Incumbent Democratic Secretary of State Jeanne Atkins declined to seek election; she was appointed in March 2015 following Kate Brown 's ascension to the governorship.
Incumbent treasurer Ted Wheeler (D) is term-limited and successfully ran for mayor of Portland. Tobias Read (D) was elected to succeed him.
The Democrats have an 18–12 majority in the Oregon State Senate in the previous session. Of 30 Senate seats, 16 were up for election. In the Oregon House of Representatives, in which Democrats hold a 35–25 majority, all 60 seats were up for election.
There were seven statewide Oregon ballot measures on the November 2016 ballot:
The attorney general is an executive office in all 50 states that serves as the chief legal advisor and chief law enforcement officer for the state government and is empowered to prosecute violations of state law, represent the state in legal disputes and issue legal advice to state agencies and the legislature.
This increased turnout during presidential election years can significantly affect the partisan balance of state governments. In particular, offices elected during mid-presidential term elections disadvantage the party of the current president, a trend that has remained relatively constant since the Civil War. Presidential election years see aggregate gains for the party of the winning presidential candidate.
Main article: 2016 United States presidential election. The 2016 United States presidential election in Oregon was held on Tuesday, November 8, 2016, as part of the 2016 United States presidential election in which all 50 states plus the District of Columbia participated. Oregon voters chose electors to represent them in ...
v. t. e. The 2016 United States presidential election in Oregon was held on Tuesday, November 8, 2016, as part of the 2016 United States presidential election in which all 50 states plus the District of Columbia participated. Oregon voters chose electors to represent them in the Electoral College via a popular vote, ...
Bernie Sanders won the primary election with 31.5% of the vote, narrowly defeating Donald Trump's 30.08%. Hillary Clinton came in third, with 24.02% of the vote.
The Independent Party held a primary election on July 18. The party's ballot included Bernie Sanders (D), Hillary Clinton (D), Donald Trump (R), Ted Cruz (R), John Kasich (R), Gary Johnson (L), Jill Stein (G) and a "none of these candidates" choice. Bernie Sanders won the primary election with 31.5% of the vote, narrowly defeating Donald Trump's 30.08%. Hillary Clinton came in third, with 24.02% of the vote.
Obama and Biden were reelected in the 2012 presidential election, defeating former Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney with 51.1% of the popular vote and 61.7% of electoral votes.
Bush, the former Governor of Texas. Obama and Biden were reelected in the 2012 presidential election, defeating former Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney ...
The incumbent President of the United States, Barack Obama, a Democrat and former U.S. Senator from Illinois, was first elected president in the 2008 election, running with former Senator Joe Biden of Delaware. Defeating the Republican nominee, Senator John McCain of Arizona, with 52.9% of the popular vote and 68% of the electoral vote, Obama succeeded two-term Republican President George W. Bush, the former Governor of Texas. Obama and Biden were reelected in the 2012 presidential election, defeating former Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney with 51.1% of the popular vote and 61.7% of electoral votes. Although Barack Obama's approval rating in the RealClearPolitics poll tracking average remained between 40% and 50% for most of his second term, it has experienced a surge in early 2016 and reached its highest point since 2012 during June of that year. Analyst Nate Cohn has noted that a strong approval rating for President Obama would equate to a strong performance for the Democratic candidate, and vice versa.
The Republican and Democratic parties held primary elections on May 17, 2016 with general elections on November 8.
In District 3, incumbent Democrat Kevin Talbert, who was appointed in August to replace the deceased Alan Bates decided not to seek election. In District 21, incumbent Democrat and President Pro Tempore Diane Rosenbaum retired.