2016 Oregon Secretary of State election

The 2016 Oregon Secretary of State election was held on November 8, 2016, to elect the Oregon Secretary of State. 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.

The incumbent in 2016, Jeanne Atkins. Her term expired on January 2, 2017.

2016 Oregon Secretary of State election

← 2012 November 8, 2016 2020 →

Nominee Dennis Richardson Brad Avakian Party Republican Democratic Popular vote 892,669 814,089 Percentage 47.4% 43.2%

County results Precinct results Richardson:      40–50%      50–60%      60–70%      70–80%      80–90%      >90% Avakian:      40–50%      50–60%      60–70%      70–80%      80–90%      >90% Tie:      40–50%      No data

Secretary of State before election Jeanne Atkins Democratic Elected Secretary of State Dennis Richardson Republican

Republican Dennis Richardson defeated Democrat Brad Avakian to become the first Republican elected to statewide office in Oregon since 2002, and the first to hold this office since 1985. As of 2025, this remains the last statewide election in Oregon won by a Republican.

Democratic primary

Candidates

• Brad Avakian, Oregon Commissioner of Labor and Industries, former state senator and state representative^[1][2][3] candidate for 2012 Oregon's 1st congressional district special election
• Richard Devlin, state senator and former state representative^[1][3][4]
• Val Hoyle, state representative^[1][3][5]

Results

Democratic primary results by county:

Brad Avakian

•   45–50%
    40–45%
    35–40%
    30–35%

Val Hoyle

•   55–60%
    35–40%
    30–35%

Devlin–Hoyle tie

•   30–35%

Richard Devlin

•   35–40%
    30–35%

Democratic primary results^[6]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Brad Avakian	204,135	38.88%
	Democratic	Val Hoyle	178,829	34.06%
	Democratic	Richard Devlin	137,612	26.21%
	Write-in		4,462	0.85%
Total votes			511,627	100.0%

Republican primary

Candidates

• Sid Leiken, Lane County commissioner^[7]
• Dennis Richardson, former state representative^{[1][8][9][10]}

Results

Republican primary results by county:

Dennis Richardson

•   85–90%
    80–85%
    75–80%
    60–65%

Sid Leiken

•   50–55%

Republican primary results^[6]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Dennis Richardson	269,790	77.95%
	Republican	Sid Leiken	74,237	21.45%
	Write-in		2,086	0.60%
Total votes			346,113	100.0%

Independent Party primary

Nominee

• Paul Damian Wells, machinist and perennial candidate

Results

Independent Party primary results ^[6]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Independent Party	Paul Damian Wells	17,124	64.94%
	Write-in		9,245	35.06%
Total votes			26,369	100.0%

Other candidates

• Sharon Durbin (Libertarian), candidate for U.S. House District 2 in 2014
• Michael P. Marsh (Constitution), perennial candidate
• Alan Zundel (Pacific Green), former political scientist and former professor at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas^[11][12]

General election

Endorsements

Dennis Richardson (R)

Elected officials

• Betsy Johnson, State Senator (D)^[13]
• Brad Witt, State Representative (D)^[13]
• Philip D. Lang, former Speaker of the House (D)^[14]

Newspapers

• Statesman Journal^[15]
• The Oregonian^[16]
• News-Register^[17]
• The Register-Guard^[18]
• East Oregonian^[19]
• Willamette Week^[20]
• The Daily Astorian^[21]
• The Bulletin^[22]
• Portland Tribune^[23]
• Mail Tribune^[24]

Polling

Poll source	Date(s) administered	Sample size[a]	Margin of error	Brad Avakian (D)	Dennis Richardson (R)	Paul Wells (I)	Sharon Durbin (L)	Other	Undecided
DHM Research[A]	October 25–29, 2016	504 (LV)	± 4.4%	27%	32%	3%	3%	7%[b]	28%
DHM Research	October 6–13, 2016	600 (LV)	± 4.0%	29%	34%	4%	3%	5%[c]	24%
iCitizen	September 2–7, 2016	610 (RV)	± 4.0%	29%	26%	4%	2%	3%[d]	36%
Clout Research (R)	July 9–13, 2016	701 (LV)	± 3.7%	34%	43%	–	–	10%	12%

Results

2016 Oregon Secretary of State election^[25]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Republican	Dennis Richardson	892,669	47.38%	+4.18%
	Democratic	Brad Avakian	814,089	43.21%	–8.07%
	Independent Party	Paul Damian Wells	64,956	3.45%	N/A
	Pacific Green	Alan Zundel	47,576	2.52%	–0.11%
	Libertarian	Sharon Durbin	46,975	2.49%	+1.05%
	Constitution	Michael Marsh	15,269	0.81%	+0.29%
	Write-in		2,646	0.14%	-0.01%
Total votes			1,884,180	100.0%
	Republican gain from Democratic

Notes

1. • Key:
   • A – all adults
   • RV – registered voters
   • LV – likely voters
   • V – unclear
2. Marsh (C), Zundel (PG) with 1%; "Somebody else/ May skip race" with 5%
3. Marsh (C) with 3%; Zundel (PG) with 2%
4. Zundel (PG) with 2%; Marsh (C) with 1%

1. Poll sponsored by Fox 12