2016 Oregon elections

A general election was held in the U.S. state of Oregon on November 8, 2016. Primary elections were held on May 17, 2016.

2016 Oregon elections

← 2014 November 8, 2016 2018 →

Oregon voters' pamphlet, mailed to voters before the May 2016 primary elections

Federal

President of the United States

Main article: United States presidential election in Oregon, 2016

See also: United States presidential election, 2016

Hillary Clinton won the state's seven electoral votes.

United States House of Representatives

Main article: United States House of Representatives elections in Oregon, 2016

See also: United States House of Representatives elections, 2016

All five of Oregon's seats in the United States House of Representatives were up for re-election in 2016. All five incumbents, four Democrats and one Republican, won re-election.

United States Senate

Main article: United States Senate election in Oregon, 2016

See also: United States Senate elections, 2016

Incumbent Democratic senior Senator Ron Wyden won re-election to a fourth full term in office.^[1]

Attorney General

2016 Oregon Attorney General election

← 2012 November 8, 2016 2020 →

Nominee Ellen Rosenblum Daniel Crowe Party Democratic Republican Popular vote 1,011,761 766,753 Percentage 55.0% 41.7%

County results Congressional district results Rosenblum:      40-50%      50–60%      60–70%      70–80% Crowe:      40–50%      50–60%      60–70%      70–80%

Attorney General before election Ellen Rosenblum Democratic Elected Attorney General Ellen Rosenblum Democratic

Incumbent attorney general Ellen Rosenblum (D) was re-elected.

Democratic primary

Nominee

• Ellen Rosenblum, incumbent attorney general^[2][3]

Results

Democratic primary results^[4]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Ellen Rosenblum	425,670	98.85%
	Write-in		4,973	1.15%
Total votes			430,643	100.0%

Republican primary

Nominee

• Daniel Zene Crowe, lawyer

Results

Republican primary results^[4]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Daniel Zene Crowe	227,985	98.64%
	Write-in		3,138	1.36%
Total votes			231,123	100.0%

Independent Party primary

Results

Independent Party primary results^[4]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Independent Party	Ellen Rosenblum (incumbent) (write-in)	4,629	54.79%
	Write-in		3,820	45.21%
Total votes			8,449	100.0%

General election

Results

2016 Oregon Attorney General election^[5]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Democratic	Ellen Rosenblum (incumbent)	1,011,761	54.97%	–1.20%
	Republican	Daniel Crowe	766,753	41.66%	+2.52%
	Libertarian	Lars Hedbor	58,609	3.18%	N/A
	Write-in		3,507	0.19%	+0.01%
Total votes			1,840,630	100.0%
	Democratic hold

Governor

Main article: 2016 Oregon gubernatorial special election

This election determined who would fill 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 was Democrat Kate Brown, who succeeded to the governor's office as Oregon Secretary of State. Brown won re-election; the next gubernatorial election would be in 2018.

Secretary of State

Main article: 2016 Oregon Secretary of State election

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.^[6]

Dennis Richardson (R) defeated Brad Avakian (D), to become the first (and as of 2024, only) Republican to win a statewide election in Oregon since 2002.

Democratic primary

• Brad Avakian, Oregon Commissioner of Labor and Industries, former state senator and representative^[7][8][9]
• Richard Devlin, state senator and former state representative^[7][9][10]
• Val Hoyle, state representative^[7][9][11]

Results

^[4]

Oregon Secretary of State Democratic primary, 2016

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Brad Avakian	199,214	38.94
	Democratic	Val Hoyle	173,915	33.99
	Democratic	Richard Devlin	134,388	26.27
	Democratic	Write-ins	4,110	0.80
Total votes			511,627	100

Republican primary

• Sid Leiken, Lane County Commissioner^[12]
• Dennis Richardson, former state representative^{[7][13][14][15]}

Results

^[4]

Oregon Secretary of State Republican primary, 2016

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Dennis Richardson	260,622	77.89
	Republican	Sid Leiken	71,992	21.51
	Republican	Write-ins	2,006	0.60
Total votes			334,620	100

Independent Party primary

• Paul Damian Wells, machinist and perennial candidate

Results

^[4]

Oregon Secretary of State Independent primary, 2016

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Independent Party	Paul Damian Wells	16,458	65.89
	Independent Party	Write-ins	8,519	34.11
Total votes			24,977	100

Other candidates

• Sharon Durbin, candidate for U.S. House District 2 in 2014 (Libertarian)
• Michael P. Marsh, perennial candidate (Constitution)
• Alan Zundel, former political scientist and former professor at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas (Pacific Green)^[16][17]

General election

Endorsements

Dennis Richardson

• Betsy Johnson, State Senator (D)^[18]
• Brad Witt, State Representative (D)^[18]
• Philip D. Lang, former Speaker of the House (D)^[19]

Newspapers

• The Bulletin^[20]
• The Daily Astorian^[21]
• East Oregonian^[22]
• Mail Tribune^[23]
• News-Register^[24]
• The Oregonian^[25]
• Portland Tribune^[26]
• The Register-Guard^[27]
• Statesman Journal^[28]
• Willamette Week^[29]

Polling

Poll source	Date(s) administered	Sample size	Margin of error	Brad Avakian (D)	Dennis Richardson (R)	Paul Damian Wells (I)	Other	Undecided
DHM Research[30]	October 25–29, 2016	504	± 4.4%	27%	32%	3%	5%[31]	28%
DHM Research[32]	October 6–13, 2016	600	± 4%	29%	34%	4%	8%[33]	24%
iCitizen[34]	September 2–7, 2016	610	± 4.0%	29%	26%	4%	5%[35]	36%
Clout Research[36]	July 9–13, 2016	701	± 3.71%	36%	41%	—	—	12%

General election

County results

Oregon Secretary of State election, November 8, 2016^[37]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Dennis Richardson	903,623	47.06%
	Democratic	Brad Avakian	834,529	43.47%
	Independent Party	Paul Wells	66,210	3.45%
	Pacific Green	Alan Zundel	48,946	2.55%
	Libertarian	Sharon Durbin	47,675	2.48%
	Constitution	Michael Marsh	15,372	0.80%
		Write-ins	3,594	0.19%
Total votes			1,919,949	100%

State Treasurer

Main article: 2016 Oregon State Treasurer election

Incumbent treasurer Ted Wheeler (D) was term-limited and successfully ran for mayor of Portland. Tobias Read (D) was elected to succeed him.

Legislative

Main article: 2016 Oregon legislative election

The Democrats had 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 held a 35–25 majority, all 60 seats were up for election.

Ballot measures

There were seven statewide Oregon ballot measures on the November 2016 ballot:^[38]

• Measure 94 — Amends Constitution: Eliminates mandatory retirement age for state judges
• Measure 95 — Amends Constitution: Allows investments in equities by public universities to reduce financial risk and increase investments to benefit students
• Measure 96 — Amends Constitution: Dedicates 1.5% of state lottery net proceeds to funding support services for Oregon veterans
• Measure 97 — Increases corporate minimum tax when sales exceed $25 million; funds education, healthcare, senior services
• Measure 98 — Requires state funding for dropout-prevention, career and college readiness programs in Oregon high schools
• Measure 99 — Creates "Outdoor School Education Fund," continuously funded through Lottery, to provide outdoor school programs statewide
• Measure 100 — Prohibits purchase or sale of parts or products from certain wildlife species; exceptions; civil penalties

See also

• Elections in Oregon
• Portland, Oregon mayoral election, 2016