2020 United States Senate election in Oregon explained

See also: 2020 United States Senate elections.

Election Name:	2020 United States Senate election in Oregon
Country:	Oregon
Type:	presidential
Ongoing:	no
Previous Election:	2014 United States Senate election in Oregon
Previous Year:	2014
Next Election:	2026 United States Senate election in Oregon
Next Year:	2026
Election Date:	November 3, 2020
Nominee1:	Jeff Merkley
Party1:	Democratic Party (United States)
Popular Vote1:	1,321,047
Percentage1:	56.91%
Party2:	Republican Party (United States)
Popular Vote2:	912,814
Percentage2:	39.32%
Map Size:	250px
U.S. Senator
Before Election:	Jeff Merkley
Before Party:	Democratic Party (United States)
After Election:	Jeff Merkley
After Party:	Democratic Party (United States)

The 2020 United States Senate election in Oregon was held on November 3, 2020, to elect a member of the United States Senate to represent the State of Oregon, concurrently with the 2020 U.S. presidential election, as well as other elections to the United States Senate, elections to the United States House of Representatives and various state and local elections. Incumbent Democratic senator Jeff Merkley won reelection to a third term in office. Although this Senate seat was largely expected to be one of the safest for the Democrats, the race received national attention due to the Republican nominee Jo Rae Perkins's promotion of the unfounded QAnon conspiracy theory. Furthermore, Perkins had flipped five counties that Merkley had won in 2014 (though only by pluralities in the cases of Jackson, Polk and Yamhill).^[1]

Democratic primary

Candidates

Nominee

• Jeff Merkley, incumbent U.S. senator^[2] (also nominated by the Oregon Independent Party and the Working Families Party)

Withdrawn

• Michael David, activist and ethnographer^[3]

Results

Republican primary

Candidates

Nominee

• Jo Rae Perkins, former chairwoman of the Linn County Republican Party ^{[4] [5]}

Eliminated in primary

• Paul Romero, refrigeration repair technician and candidate for Oregon's 2nd congressional district in 2016 and 2018^[6]
• Robert Schwartz, dance teacher^[7]
• John Verbeek, financial executive and nominee for Oregon's 1st congressional district in 2018^[8]

Withdrawn

• Matthew Kulow^{[9] [10]}

Declined

• Knute Buehler, former state representative for District 54, nominee for Oregon secretary of state in 2012 and Governor of Oregon in 2018 (running for Oregon's 2nd congressional district)^[11]

Results

Other candidates

Pacific Green Party

Nominee

• Ibrahim Taher, philosopher, anti-war activist, current member state coordinating committee in the Pacific Green Party^[12] (also nominated by the Oregon Progressive Party)^[13]

Endorsements

Libertarian Party

Nominee

• Gary Dye, former refinery operator and engineer^{[14] [15] [13]}

General election

Predictions

Source	Ranking	As of
align=left	The Cook Political Report^[16]		October 29, 2020
align=left	Inside Elections^[17]		October 28, 2020
align=left	Sabato's Crystal Ball^[18]		November 2, 2020
Daily Kos^[19]		October 30, 2020
Politico^[20]		November 2, 2020
RCP^[21]		October 23, 2020
DDHQ^[22]		November 3, 2020
538^[23]		November 2, 2020
Economist^[24]		November 2, 2020

Results

County	Jeff Merkley Democratic		Jo Rae Perkins Republican		Gary Dye Libertarian		Ibrahim Taher Pacific Green		Write-in		Margin		Total votes
	data-sort-type="number"		data-sort-type="number"	%	data-sort-type="number"		data-sort-type="number"	%	data-sort-type="number"		data-sort-type="number"	%		data-sort-type="number"		data-sort-type="number"	%	data-sort-type="number"		data-sort-type="number"	%	data-sort-type="number"		data-sort-type="number"	%
	Baker		2,633		27.01		6,863		70.39		176		1.81		71		0.73		7		0.07		-4,230		-43.38		9,750
	Benton		35,021		67.29		14,811		28.46		1,041		2.00		1,118		2.15		52		0.10		20,210		38.83		52,043
	Clackamas		134,813		53.79		106,838		42.63		4,767		1.90		3,995		1.59		227		0.09		27,975		11.16		250,640
	Clatsop		13,052		55.48		9,623		40.91		438		1.86		391		1.66		20		0.09		3,429		14.58		23,524
	Columbia		14,375		45.44		15,948		50.41		767		2.42		507		1.60		40		0.13		-1,573		-4.97		31,637
	Coos		14,885		41.23		20,051		55.53		676		1.87		470		1.30		24		0.07		-5,166		-14.31		36,106
	Crook		4,133		27.29		10,628		70.17		250		1.65		118		0.78		17		0.11		-6,495		-42.88		15,146
	Curry		6,170		42.24		7,993		54.72		268		1.83		170		1.16		7		0.05		-1,823		-12.48		14,608
	Deschutes		65,264		53.19		53,285		43.43		2,244		1.83		1,769		1.44		128		0.10		11,979		9.76		122,690
	Douglas		20,707		33.03		40,036		63.87		1,217		1.94		660		1.05		65		0.10		-19,329		-30.84		62,685
	Gilliam		373		31.96		765		65.55		18		1.54		8		0.69		3		0.26		-392		-33.59		1,167
	Grant		1,119		24.80		3,273		72.52		89		1.97		27		0.60		5		0.11		-2,154		-47.73		4,513
	Harney		1,055		24.10		3,213		73.41		65		1.49		38		0.87		6		0.14		-2,158		-49.30		4,377
	Hood River		8,619		66.89		3,821		29.65		229		1.78		209		1.62		7		0.05		4,798		37.24		12,885
	Jackson		59,093		47.54		61,010		49.08		2,217		1.78		1,901		1.53		82		0.07		-1,917		-1.54		124,303
	Jefferson		4,591		39.07		6,810		57.95		206		1.75		130		1.11		15		0.13		-2,219		-18.88		11,752
	Josephine		18,697		37.23		29,685		59.10		986		1.96		789		1.57		68		0.14		-10,988		-21.88		50,225
	Klamath		11,237		31.23		23,579		65.53		702		1.95		435		1.21		29		0.08		-12,342		-34.30		35,982
	Lake		908		21.29		3,261		76.46		63		1.48		29		0.68		4		0.09		-2,353		-55.17		4,265
	Lane		133,033		61.26		75,550		34.79		3,842		1.77		4,497		2.07		236		0.11		57,483		26.47		217,158
	Lincoln		17,485		57.88		11,628		38.49		546		1.81		524		1.73		25		0.08		5,857		19.39		30,208
	Linn		27,048		38.29		40,801		57.76		1,618		2.29		1,079		1.53		98		0.14		-13,753		-19.47		70,644
	Malheur		3,353		28.92		7,882		67.97		230		1.98		124		1.07		7		0.06		-4,529		-39.06		11,596
	Marion		79,990		49.37		75,908		46.85		3,221		1.99		2,683		1.66		212		0.13		4,082		2.52		162,014
	Morrow		1,558		30.94		3,324		66.02		109		2.16		41		0.81		3		0.06		-1,766		-35.07		5,035
	Multnomah		356,870		78.53		78,673		17.31		6,775		1.49		11,669		2.57		431		0.09		278,197		61.22		454,418
	Polk		22,893		48.16		22,931		48.24		928		1.95		725		1.53		54		0.11		-38		-0.08		47,531
	Sherman		302		25.61		845		71.67		26		2.21		6		0.51		0		0.00		-543		-46.06		1,179
	Tillamook		8,326		50.19		7,768		46.83		270		1.63		213		1.28		12		0.07		558		3.36		16,589
	Umatilla		11,253		34.95		19,876		61.74		696		2.16		339		1.05		30		0.09		-8,623		-26.78		32,194
	Union		4,545		31.12		9,674		66.24		230		1.57		145		0.99		11		0.08		-5,129		-35.12		14,605
	Wallowa		1,702		33.56		3,267		64.43		65		1.28		37		0.73		0		0.00		-1,565		-30.86		5,071
	Wasco		6,716		48.67		6,572		47.63		290		2.10		208		1.51		13		0.09		144		1.04		13,799
	Washington		202,073		64.64		97,799		31.28		6,131		1.96		6,206		1.99		409		0.13		104,274		33.36		312,618
	Wheeler		262		28.11		646		69.31		16		1.72		8		0.86		0		0.00		-384		-41.20		932
	Yamhill		26,893		46.88		28,177		49.12		1,335		2.33		900		1.57		55		0.10		-1,284		-2.24		57,360
Totals	1,321,047	56.91	912,814	39.32	42,747	1.84	42,239	1.82	2,402	0.10	408,233	17.59	2,321,249

Counties that flipped from Democratic to Republican

• Columbia (largest municipality: St. Helens)
• Coos (largest municipality: Coos Bay)
• Jackson (largest municipality: Medford)
• Polk (largest municipality: West Salem)
• Yamhill (largest municipality: McMinnville)

By congressional district

Merkley won 4 of 5 congressional districts.^[25]

District	Merkley	Perkins	Representative
		62%	34%		Suzanne Bonamici
		43%	53%		Cliff Bentz
		73%	22%		Earl Blumenauer
		52%	44%		Peter DeFazio
		53%	43%		Kurt Schrader

Notes

General

External links

• • • Web site: League of Women Voters of Oregon . (State affiliate of the U.S. League of Women Voters)

Official campaign websites

• Jeff Merkley (D) for Senate
• Jo Rae Perkins (R) for Senate
• Ibrahim Taher (G) for Senate

Notes and References

1. News: Baker. Mike. May 20, 2020. G.O.P. Voters Back QAnon Conspiracy Promoter for U.S. Senate. The New York Times. June 14, 2020.
2. News: Sullivan. Sean. Sen. Jeff Merkley opts out of Democratic presidential contest and will run for reelection to Oregon seat. The Washington Post. March 5, 2019. March 5, 2019.
3. Web site: Candidate Information: Michael David. February 28, 2020. Oregon Secretary of State: Elections Division. March 10, 2020.
4. Web site: Candidate Information: Jo Rae Perkins. January 17, 2020. Oregon Secretary of State: Elections Division. January 20, 2020.
5. News: Believer in QAnon conspiracy theory wins Republican Senate nomination in Oregon. May 20, 2020. The Washington Post. May 20, 2020. “Where we go one, we go all,” Perkins said in the video, reciting a QAnon slogan. “I stand with President Trump. I stand with Q and the team. Thank you Anons, and thank you patriots. And together, we can save our republic.”.
6. Web site: Cegavske . Carisa . Roseburg Republican seeks senate seat held by Democrat Jeff Merkley . The News-Review . January 5, 2020 . September 20, 2019.
7. Web site: Oregon Secretary Of State. secure.sos.state.or.us. 2019-10-29.
8. Web site: Candidate Information: John Verbeek. March 6, 2020. Oregon Secretary of State: Elections Division. March 9, 2020.
9. Web site: FILING FEC-1380922. FEC . May 15, 2020 . February 7, 2020 .
10. Web site: The Green Papers . May 15, 2020 . 44 changes to the candidate list. . March 12, 2020 . June 4, 2020 . https://web.archive.org/web/20200604091610/http://www.thegreenpapers.com/Log/20Q1 . dead .
11. Web site: After losing race for governor, Buehler plans his future. Warner. Gary. 2018-12-29. The Bulletin. en. 2019-08-15.
12. Web site: Our Coordinating Committee. 2020-06-28. Pacific Green Party Standard.
13. Web site: Oregon 2020 Senate Candidate List . secure.sos.state.or.us . Oregon Secretary of State . August 26, 2020 . July 17, 2020.
14. Web site: Gary Dye. 2020-08-25. Ballotpedia. en.
15. Web site: 2020-08-14. Official website of the Libertarian Party of Oregon. 2020-08-25. Libertarian Party of Oregon. en-US. August 17, 2020. https://web.archive.org/web/20200817045708/https://lporegon.org/2020-general/. dead.
16. Web site: 2020 Senate Race Ratings for October 29, 2020 . The Cook Political Report . March 11, 2021.
17. Web site: 2020 Senate Ratings . Senate Ratings . The Rothenberg Political Report . March 11, 2021.
18. Web site: 2020 Senate race ratings . Sabato's Crystal Ball . March 12, 2021.
19. Web site: 2020 Senate Race Ratings . Daily Kos Elections. March 13, 2021.
20. Web site: 2020 Election Forecast. November 19, 2019 . Politico.
21. Web site: Battle for the Senate 2020. October 23, 2020 . RCP.
22. Web site: September 2, 2020 . 2020 Senate Elections Model. September 2, 2020 . Decision Desk HQ.
23. Web site: Silver . Nate . Forecasting the race for the Senate . . September 18, 2020 . September 18, 2020.
24. Web site: November 2, 2020 . Forecasting the US elections . March 13, 2021 . The Economist.
25. Web site: DRA 2020. Daves Redistricting. August 18, 2024.