Fifteen candidates are running in the May 17 Democratic primary for Governor of Oregon. Incumbent Kate Brown (D) is term-limited and cannot run for re-election.
Tina Kotek and Tobias Read have led in fundraising and noteworthy endorsements.
Read is the Oregon treasurer, a position to which he was first elected in 2016. He has run on enacting policies to curb gun violence, investing in K-12 schools, and lowering childcare costs. Read said, “We need to stop lurching from one crisis to the next and lay out a vision for where to take Oregon. Not just for next year, but for the next generation. My approach is simple: I’ll measure Oregon’s progress by how well our kids are doing.” Read has also focused on boosting Oregon’s COVID-19 vaccination numbers, saying “I think we need steady leadership in Oregon to get past this pandemic and get us on the trajectory that we want to be on. Of course, that requires getting as many people vaccinated as possible and removing that as a barrier.” AFT-Oregon, a state affiliate of the American Federation of Teachers, and former Gov. Barbara Roberts, who served from 1991 to 1995, have endorsed Read.
