[Read all of our 2026 election endorsements here.—eds]
We declined to endorse Kotek during the May primaries because we have had many qualms with her leadership over the past four years. Since Kotek wasn’t facing a competitive primary challenger, we opted to make those qualms known. In short, we feel Kotek has been overly cozy with the state’s business class, who want her to pursue a version of Reaganomics through tax cuts that would be detrimental to low-and-middle class Oregonians. Many of the state’s problems—crumbling infrastructure and failing schools, to name a couple major ones—are the result of a lack of revenue, not a supposedly overtaxed elite. And the state’s education and transportation systems need to be in much better shape before Oregonians will accept, say, a massive taxpayer handout to renovate a Portland basketball arena.
That being said, Kotek is a regular Bernie Sanders when compared to her opponent, Christine Drazan. Though Drazan is currently trying to make her views more palatable for a moderate crowd, we know how she operates from her previous gubernatorial run and the several years she’s spent wreaking havoc in the Oregon Legislature. Among other disqualifying beliefs, Drazan props up climate denialist, anti-abortion, and transphobic talking points. She stayed silent in the face of Trump’s threats to send the National Guard into Portland. And even if she was unable to make sweeping change amid a Democratic majority in the Legislature, the governor’s veto power would allow Drazan to keep Salem in a deadlock for the next four years.
Kotek, for her faults, stood up to Trump when he tried his ridiculous National Guard stunt. She has signed progressive legislation into law, and championed innovative housing policies. We want better from Kotek. But even the worst version of Kotek is better than the best version of Drazan, who is completely out of step with reality. Please, just re-elect Kotek. It would be so embarrassing for Oregonians to look at Trump’s leadership, shrug, and elect a Republican governor.
The Mercury Election Strike Force is News Editor Courtney Vaughn, Reporters Taylor Griggs and Jeremiah Hayden, Managing Editor Katherine Chew Hamilton, and Editor-in-Chief Wm. Steven Humphrey.