2020 United States Senate election in Oregon
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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.
.jpg)
 | |||||||||||||||||
November 3, 2020
| |||||||||||||||||
| |||||||||||||||||
   Merkley: 40–50% 50–60% 60–70% 70–80% 80–90% >90% Perkins: 40–50% 50–60% 60–70% 70–80% 80–90% >90% Tie: 40–50% 50% No data | |||||||||||||||||
| |||||||||||||||||
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 flipped five counties that Merkley had won in 2014 (though only by pluralities in the cases of Jackson, Polk and Yamhill).[1] That said, Merkley overperformed Democrat Joe Biden in the concurrent presidential election by about a point and a half.
Democratic primary
Candidates
Nominee
- Jeff Merkley, incumbent U.S. senator[2] (also nominated by the Oregon Independent Party and the Working Families Party)[3]
Withdrawn
- Michael David, activist and ethnographer[4]
Endorsements
Jeff Merkley
Organizations
- American Federation of Teachers - Oregon[5]
- Council for a Livable World[6]
- Democracy for America[7]
- Human Rights Campaign[8]
- Humane Society of the United States Legislative Fund[9]
- League of Conservation Voters[10]
- NARAL Pro-Choice America[11]
- Oregon Education Association[12]
- Oregon League of Conservation Voters[13]
- SEIU Oregon State Council[14]
- Sierra Club[15]
Results
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Democratic | Jeff Merkley (incumbent) | 564,878 | 98.71% | |
| Democratic | Write-in | 7,386 | 1.29% | |
| Total votes | 572,264 | 100.0% | ||
Republican primary
Candidates
Nominee
- Jo Rae Perkins, former chairwoman of the Linn County Republican Party[17][18]
Eliminated in primary
- Paul Romero, refrigeration repair technician and candidate for Oregon's 2nd congressional district in 2016 and 2018[19]
- Robert Schwartz, dance teacher[20]
- John Verbeek, financial executive and nominee for Oregon's 1st congressional district in 2018[21]
Withdrawn
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)[24]
Endorsements
Jo Rae Perkins
State representatives
- Mike Nearman, District 23[25]
Individuals
- Jack Esp, 2020 candidate for Oregon's 21st House district[25]
- Alek Skarlatos, Oregon Army National Guard veteran and 2020 candidate for Oregon's 4th congressional district[25]
Organizations
Results
Rae Perkins—50–60%
Rae Perkins—40–50%
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Republican | Jo Rae Perkins | 178,004 | 49.23% | |
| Republican | Paul J. Romero, Jr. | 109,783 | 30.36% | |
| Republican | Robert Schwartz | 40,196 | 11.12% | |
| Republican | John Verbeek | 29,382 | 8.13% | |
| Republican | Write-in | 4,250 | 1.17% | |
| Total votes | 361,615 | 100.0% | ||
Other candidates
Pacific Green Party
Nominee
- Ibrahim Taher, philosopher, anti-war activist, current member state coordinating committee in the Pacific Green Party[26] (also nominated by the Oregon Progressive Party)[3]
Endorsements
Ibra Taher
Individuals
- Dario Hunter, lawyer and 2020 candidate for president of the United States[27]
- Cynthia McKinney, former United States Congress member and 2008 Green candidate for president of the United States[27]
- David Rolde, 2020 Green candidate for president of the United States[27]
- Cindy Sheehan, prominent anti-war activist[27]
Organizations
Libertarian Party
Nominee
General election
Predictions
| Source | Ranking | As of |
|---|---|---|
| The Cook Political Report[30] | Solid D | October 29, 2020 |
| Inside Elections[31] | Safe D | October 28, 2020 |
| Sabato's Crystal Ball[32] | Safe D | November 2, 2020 |
| Daily Kos[33] | Safe D | October 30, 2020 |
| Politico[34] | Safe D | November 2, 2020 |
| RCP[35] | Safe D | October 23, 2020 |
| DDHQ[36] | Safe D | November 3, 2020 |
| 538[37] | Safe D | November 2, 2020 |
| Economist[38] | Safe D | November 2, 2020 |
Additional general election endorsements
Jeff Merkley (D)
Organizations
- 350.org[39]
- Blue America[40]
- Center for Biological Diversity[41]
- Demand Universal Healthcare[42]
- End Citizens United[43]
- Everytown for Gun Safety[44]
- J Street PAC[45]
- Joint Action Committee for Political Affairs[46]
- MoveOn[47]
- National Committee to Preserve Social Security and Medicare[48]
- National Organization for Women[49]
- Natural Resources Defense Council Action Fund[50]
- Peace Action[51]
- Planned Parenthood[52]
- Planned Parenthood Advocates of Oregon[53]
- Population Connection[54]
Unions
Polling
Results
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Democratic | Jeff Merkley (incumbent) | 1,321,047 | 56.91% | +1.18% | |
| Republican | Jo Rae Perkins | 912,814 | 39.32% | +2.45% | |
| Libertarian | Gary Dye | 42,747 | 1.84% | −1.23% | |
| Pacific Green | Ibrahim Taher | 42,239 | 1.82% | −0.40% | |
| Write-in | 2,402 | 0.10% | –0.35% | ||
| Total votes | 2,321,249 | 100.00% | N/A | ||
| Democratic hold | |||||
By county
By county | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Counties that flipped from Democratic to Republican
| ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
By congressional district
Merkley won four of five congressional districts.[60]
| District | Merkley | Perkins | Representative |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1st | 62% | 34% | Suzanne Bonamici |
| 2nd | 43% | 53% | Cliff Bentz |
| 3rd | 73% | 22% | Earl Blumenauer |
| 4th | 52% | 44% | Peter DeFazio |
| 5th | 53% | 43% | Kurt Schrader |