2020 in Oregon

Incumbents

• Governor: Kate Brown (D)
• Secretary of State: Bev Clarno (R)

Elections

• 2020 United States presidential election in Oregon
• 2020 Oregon House of Representatives election

Ongoing

• 2020 Oregon wildfires
• COVID-19 pandemic in Oregon
• George Floyd protests in Oregon

February

• February 25 – Several Republican members of the Oregon State Senate walk out to break quorum during a vote on an environmental bill.^[1]
• February 28 – COVID-19 pandemic: The state confirms its first case of COVID-19.^[2]
• February 29– Bricks Cascade 2020, a Lego fan convention, is held in Portland.^[3]

March

• March 8 – COVID-19 pandemic: Governor Kate Brown declares a state of emergency.^[4]
• March 11
  • COVID-19 pandemic: The University of Oregon and Portland State University announce that all classes will be online-only for the rest of the semester.^[5]
  • COVID-19 pandemic: The Oregon Health Authority announces the first confirmed case of COVID-19 in Deschutes County, and the first local case in Umatilla County.^[5]
• March 14 – COVID-19 pandemic: A man dies from COVID-19 at the Veterans Affairs Medical Center in Portland, becoming the first person in the state known to have died from the virus.^[6]
• March 23 – COVID-19 pandemic: Governor Kate Brown issues a stay-at-home order.^[7]

April

• April 13 – COVID-19 pandemic: Oregon joins Washington and California in creating the Western States Pact, an agreement to ease back each state's COVID-19 restrictions.^[8]
• April 29
  • COVID-19 pandemic: The state reports its 100th death from COVID-19.^[9]
  • A man is struck and killed by an Amtrak train in Salem.^[10]

May

• May 5 – COVID-19 pandemic: Cycle Oregon cancels all events for the year.^[11]
• May 7 – COVID-19 pandemic: Governor Kate Brown announces a ban on large gatherings, expected to last until at least September.^[12] The Oregon State Fair is canceled almost immediately.^[13]
• May 13 – Organizers announce that the 2020 Hood to Coast is cancelled due to COVID-19 restrictions.^[14]
• May 19 – Oregon marks the end of primary voting for the Democratic and Republican parties.^[15]
• May 20 – A kitten with two faces is born at a farm in Albany.^[16]
• May 28 – Protesters gather at the Multnomah County Justice Center, marking the first George Floyd protest in Oregon.^[17]

June

• June 1
  • George Floyd protests: Thousands of people march across Portland's Burnside Bridge.^[18]
  • George Floyd protests: Portland mayor Ted Wheeler announces a curfew.^[19]
• June 2 – George Floyd protests: On the 6th consecutive day of protests in Portland, additional demonstrations are held in various other cities in Oregon, including Albany, Bend, Brookings, Eugene, Forest Grove, Grant's Pass, McMinnville, and Tualatin.^[17][20]
• June 5 – George Floyd protests: U.S. District Judge Marco A. Hernandez issues a temporary restraining order that restricts the Portland Police Bureau's use of tear gas so that it should only be used during riots, although the order defines a "riot" as involving as few as five people.^[21]
• June 8
  • George Floyd protests: Protesters shut down I-84 in Portland.^[17]
  • Amid daily protests in Portland, Portland Police Chief Jami Resch steps down, and is succeeded by Chuck Lovell.^[17]
• June 13 – A tornado touches down in Damascus, Oregon.^[22]
• June 14 – George Floyd protests: Protesters topple a statue of Thomas Jefferson at Jefferson High School in Portland.^[23]
• June 18
  • George Floyd protests: On the eve of Juneteenth, protesters topple a statue of George Washington in Northeast Portland.^[24]
  • Local resident Nick Lloyd paints the Black Lives Matter street mural on North Edison Street in Portland.^[25]
• June 26 – George Floyd protests: Protesters and the city agree to expand the restraining order on tear gas so that it also applies to rubber bullets and pepper spray.^[26]

July

• July 11 – George Floyd protests: Federal agents shoot a protester in the head with a projectile, causing skull fractures and facial injuries requiring facial reconstruction surgery.^[27]
• July 18–19 – Portland's Black Lives Matter street mural is vandalized.^[28]
• July 26 – Unidentified law enforcement hits journalist Trip Jennings directly in the eye with a pepper ball.^[29]
• July 26–27 – A heat wave brings temperatures above 100 degrees in Portland.^[22]

August

• August 20
  • Some Wasco County residents are ordered to evacuate because of the White River Fire.^[30]
  • The Northern Oregon Regional Correctional Facility (NORCF) announces that they will end their contract with ICE, leaving the state without any facilities to hold people detained by federal immigration officials.^[31]
• August 25 – A patient scales the wall of the Oregon State Hospital and briefly escapes, running for half of a mile before hospital staff catch up with her.^[32]

September

• September 9 – Two people are killed by wildfires southeast of Salem; these are the first deaths of the year that are confirmed to have been caused by wildfires.^[33]
• September 14 – IQAir.com lists Portland as having the worst air quality in the world, due to ongoing wildfires across the entire West Coast.^[34]

November

• November 3 – Oregon holds elections for president, state representatives, ballot measures, and other issues.^[35]

December

• December 4 – COVID-19 pandemic: The Oregon Health Authority announces the state's 1,000th death from COVID-19.^[36]

• December 21 – A group of protesters breach the Oregon State Capitol, aided by Representative Mike Nearman, during a closed emergency session. The protesters engage in violent confrontations with police and are forced out of the building.^[37]