Kate Brown recall, Governor of Oregon (2019)

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  • 2017 mid-year analysis
  • 2016 year-end analysis
  • 2016 mid-year analysis

Oregon Governor recall
Officeholders
Kate Brown
Recall status
Did not go to a vote
See also
Recall overview Political recall efforts, 2019 Recalls in Oregon Oregon recall laws State executive recalls Recall reports

Two efforts to recall Oregon Gov. Kate Brown (D) were launched on July 15, 2019. Supporters of each recall had up to 90 days—or no later than October 14, 2019—to collect the 280,050 signatures needed to force a recall election. In October 2019, both recalls failed to make the ballot.

On October 14, Republican Party Chairman Bill Currier said on KXL Radio's "Lars Larson Show" that his recall effort failed to collect the necessary amount of signatures. He said that "we did come up short. Not by a lot but we did come up short."

• The first recall petition, which was supported by the Oregon Republican Party, criticized Brown because she supported legislation during the 2019 legislative session related to a cap-and-trade program and a bill that grants driver’s licenses to immigrants living in the country without legal permission.

The recall headed by the Flush Down Kate Brown group turned in nine boxes of petitions to the secretary of state's office on October 14 with a form that estimated that the group had collected about 290,000 signatures. The secretary of state's office reported on October 14 that the Flush Down Kate Brown group's recall submission lacked the necessary signatures to force a recall election. According to the secretary of state's office, the "total number of sheets submitted was 23,926. Since each sheet cannot contain more than 10 signatures, the submission fell short of the 280,050 signatures necessary to trigger a recall vote. No individual signature validation was necessary."

• The second recall petition, which was headed by Oregon First! PAC and the Flush Down Kate Brown group, criticized Brown over raising taxes, the state's Public Employees Retirement System (PERS) program, Oregon's sanctuary state status, and for granting driver’s licenses to immigrants living in the country illegally.

Gov. Brown discussed the GOP recall in an interview with HuffPost in August 2019.

Brown was appointed as Oregon's governor in 2015. She won a special election for the office in 2016 with 50.70% of the vote. She was re-elected to the position in 2018 with 50.1% of the vote.

Recall supporters

First recall effort (approved for circulation; ended)

The recall petition was filed by Bill Currier, chairman of the Oregon Republican Party, on July 15, 2019. The petition cited Brown's support of a cap-and-trade climate bill and legislation that would grant driver’s licenses to immigrants living in the country illegally as the reasons for recall. He wrote, "The people or Oregon deserve and expect a Governor that honors the will of the voters and works for the good of all citizens, not just special interests and politically-motivated agendas."

HB 2020 cap-and-trade legislation

On June 20, 2019, the 11 Republican members of the Oregon State Senate did not come to a scheduled legislative session amid disagreements on a cap-and-trade climate bill. Democrats held 18 seats, two short of the 20 members needed for quorum. In a statement following the walkout, Republicans said they believed the bill should be referred to the ballot rather than decided by the legislature.

Gov. Kate Brown (D) directed state police to find the Republican senators and bring them back to the capitol. In response, the Republican senators traveled to Idaho and Montana, out of the state police's jurisdiction. Brown said she would not negotiate with Republicans until they returned to the capitol to conduct legislative business.

On June 25, 2019, state Senate President Peter Courtney (D) announced that Democrats did not have the votes necessary to pass HB 2020. The Republican senators returned to the capitol on June 29, 2019, ending the state legislative walkout after nine days.

After the cap-and-trade climate bill failed, Brown threatened to implement the bill via executive order. In the recall petition, Currier made mention of Brown's threat. He wrote, "She has threatened to usurp legislative power with executive orders to implement her failed legislation, deciding single-handedly what is best for Oregon. This is not the Oregon way."

HB 2015 Equal Access to Roads Act

The legislation eliminates the requirements to prove U.S. citizenship or legal residency to obtain an Oregon driver's license. Immigrants living in the country illegally are able to obtain driver licenses under the legislation. Gov. Brown signed the legislation on August 9, 2019.

Second recall effort (approved for circulation; ended)

The recall petition was filed by Michael Cross of the Flush Down Kate Brown group and Oregon First! PAC on July 15, 2019. The petition listed the following reasons for recall:

“	In Our Opinion, Brown has yet again, circumvented the will of the people, by severely reducing our kicker tax refund. She raised taxes mercilessly and spends OUR money recklessly: A ticket to Bankruptcy, NOT PROSPERITY! The PERS program has gotten severely out of hand and needs to be addressed FAIRLY for all retirees. Oregon's sanctuary state status has been a debacle. Innocent people are being hurt or killed. Residents, particularly in Portland, do NOT feel safe! We need a solution to the homeless crisis! Illegal aliens should not receive drivers licenses, as it may circumvent illegal voting!	”
—Michael Cross' Petition to Recall Governor Kate Brown

Gov. Kate Brown

Recall opponents

In an interview with HuffPost, Brown said of the state Republican Party’s recall effort, "Not only have I had one election in the last three years, I’ve had two. And I won both of them handily. So what part of the will of the voters are they ignoring?"

Path to the ballot

See also: Laws governing recall in Oregon

The recall petitions were filed against Gov. Brown on July 15, 2019. Supporters of each recall had until October 14, 2019, to turn in 280,050 signatures to force a recall election.

Election history

2018

See also: Oregon gubernatorial election, 2018

See also: Oregon gubernatorial election, 2018 (May 15 Democratic primary)

General election

General election for Governor of Oregon

The following candidates ran in the general election for Governor of Oregon on November 6, 2018.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Kate Brown (D)	50.1	934,498
		Knute Buehler (R)	43.7	814,988
		Patrick Starnes (Independent Party of Oregon)	2.9	53,392
		Nick Chen (L)	1.5	28,927
		Aaron Auer (Constitution Party)	1.1	21,145
		Chris Henry (Progressive Party)	0.6	11,013
		Other/Write-in votes	0.2	3,034

---

	Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 1,866,997 (100.00% precincts reporting)
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
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Withdrawn or disqualified candidates

• Alex DiBlasi (G)

Democratic primary election

Democratic primary for Governor of Oregon

Incumbent Kate Brown defeated Ed Jones and Candace Neville in the Democratic primary for Governor of Oregon on May 15, 2018.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Kate Brown	83.8	324,451
		Ed Jones	8.6	33,464
		Candace Neville	7.5	29,110

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	Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified.	Total votes: 387,025
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey.
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Republican primary election

Republican primary for Governor of Oregon

The following candidates ran in the Republican primary for Governor of Oregon on May 15, 2018.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Knute Buehler	46.1	144,103
		Sam Carpenter	29.0	90,572
		Greg Wooldridge	20.2	63,049
		Bruce Cuff	1.6	4,857
		Jeff Smith	1.5	4,691
		Dave Stauffer	0.7	2,096
		Jonathan Edwards	0.3	861
		Keenan Bohach	0.3	787
		Brett Hyland	0.2	755
		Jack Tacy	0.2	512

---

	There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified.	Total votes: 312,283
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey.
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Independent Party of Oregon primary election

Independent Party of Oregon primary for Governor of Oregon

Patrick Starnes defeated Skye Allen and Dan Pistoresi in the Independent Party of Oregon primary for Governor of Oregon on May 15, 2018.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Patrick Starnes	58.7	6,030
		Skye Allen	23.4	2,405
		Dan Pistoresi	18.0	1,846

---

	There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified.	Total votes: 10,281
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey.
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team.

Withdrawn or disqualified candidates

• Shawn Liebling (Independent Party of Oregon)

2016

Obama endorsement
During the 2016 election cycle Brown was one of the candidates endorsed by President Barack Obama
Full list of Obama's 2016 endorsements

See also: Oregon gubernatorial special election, 2016

Oregon held a special election for governor in 2016 to fill the vacancy left by the resignation of former Gov. John Kitzhaber (D) in February 2015. Brown, who succeeded from the secretary of state's office to the governorship after Kitzhaber stepped down, ran to retain the position for the two years left of Kitzhaber's term as both a Democratic and Working Families Party candidate.

Five Democratic candidates unsuccessfully challenged Brown in the Democratic primary in May 2016.

Incumbent Kate Brown defeated Bud Pierce, Cliff Thomason, James Foster, and Aaron Auer in the Oregon governor election.

Oregon Governor, 2016
Party		Candidate	Vote %	Votes
	Democratic/Working Families	Kate Brown Incumbent	50.70%	985,027
	Republican	Bud Pierce	43.53%	845,609
	Independent Party of Oregon	Cliff Thomason	2.44%	47,481
	Libertarian	James Foster	2.33%	45,191
	Constitution Party	Aaron Auer	1.00%	19,400
Total Votes				1,942,708
Source: Oregon Secretary of State

The following candidates ran in the Democratic primary for governor.

Democratic primary for governor, 2016
Candidate	Vote %	Votes
Kate Brown Incumbent	83.96%	403,730
Julian Bell	7.04%	33,872
Dave Stauffer	2.83%	13,624
Steve Johnson	2.36%	11,366
Kevin M. Forsythe	1.79%	8,599
Chet Chance	0.95%	4,584
Write-in votes	1.06%	5,077
Total Votes		480,852
Source: http://oregonvotes.gov/results/2016P/1314035914.html

Historical governor recalls

From 2003 to 2018, Ballotpedia tracked 54 gubernatorial recall efforts against 14 different governors. During that time, two recalls made the ballot and one governor was successfully recalled. Former California Gov. Gray Davis (D) was recalled by voters in 2003. Arnold Schwarzenegger (R) was chosen as Davis' replacement. The only other governor to ever be successfully recalled was former North Dakota Gov. Lynn Frazier (R) in 1921. In 2012, Wisconsin voted to retain former Gov. Scott Walker (R) in the recall election. He received 53.1% of the vote.

See also

• Recall campaigns in Oregon
• Political recall efforts, 2019
• Gubernatorial recalls
• Phil Murphy recall, Governor of New Jersey (2019)
• Jared Polis recall, Governor of Colorado (2019)
• Mike Dunleavy recall, Governor of Alaska (2019)
• Gavin Newsom recall, Governor of California (2019)

External links

Suggest a link

• Office of Gov. Brown
• Flush Down Kate Brown website