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United States Senate election in Oregon, 2020

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U.S. Senate, Oregon
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Democratic primary
Republican primary
General election
Election details
Filing deadline: March 10, 2020
Primary: May 19, 2020
General: November 3, 2020
Pre-election incumbent:
Jeff Merkley (Democrat)
How to vote
Poll times: No polling hours (vote-by-mail)
Voting in Oregon
Race ratings
Cook Political Report: Solid Democratic
Inside Elections: Solid Democratic
Sabato's Crystal Ball: Safe Democratic
Ballotpedia analysis
U.S. Senate battlegrounds
U.S. House battlegrounds
Federal and state primary competitiveness
Ballotpedia's Election Analysis Hub, 2020
See also
U.S. Senate, Oregon
U.S. Senate • 1st • 2nd • 3rd • 4th • 5th
Oregon elections, 2020
U.S. Congress elections, 2020
U.S. Senate elections, 2020
U.S. House elections, 2020

Voters in Oregon elected one member to the U.S. Senate in the election on November 3, 2020.

Incumbent Jeff Merkley won election in the general election for U.S. Senate Oregon.

Watch the Candidate Conversation for this race!

Candidate filing deadline Primary election General election
March 10, 2020
May 19, 2020
November 3, 2020


The election filled the Class II Senate seat held by Jeff Merkley (D). Merkley was first elected in 2008.

Election procedure changes in 2020

See also: Changes to election dates, procedures, and administration in response to the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, 2020

Ballotpedia provided comprehensive coverage of how election dates and procedures changed in 2020. While the majority of changes occurred as a result of the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, some changes occurred for other reasons.

Oregon did not modify any procedures for the November 3, 2020, general election.

For a full timeline about election modifications made in response to the COVID-19 outbreak, click here.

Candidates and election results

General election

General election for U.S. Senate Oregon

Incumbent Jeff Merkley defeated Jo Rae Perkins, Gary Dye, and Ibrahim Taher in the general election for U.S. Senate Oregon on November 3, 2020.

Candidate
%
Votes
✔
Image of Jeff Merkley
Jeff Merkley (D / Independent / Working Families Party)
 
56.9
 
1,321,047
Image of Jo Rae Perkins
Jo Rae Perkins (R) Candidate Connection
 
39.3
 
912,814
Image of Gary Dye
Gary Dye (L) Candidate Connection
 
1.8
 
42,747
Image of Ibrahim Taher
Ibrahim Taher (Pacific Green Party / Progressive Party) Candidate Connection
 
1.8
 
42,239
 Other/Write-in votes
 
0.1
 
2,402

Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source

Total votes: 2,321,249
Candidate Connection = 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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Watch the Candidate Conversation for this race!

Democratic primary election

Democratic primary for U.S. Senate Oregon

Incumbent Jeff Merkley advanced from the Democratic primary for U.S. Senate Oregon on May 19, 2020.

Candidate
%
Votes
✔
Image of Jeff Merkley
Jeff Merkley
 
98.7
 
564,878
 Other/Write-in votes
 
1.3
 
7,386

Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source

Total votes: 572,264
Candidate Connection = 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.

Republican primary election

Republican primary for U.S. Senate Oregon

Jo Rae Perkins defeated Paul Romero, Robert Schwartz, and John Verbeek in the Republican primary for U.S. Senate Oregon on May 19, 2020.

Candidate
%
Votes
✔
Image of Jo Rae Perkins
Jo Rae Perkins Candidate Connection
 
49.2
 
178,004
Image of Paul Romero
Paul Romero Candidate Connection
 
30.4
 
109,783
Image of Robert Schwartz
Robert Schwartz
 
11.1
 
40,196
Image of John Verbeek
John Verbeek
 
8.1
 
29,382
 Other/Write-in votes
 
1.2
 
4,250

There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified. Source

Total votes: 361,615
Candidate Connection = 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.

Watch the Candidate Conversation for this race!

Withdrawn or disqualified candidates

Libertarian convention

Libertarian convention for U.S. Senate Oregon

Gary Dye advanced from the Libertarian convention for U.S. Senate Oregon on July 6, 2020.

Candidate
✔
Image of Gary Dye
Gary Dye (L) Candidate Connection

There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified. Source

Candidate Connection = 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.

Pacific Green Party convention

Pacific Green Party convention for U.S. Senate Oregon

Ibrahim Taher advanced from the Pacific Green Party convention for U.S. Senate Oregon on June 6, 2020.

Candidate
✔
Image of Ibrahim Taher
Ibrahim Taher (Pacific Green Party) Candidate Connection

There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified. Source

Candidate Connection = 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.

Candidate Conversations

Moderated by journalist and political commentator Greta Van Susteren, Candidate Conversations is a virtual debate format that allows voters to easily get to know their candidates through a short video Q&A. Click below to watch the conversation for this race.

Ballot access requirements

The table below details filing requirements for U.S. Senate candidates in Oregon in the 2020 election cycle. For additional information on candidate ballot access requirements in Oregon, click here.

Filing requirements for U.S. Senate candidates, 2020
State Office Party Signatures required Signature formula Filing fee Filing fee formula Filing deadline Source
Oregon U.S. Senate Major party N/A N/A $150.00 Fixed number 3/10/2020 Source
Oregon U.S. Senate Unaffiliated 20,014 1% of votes cast in the district for president N/A N/A 8/25/2020 Source

Campaign finance

This section contains campaign finance figures from the Federal Election Commission covering all candidate fundraising and spending in this election.[2] It does not include information on fundraising before the current campaign cycle or on spending by satellite groups. The numbers in this section are updated as candidates file new campaign finance reports. Candidates for Congress are required to file financial reports on a quarterly basis, as well as two weeks before any primary, runoff, or general election in which they will be on the ballot and upon the termination of any campaign committees.[3]

Name Party Receipts* Disbursements** Cash on hand Date
Jeff Merkley Independent, Working Families Party, Democratic Party $11,451,041 $8,277,385 $3,805,561 As of December 31, 2020
Jo Rae Perkins Republican Party $143,211 $117,366 $25,859 As of December 31, 2020
Gary Dye Libertarian Party $0 $0 $0 Data not available***
Ibrahim Taher Progressive Party, Pacific Green Party $0 $0 $0 Data not available***

Source: Federal Elections Commission, "Campaign finance data," 2020. This product uses the openFEC API but is not endorsed or certified by the Federal Election Commission (FEC).

* According to the FEC, "Receipts are anything of value (money, goods, services or property) received by a political committee."
** According to the FEC, a disbursement "is a purchase, payment, distribution, loan, advance, deposit or gift of money or anything of value to influence a federal election," plus other kinds of payments not made to influence a federal election.
*** Candidate either did not report any receipts or disbursements to the FEC, or Ballotpedia did not find an FEC candidate ID.


Race ratings

See also: Race rating definitions and methods

Ballotpedia provides race ratings from four outlets: The Cook Political Report, Inside Elections, Sabato's Crystal Ball, and DDHQ/The Hill. Each race rating indicates if one party is perceived to have an advantage in the race and, if so, the degree of advantage:

  • Safe and Solid ratings indicate that one party has a clear edge and the race is not competitive.
  • Likely ratings indicate that one party has a clear edge, but an upset is possible.
  • Lean ratings indicate that one party has a small edge, but the race is competitive.[4]
  • Toss-up ratings indicate that neither party has an advantage.

Race ratings are informed by a number of factors, including polling, candidate quality, and election result history in the race's district or state.[5][6][7]

Race ratings: U.S. Senate election in Oregon, 2020
Race trackerRace ratings
November 3, 2020October 27, 2020October 20, 2020October 13, 2020
The Cook Political ReportSolid DemocraticSolid DemocraticSolid DemocraticSolid Democratic
Inside Elections with Nathan L. GonzalesSolid DemocraticSolid DemocraticSolid DemocraticSolid Democratic
Larry J. Sabato's Crystal BallSafe DemocraticSafe DemocraticSafe DemocraticSafe Democratic
Note: Ballotpedia updates external race ratings every week throughout the election season.

Election history

2016

U.S. Senate, Oregon General Election, 2016
Party Candidate Vote % Votes
     Democratic Green check mark transparent.pngRon Wyden Incumbent 56.6% 1,105,119
     Republican Mark Callahan 33.3% 651,106
     Working Families Shanti Lewallen 3.2% 61,915
     Independent Steven Cody Reynolds 3% 59,516
     Pacific Green Eric Navickas 2.5% 48,823
     Libertarian Jim Lindsay 1.2% 23,941
     N/A Misc. 0.1% 2,058
Total Votes 1,952,478
Source: Oregon Secretary of State

2014

U.S. Senate, Oregon General Election, 2014
Party Candidate Vote % Votes
     Democratic Green check mark transparent.pngJeff Merkley Incumbent 55.7% 814,537
     Republican Monica Wehby 36.9% 538,847
     Libertarian Mike Montchalin 3.1% 44,916
     Constitution James Leuenberger 1.7% 24,212
     Green Christina Jean Lugo 2.2% 32,434
     Miscellaneous Miscellaneous 0.5% 6,672
Total Votes 1,461,618
Source: Oregon Secretary of State

2010

On November 2, 2010, Ron Wyden won re-election to the United States Senate. He defeated Jim Huffman (R), Bruce Cronk (Working Families), Marc Delphine (Libertarian) and Rick Staggenborg (Progressive) in the general election.[8]

U.S. Senate, Oregon General Election, 2010
Party Candidate Vote % Votes
     Democrat Green check mark transparent.pngRon Wyden incumbent 57.3% 825,507
     Republican Jim Huffman 39.3% 566,199
     Working Families Bruce Cronk 1.3% 18,940
     Libertarian Marc Delphine 1.1% 16,028
     Progressive Rick Staggenborg 1% 14,466
Total Votes 1,441,140

See also

Footnotes

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 Oregon is a vote-by-mail state. Polling hours apply to vote centers where individuals can instead vote in person.
  2. ↑ Fundraising by primary candidates can be found on the race's respective primary election page. Fundraising by general election candidates can be found on the race's general election page.
  3. ↑ Federal Election Commission, "2022 Quarterly Reports," accessed March 2, 2022
  4. ↑ Inside Elections also uses Tilt ratings to indicate an even smaller advantage and greater competitiveness.
  5. ↑ Amee LaTour, "Email correspondence with Nathan Gonzalez," April 19, 2018
  6. ↑ Amee LaTour, "Email correspondence with Kyle Kondik," April 19, 2018
  7. ↑ Amee LaTour, "Email correspondence with Charlie Cook," April 22, 2018
  8. ↑ U.S. Congress House Clerk, "Statistics of the Congressional Election of November 2, 2010," accessed March 28, 2013
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Oregon's current delegation to the United States Congress
Senators
Jeff Merkley (D)
Ron Wyden (D)
Representatives
District 1
District 2
District 3
District 4
Val Hoyle (D)
District 5
District 6
Democratic Party (7)
Republican Party (1)

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