House Speaker Tina Kotek Announces Bid for Governor

The Portland Democrat is the first big-name candidate to enter the Democratic primary.

House Speaker Tina Kotek (center left) at a march in support of the Nabisco strike. (Mick Hangland-Skill) (Mick Hangland-Skill)

House Speaker Tina Kotek (D-Portland) today entered what is likely to be the most competitive Democratic gubernatorial primary in two decades.

“Oregonians are living through a devastating pandemic, the intensifying impacts of climate change, and the economic disruptions that leave too many behind,” Kotek said in a statement. “We must get past the politics of division and focus on making real, meaningful progress for families across our state.

“I am running for governor because I know that, together, we can reckon with the legacies of injustice and inequality to build a great future for Oregon.”

Kotek, 54, has represented North Portland in the House since the 2007 session. She became speaker in 2013 and is the longest-serving House speaker in Oregon history.

Under her leadership, the House has sharply increased the minimum wage, passed anti-discrimination and family-friendly leave policies, capped rent increases, become the first state in U.S. to ban single-family zoning, and passed major new funding packages for transportation and K-12 education, among other legislation. Through it all, Kotek has built a reputation for focus and efficiency.

WW reported in July she was preparing to seek a promotion from voters.

Kotek joins Yamhill County Commissioner Casey Kulla in a Democratic field that is sure to grow. Current Gov. Kate Brown is term-limited from running again, which should yield the most competitive Democratic primary since 2002 when former Attorney General and Oregon Supreme Court Justice Ted Kulongoski faced former Multnomah County Chair Bev Stein and former State Treasurer Jim Hill. (Kulongoski won and went on to serve two terms as governor.)

State Treasurer Tobias Read, who is also term-limited in his current job and Attorney General Ellen Rosenblum, who is in the middle of her term and therefore can run without giving up her job, are both considering entering the race, according to political consultants. New York Times columnist Nicholas Kristof, a Yamhill County native, is also preparing to run. (Disclosure: Rosenblum is married to Richard Meeker, the co-owner of WW’s parent company.)

Four Republicans have said they plan to seek the GOP nomination: Salem oncologist Dr. Bud Pierce, the GOP nominee in 2016; Sandy Mayor Stan Pulliam; the political consultant Bridget Barton; and Jessica Gomez, a small business owner from Medford. No Republican has been elected governor in Oregon since Vic Atiyeh in 1982. Breaking that streak will be a difficult task next year as registered Democrats now outnumber Republicans in Oregon by nearly 300,000 voters.

Kotek enters the Democratic race with a strong advantage: her historically close ties to the state’s powerful public employee unions whose large checkbooks and armies of campaign volunteers make them a critical factor in most statewide races. She has still some House work to do this fall, however, as lawmakers tackle the once-per-decade redistricting process in which they redraw boundaries for legislative and congressional districts. That process is always contentious and will be more so this year as the state adds a sixth seat in the U.S. House of Representatives.

But Kotek will also be busy trying to move up for the first time in her political career.

“Together, we have done great things by working for justice, putting people first, and never forgetting our love of the state we share,” Kotek said. “I will bring people together for a campaign that will inspire all Oregonians to reach for a better future for everyone.”




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