Democrats Bolster Supermajorities in Oregon Statehouse

Oregon Republicans entered last week’s elections hoping to chip into Democrats’ hold on power in Salem.

Instead, they got trounced.

With nearly all votes counted, unofficial results show the Oregon Democratic Party will add to its pre-existing supermajorities—the 60% threshold required to pass tax policy in each legislative chamber.

After both major parties hammered the issue of affordability on the campaign trail, the election outcome underscores who Oregon voters trusted to help make the finances of everyday life pencil out. It also showed the challenge Republicans faced in disentangling national and state politics as they argued the state’s poor economic, educational and mental health outcomes showed Democratic rule in Oregon has been a failure.

In an interview hours before polls closed last week, Rep. Lucetta Elmer (R-McMinnville), the Oregon House minority leader, said her party had worked hard to get the message out that “It’s OK to go for change in Oregon”—that the election was about what is happening here, not what is happening in D.C.

But the message didn’t land as Republicans hoped. As the party’s candidates surged in a nationwide backlash to the Trump administration, Democrats, already a dominant force in Oregon politics, gained one seat in the state Senate and two in its House of Representatives, while Republicans failed to flip a single district.

This means that, when the long legislative session begins in January 2027—and lawmakers shape policy on housing, the economy, artificial intelligence, health care, child care, education and more—Democrats are set to control not just the Governor’s office, but wield a 19-11 majority in the Senate seats and a 39-21 majority in the House.

Virginia Stapleton, a former Salem City Councilor, secured the flip for the Democrats on the Senate side, defeating Republican Tracy Cramer in a district covering Marion County. In a statement claiming victory, Stapleton said she intends to stand up for people who are working hard and barely getting by.

“I intend to deliver for working families as their next Senator by making life more affordable, expanding access to healthcare, and making Oregon’s schools among the top in the nation,” she said.

On the House side, Democrat Michael Welsh, an occupational safety professional, defeated incumbent Rep. Kevin Mannix to flip a Marion County district.

And Hank Sanders, a former journalist and legislative aide, defeated Republican Wasco County Commissioner Scott Hege to flip a GOP seat encompassing portions of the Columbia River Gorge and western portions of Mt. Hood.

“This election does not automatically change anything for everybody,” Sanders, a former WW podcast host, said in a victory video, listing issues like medical bills, climate change, housing costs and dilapidated schools afflicting his future constituents.

Republicans lost in other races they eyed closely. For example. Rep. Cyrus Javadi—a North Oregon Coast lawmaker who changed his affiliation from Republican to Democrat in 2025—fended off a challenger from his old party.

Still, GOP candidates managed to defend some swing seats. Republican Clatsop County Commissioner Courtney Bangs beat Rachel Armitage in a district spanning Scappoose, Astoria and Tillamook, holding for the GOP district currently represented by incumbent Sen. Suzanne Weber, a Republican disqualified from running for reelection due to her participation in a 2023 legislative walkout.

And state Rep. Jeff Helfrich (R-Hood River), who presently represents the House seat Sanders just won, secured a promotion to the Senate. He defeated Democrat Nicole Bassett to win the seat that incumbent Sen. Christine Drazan (R-Canby), gave up to mount her ultimately unsuccessful campaign for governor.

In his victory statement, Helfrich said the result showed people in the district—which spans from The Dalles to Estacada—want a results-oriented approach that emphasizes real problems over posturing and ideological pet projects. He said he prides himself on advancing common sense solutions that bring together lawmakers from both sides of the aisle.

“I am dedicated to making Oregon a place our kids want to stay and raise a family,” Helfrich said. “A place where they see a future for themselves.”