Governor of Oregon
Tina Kotek
Governor of Oregon (since January 2023)DWorking FamiliesINCUMBENT
- Race
- Governor of Oregon
- Election
- 2026-11-03
- Opponents
- Christine Drazan (R, Libertarian); Brett Smith (Pacific Green)
- Research
- Basic
Party linenone
No recorded floor votes — not a current legislator in our records.
Said vs. did4 statements · 0 votes
Tina Kotek is the incumbent Governor of Oregon, a Democrat seeking a second term. She was a state representative from Portland from 2007 to 2022 and House Speaker from 2013 to 2022. As governor she has declared and repeatedly extended a homelessness emergency, signed a statewide shelter program, and signed a series of housing-construction bills.[1][2][3]
Compare statements with votes ›On the ballotGovernor
2026-11-03
| Tina Kotek DWorking Families | incumbent |
| Christine Drazan RLibertarian | challenger |
| Brett Smith Pacific Green | challenger |
Won the Democratic primary with 84% of the vote; cross-nominated by the Working Families Party.
Said vs. did
Each documented position next to the recorded floor votes we map to the same issue. Votes are compared one at a time; no overall stance is inferred from them.
Commemorated the July 2025 signing of bills aimed at speeding middle-housing production and funding housing infrastructure, saying 'we have to cut red tape and get out of our own way.'
Documented position[4]
No recorded floor vote in our key-vote set maps to this issue.
Committed, in exchange for the Working Families Party cross-nomination, to pursue statewide universal preschool modeled on Multnomah County's Preschool For All.
Documented position[5]
No recorded floor vote in our key-vote set maps to this issue.
Agreed, in a joint statement with the Working Families Party, to defend Oregon's sanctuary laws.
Documented position[5]
No recorded floor vote in our key-vote set maps to this issue.
Said in the October 13 debate she is trying to preserve the state's Medicaid system from cuts under the Trump administration, and criticized Drazan's vote against a tax package funding the Oregon Health Plan.
Documented position[6]
No recorded floor vote in our key-vote set maps to this issue.
Biography
Tina Kotek is the incumbent Governor of Oregon, a Democrat seeking a second term. She was a state representative from Portland from 2007 to 2022 and House Speaker from 2013 to 2022. As governor she has declared and repeatedly extended a homelessness emergency, signed a statewide shelter program, and signed a series of housing-construction bills.[1][2][3]
Basic profile — the most important sourced facts we found.
Kotek moved to Oregon in 1987 and earned a B.S. in religious studies from the University of Oregon.[7][8] She later earned a master's degree from the University of Washington, which Ballotpedia lists as international studies.[8][9] Before running for office she worked as a policy advocate at the Oregon Food Bank and as policy director at Children First for Oregon.[8][7][9]
Kotek served in the Oregon House of Representatives from 2007 to 2022 and as Speaker from 2013 to 2022, the longest-serving speaker in state history.[8][9] Her House Bill 2001 (2019) required larger cities to allow middle housing such as fourplexes.[8]
She was elected governor in November 2022, defeating Republican Christine Drazan and unaffiliated candidate Betsy Johnson, and took office on January 9, 2023.[8][9] In July 2025 she signed House Bill 3644, which established an ongoing statewide shelter program with $204.9 million for the next two years, and later that month signed a package of bipartisan bills aimed at easing housing construction.[2][3] She advanced from the May 19, 2026 Democratic primary and is seeking re-election.[9][1]
On the record
Official actions: bills, executive acts, filings and court records.
- bill2025-07-24 · Commemorated the signing of House Bill 3644, which creates an ongoing statewide shelter program and includes $204.9 million for the next two years.[10]
- bill2025-07-28 · Commemorated the signing of House Bill 2138, House Bill 3031, House Bill 2258, Senate Bill 684 and House Bill 3145, bipartisan bills on housing construction, including middle-housing production and a Housing Infrastructure Project Fund.[4]
- action2025-01-09 · Extended the statewide homelessness emergency by Executive Order 25-01, which directs state agencies to continue reducing the number of people experiencing homelessness; the emergency was first declared on January 10, 2023.[11]
In their own words
Priorities
- Reducing unsheltered homelessness through emergency orders and a permanent statewide shelter program.[10][11]
- Increasing housing supply by cutting red tape and funding infrastructure and affordable housing.[4]
- Preserving the Oregon Health Plan and the state's Medicaid system from federal cuts.[6]
- Per a joint statement with the Working Families Party, committed to pursue statewide universal preschool, protect farmworker overtime and climate protection policies, and defend the state's sanctuary laws.[5]
Campaign moneyNo FEC filing summary matched — state candidates file with their state, not the FEC.
Profile: /people/tina-kotek
Compare all 3 candidates side by side ›
Sources cited in this profile
- 1.2026 Oregon gubernatorial election · Wikipedia · 2026-10-21 Reference
- 2.Governor Kotek Signs Statewide Shelter Program into Law · Oregon Governor's Office · 2025-07-24 Official record
- 3.Governor Kotek Signs Bills that Break Down Barriers to Housing Construction · Oregon Governor's Office · 2025-07-28 Official record
- 4.Governor Kotek Signs Bills that Break Down Barriers to Housing Construction · Oregon Governor's Office · 2025-07-28 Official record
- 5.Kotek snags final minor-party nomination, likely cementing a three-way race for Oregon governor · OPB · 2026-08-21 News report
- 6.Kotek, Drazan square off in final debate of governor's race · OPB · 2026-10-13 News report
- 7.Governor of Oregon : Meet the Governor : State of Oregon · Office of Oregon Governor Tina Kotek · 2026-10-19 Official record
- 8.Tina Kotek · Wikipedia · 2026-10-21 Reference
- 9.Tina Kotek - Ballotpedia · Ballotpedia · 2026-10-19 Reference
- 10.Governor Kotek Signs Statewide Shelter Program into Law · Oregon Governor's Office · 2025-07-24 Official record
- 11.Governor Kotek Extends Homelessness Emergency Executive Order · Oregon Governor's Office · 2025-01-09 Official record