Barbara Kahl

Barbara Kahl describes herself as a fourth-generation Oregonian who worked as a child to help pay for her school clothes, and she graduated from Hillsboro High School.[1] She spent about two decades in corporate accounting, finance and purchasing in the frozen food, utilities and high-tech sectors, including at Intel's Hillsboro campus from 1990 to 1997.[1] She earned a bachelor's degree from Oregon State University in 2001 and a doctorate in veterinary medicine from Oregon State's College of Veterinary Medicine in 2006, and says she attended college while raising a family.[1]

Kahl describes herself as a USDA-APHIS nationally accredited veterinarian who spent nearly 20 years running a mobile practice serving large animals, equine, small animals, exotics and livestock across the district.[1] She says she founded the USPCA nonprofit and rescue organization and received the Oregon Veterinary Medical Association's 2012 Animal Welfare Award.[1] She serves as a public member of the Oregon Department of Agriculture's CAFO Advisory Committee and has testified before the Oregon Legislature on agriculture, veterinary practice and animal-welfare bills.[1] Kahl says she traveled with her husband during his military deployments, and the two live on farmland in rural Oregon. She won the May 19, 2026 Republican primary with 71.5% of the vote over John Verbeek.[1][5] Her campaign materials emphasized jobs and the economy, education, affordability and federal fiscal accountability.[1] She received 28.8% of the vote to Suzanne Bonamici's 71.0%, according to unofficial results reported by NBC News.[2]