Nicole Bassett

Nicole Bassett is the Democratic, Working Families Party and Independent Party of Oregon candidate for Oregon State Senate District 26 in the November 3, 2026 general election, running against Jeffrey Helfrich (R).[1][2] She is a sustainability and apparel-industry entrepreneur who co-founded The Renewal Workshop and now runs Citrus Circular, according to a Ballotpedia survey.[3]

Bassett earned a bachelor's degree from Simon Fraser University and a master's degree in environmental studies and business from York University, according to her Ballotpedia survey response.[3] In that survey she said she began her career in apparel sustainability at Patagonia and became Director of Sustainability at prAna, where she helped launch the first Fair Trade certified apparel in the United States.[3] She said she co-founded The Renewal Workshop in Cascade Locks in 2015, a company that renewed apparel brands could not sell, and that it grew to 80 employees and was sold to a global logistics company in 2022.[3] She said she now runs Citrus Circular, which helps businesses shift toward regenerative practices.[3]

Bassett won the May 19, 2026 Democratic primary for the seat, receiving 90.8% of the vote to Matthew Favro's 8.2%.[2] In her Ballotpedia survey she listed her campaign themes as an economy that works for everyone, keeping rural communities livable, and taking care of the land, including wildfire prevention and watershed protection.[3]

Researched from the cited sources on 2026-10-21. Not yet independently fact-checked.