# Oregon U.S. Senate 2026 ## Snapshot **Settled May 19: [[Jeff Merkley]] (93.2%) vs. state Sen. [[David Brock Smith]]**, who won a seven-way Republican primary with 29.5% — a 2.4-point margin over perennial candidate Jo Rae Perkins that AP did not call until Friday, May 22, the last significant Oregon race called. Merkley is seeking a fourth term with $6.83M on hand against a challenger with $29,000. No public general-election poll exists; no Republican has won an Oregon Senate race since 2002. Solid/Safe D. ## Incumbent - **[[Jeff Merkley]]** (D) — senator since 2009; former Oregon House Speaker. Progressive caucus; Senate Budget Committee ranking member; filibuster-reform and climate floor speeches. $7.89M raised, $6.83M cash on hand through June 30. ## How the nominations were decided (May 19, 2026) ### Democratic primary | Candidate | Votes | % | |---|---|---| | **Jeff Merkley** | 457,006 | **93.2** | | Paul D. Wells | 30,544 | 6.2 | ### Republican primary (seven candidates) | Candidate | Votes | % | |---|---|---| | **David Brock Smith** | 107,953 | **29.5** | | Jo Rae Perkins | 99,278 | 27.1 | | Brent Barker | 85,229 | 23.3 | Brock Smith — state senator for the coastal District 1 since 2023, in the Legislature since 2017 — announced March 3 and was the only sitting legislator in the field. Perkins, the 2020 and 2022 nominee associated with QAnon-adjacent messaging, came within 8,700 votes of a third nomination. ## General election Merkley vs. Brock Smith. Money through June 30: Merkley $7.89M raised / $6.83M COH; Brock Smith $121K / $29K. No poll, no debate announced. ## Ratings history - Cook Solid D (Apr 13) · Sabato Safe D (Aug 19) · Inside Elections Solid D. The prior "Likely D" on this page was an error. ## Key dates - 2026-05-19 — primary (held); GOP race called May 22 - 2026-11-03 — general election ## Intel notes - **The Republican primary was the race.** A sitting legislator beat the party's perennial nominee by 2.4 points in a seven-way field, which says the Oregon GOP's activist base is still roughly a third Perkins-lane; the coastal establishment candidate won on plurality, not consolidation. - **Greater Idaho** remains the structural note: rural eastern-county Republican registration keeps rising and keeps not mattering statewide. Brock Smith's District 1 is coastal, not eastern — the party nominated from its other rural wing. - Merkley (b. 1956) has said he is running; no retirement signal. ## Related KB entities - [[Jeff Merkley]] — incumbent - [[David Brock Smith]] — Republican nominee ## Content leads - **Data**: Oregon rural-R registration trend vs. statewide D margin, 2016–2026. ## Sources - [OPB / AP — Brock Smith wins GOP nomination (May 22, 2026)](https://www.opb.org/article/2026/05/22/david-brock-smith-us-senate-oregon/) - [Willamette Week — Brock Smith will face Merkley in November](https://www.wweek.com/news/2026/05/23/brock-smith-will-face-merkley-in-november/) - [Wikipedia — 2026 Oregon Senate election](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2026_United_States_Senate_election_in_Oregon)