Oregon — Oregon Gov. Tina Kotek is presenting her 2026 reelection campaign primarily as an argument for continuing the policies and initiatives of her first term, with a campaign platform centered on housing and homelessness, affordability, education, behavioral health, public safety, environmental policy and opposition to actions by President Donald Trump’s administration.
Kotek’s campaign website describes the Democratic governor as having spent her first term addressing Oregon’s existing problems while increasingly confronting policies coming from the Republican-controlled federal government. The campaign’s “Progress for Oregon” section identifies 10 major areas of focus and links to individual pages detailing Kotek’s record in office.
The section functions more as a presentation of Kotek’s first-term record than a traditional forward-looking policy platform. Most of its specific proposals describe policies already enacted, executive actions already taken or programs Kotek has supported, rather than detailed new initiatives she would pursue during a second term.
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Affordability and Housing
The campaign places the cost of living near the top of Kotek’s reelection message.
On its “Tackling Rising Costs” page, the campaign highlights Kotek’s call for a three-year pause on new local taxes in the Portland area, her decision to cancel planned freeway tolling and property tax relief for some wildfire-affected Oregonians.
The campaign also points to laws restricting the use of medical debt in credit reporting, regulating some auto lending practices and addressing utility costs. Housing policy is treated as another component of affordability, with Kotek emphasizing legislation intended to accelerate housing construction by changing development procedures and providing financing to local governments.
Housing and homelessness receive a separate and prominent treatment on the site.
Kotek declared a homelessness state of emergency when she entered office in 2023. Her campaign says state-supported programs during her administration have resulted in 6,286 new shelter beds, 2,800 affordable housing units, homelessness prevention assistance for 25,942 households and rehousing assistance for 5,539 households.
The campaign also highlights legislation establishing an ongoing statewide shelter program.
Education and Child Care
Education is framed around literacy, accountability and additional services for children.
Kotek’s education page highlights state funding for early literacy programs, expanded summer learning and $50 million intended to increase access to child care and support child care providers.
The campaign also cites expansion of Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library throughout Oregon and laws requiring school districts to track student outcomes in areas including reading, mathematics and on-time graduation.
The campaign acknowledges that “there is more to be done” in Oregon schools while presenting these investments and accountability measures as evidence of Kotek’s education priorities.
Mental Health, Addiction and Drug Policy
Kotek’s platform also emphasizes behavioral health and addiction treatment.
The campaign says Kotek worked with Republicans and Democrats to change Oregon’s approach to public drug use while expanding treatment availability. It also highlights a $25 million privately funded partnership with coordinated care organizations intended to expand mental health and addiction services for children.
Other measures cited by the campaign include expanding treatment capacity, changing tools available to providers during mental health crises, increasing the behavioral health workforce and supporting youth substance-abuse prevention programs.
Public Safety and Fentanyl
Kotek’s public-safety message combines firearms policy, drug enforcement and police staffing.
Her campaign highlights Oregon’s prohibition on unserialized and undetectable “ghost guns,” expansion of the state’s Fentanyl Strategic Enforcement and Disruption Initiative and efforts to eliminate a training backlog at the Oregon Public Safety Academy.
The public-safety page says Kotek has worked with state and local law enforcement to increase resources and get newly hired officers through training more quickly.
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Economy, Labor and Clean Technology
On economic policy, Kotek’s campaign places considerable emphasis on clean-energy development and organized labor.
The campaign says Kotek directed state agencies to accelerate permitting for solar and wind projects following changes to federal renewable-energy incentives. It also highlights the Clean Tech Manufacturing Task Force, which was created with business and higher-education representatives to encourage clean-energy manufacturing investment in Oregon.
Kotek also signed an executive order applying labor standards to large state-owned construction projects, including requirements related to wages and workplace conditions.
The economic section therefore presents economic development, clean-energy investment and worker protections as closely connected elements of Kotek’s approach.
Climate, Energy and Wildfires
Environmental policy remains another major component of Kotek’s campaign.
The governor’s environmental page points to executive orders directing agencies to accelerate climate-related work and incorporate climate resilience into management of state-owned lands and waters.
The campaign also highlights legislation establishing a goal of installing 500,000 high-efficiency heat pumps in Oregon homes and commercial buildings.
Wildfire policy is presented separately. Kotek’s campaign cites the special legislative session she called to address unpaid firefighting and emergency-response costs following a severe wildfire season, along with legislation intended to improve wildfire response and community preparedness.
Abortion, Elections and Opposition to Trump
The most explicitly partisan portion of Kotek’s platform appears under “Standing Up for Oregon Values.”
The campaign portrays the Trump administration as a threat to reproductive rights, Oregon’s vote-by-mail election system and state authority.
Kotek highlights Oregon’s stockpile of the abortion medication mifepristone, legislation increasing protections around abortion clinics and expanded privacy and legal protections for reproductive-health providers and patients.
She also joined governors from Washington, California and Hawaii in forming the West Coast Health Alliance following disputes with the federal government over vaccination and public-health policy.
On elections, the campaign stresses Kotek’s opposition to Trump administration actions involving voting procedures and her position that states, rather than the president, have authority over the administration of elections.
That theme has become increasingly prominent in the general-election campaign. Kotek’s campaign describes the 2026 race in part as a choice over whether Oregon’s governor will resist Trump administration policies.
Statewide Outreach
Kotek also promotes geographic outreach as part of her governing record.
Her campaign says she visited all 36 Oregon counties and all nine federally recognized Tribal nations during her first two years, including stops in 83 towns and meetings with nearly 1,000 Oregonians.
The campaign presents the visits as evidence that Kotek has attempted to engage communities outside Oregon’s largest population centers, including rural and Eastern Oregon.
Endorsements Show Strong Labor and Democratic Institutional Support
Kotek’s endorsement list demonstrates particularly strong support from organized labor, Democratic elected officials and progressive advocacy organizations.
Labor endorsements listed by the campaign include the Oregon AFL-CIO, SEIU Oregon, Oregon AFSCME, Oregon Nurses Association, Oregon School Employees Association, United Food and Commercial Workers Local 555, Oregon State Building and Construction Trades Council, IBEW Local 48, Ironworkers Local 29, UA Local 290, SMART Local 16, Amalgamated Transit Union Local 757, Western States Regional Council of Carpenters and Laborers Local 737.
Environmental, social-policy and political organizations supporting Kotek include the Oregon League of Conservation Voters, Jane Fonda Climate PAC, Planned Parenthood Action Oregon, Basic Rights Oregon, Human Rights Campaign PAC, LGBTQ+ Victory Fund, Giffords PAC, EMILY’s List, End Citizens United, Latino Network Action Fund, PCUN and the Consolidated Oregon Indivisible Network.
Moms Demand Action also designated Kotek a 2026 “Gun Sense Candidate.”
Her endorsements among elected officials include U.S. Sens. Ron Wyden and Jeff Merkley and U.S. Reps. Suzanne Bonamici, Janelle Bynum, Maxine Dexter, Val Hoyle and Andrea Salinas.
At the state level, Attorney General Dan Rayfield, Treasurer Elizabeth Steiner, Labor Commissioner Christina Stephenson, Senate President Rob Wagner and House Speaker Julie Fahey are among the officials listed. Portland Mayor Keith Wilson also endorsed Kotek.
The campaign lists numerous Democratic state senators and representatives, including Reps. Paul Evans, Lisa Fragala, Dacia Grayber, Zach Hudson, Cyrus Javadi, Jason Kropf, John Lively, Pam Marsh, Daniel Nguyen, Rob Nosse, Hai Pham, Ricki Ruiz, Thủy Trần and Andrea Valderrama.
The endorsement list reinforces several themes visible in Kotek’s policy pages: close relationships with organized labor, support for abortion rights and LGBTQ rights, environmental and gun-control policies, and strong backing from Oregon’s Democratic political establishment.
A Campaign Built Around Continuity
Taken together, Kotek’s website offers less of a detailed blueprint for a new second-term agenda than a case for continuity.
The campaign argues that her first-term actions on homelessness, housing construction, behavioral health, education, fentanyl enforcement, wildfire response and affordability demonstrate progress that should continue for another four years. At the same time, it increasingly defines Kotek’s role as defending Oregon policies and institutions against the Trump administration.
That produces a two-part reelection message: Kotek is asking voters to judge her on the results and policies of her first term while arguing that Oregon needs a governor willing to resist federal policies she and her supporters say conflict with the state’s priorities.
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