The Democratic Party of Oregon is the Oregon affiliate of the Democratic Party."Contact Us ." Democratic Party of Oregon. Retrieved on May 13, 2010. The State Central Committee, made up of two delegates elected from each of Oregon's 36 counties and one additional delegate for every 15,000 registered Democrats, is the main authoritative body of the party. The party has 17 special group caucuses which also each have representation on the State Central Committee.
After Oregon was admitted as a state in 1859, Oregon elected twice as many Democrats as Republicans between 1859 and 1879 in statewide elections.History of the Democratic Party in Oregon, 1900-1956, Burton, Robert E. It is currently the dominant party in the state, holding all but one of Oregon's six United States House of Representatives seats, both United States Senate seats, both houses of the Oregon Legislative Assembly, and the office of governor.
Platform and legislative agenda
The Democratic Party of Oregon hosts a Platform Convention every two years where they set their platform and priority legislative action items. The most recent editions of these documents are available on their website.
At the beginning of the 2022 short session, House Democrats announced priorities such as addressing homelessness and cost of housing, community safety, education, workforce development and training, childcare, access to health care, and climate change.
Organization As prescribed by Oregon state statutes governing major political parties, the party comprises all registered voters designating their party affiliation as Democrat. In each biennial primary election conducted in even-numbered years, such affiliated voters elect members from each precinct to their respective county's central committee, which in turn elects delegates to a state convention, charged with organizing the party at the state level, and arranging for the day-to-day conduct of the party. These county central committees also send delegates to the standing committees of their respective congressional districts, which support their constituent county central committees and coordinate district-wide party activities and campaigns.
Officers Chair: Nathan Soltz Vice-chair: Kim Schmith Vice-chair: Eileen Kiely Secretary: Jesse Maldonado Treasurer: Ashton Simpson DNC Member: Steph Newton-Azorr DNC Member: Diane Grover DNC Member: Kien Truong
Party caucuses The state party recognizes 19 party caucuses formed to address specific political issues in their constituent communities:
Asian American & Pacific Islanders Caucus Black Caucus Disability Justice Caucus Education Caucus Elections Integrity Caucus Environmental Caucus Gun Owners Caucus Health Care Caucus Jewish Caucus Labor Caucus Latino Caucus Native American Caucus Rural Caucus Senior Caucus Small Business Caucus Stonewall Caucus (LGBTQ+) Veteran's Caucus Women's Caucus Young Democrats Caucus
Current elected officials
Members of Congress Democrats control both of Oregon's U.S. Senate seats and 5 out of 6 of Oregon's U.S. House seats.
U.S. Senate Since 2009, Democrats have held both of Oregon's seats in the U.S. Senate:
U.S. House of Representatives Democrats hold five of the six seats Oregon is apportioned in the U.S. House of Representatives following the 2020 census: +DistrictMemberPhoto1st3rd4th5th6th
Statewide offices The Oregon Democratic Party holds all five elected state executive offices.
Legislative Leadership
Senate President: Rob Wagner Senate President Pro Tempore: James I. Manning Jr. Senate Majority Leader: Kate Lieber Speaker of the House: Dan Rayfield Speaker Pro Tempore of the House: Paul Holvey House Majority Leader: Julie Fahey House Majority Whip: Andrea Valderrama
Oregon State Legislature
Senate District Home Senator Party 3 Ashland Jeff Golden Democratic 4 Eugene Floyd Prozanski Democratic 7 Eugene James Manning Jr. Democratic 8 Corvallis Sara Gelser Democratic10 Salem Deb Patterson Democratic13 Wilsonville Aaron Woods Democratic 14 Beaverton Kate Lieber Democratic 15 Hillsboro Janeen Sollman Democratic 17 Portland Elizabeth Steiner Democratic 18 Aloha Wlnsvey Campos Democratic 19 Lake Oswego Rob Wagner Democratic 20 Gladstone Mark Meek Democratic 21 Portland Kathleen Taylor Democratic 22 Lew Frederick Democratic 23 Michael Dembrow Democratic 24 Kayse Jama Democratic 25 Troutdale Chris Gorsek Democratic
House of Representatives District Home Representative Party 5 Ashland Pam Marsh Democratic 7 Springfield John Lively Democratic 8 Eugene Paul Holvey Democratic 10 Otis David Gomberg Democratic 13 Eugene Nancy Nathanson Democratic 14 Julie Fahey Democratic 16 Corvallis Dan Rayfield Democratic 19 Salem Tom Andersen Democratic 20 Monmouth Paul Evans Democratic 26 Tigard Ben Bowman Democratic] 26 Wilsonville Courtney Neron Misslin Democratic 27 Beaverton Ken Helm Democratic 28 Portland Dacia Grayber Democratic 29 Forest Grove Susan McLain Democratic 30 Hillsboro Nathan Sosa Democratic 33 Portland Maxine Dexter Democratic 34 Beaverton Lisa Reynolds Democratic 35 Farrah Chaichi Democratic 36 Hillsboro Hai Pham Democratic 37 West Linn Jules Walters Democratic 38 Lake Oswego Daniel Nguyen Democratic 39 Happy Valley Janelle Bynum Democratic 40 Gladstone Annessa Hartman Democratic 41 Milwaukie Mark Gamba Democratic 42 Portland Rob Nosse Democratic 43 Tawna Sanchez Democratic 44 Travis Nelson Democratic 45 Thuy Tran Democratic 46 Khanh Pham Democratic 47 Andrea Valderrama Democratic 48 Hoa Nguyen Democratic 49 Troutdale Zach Hudson Democratic 50 Gresham Ricki Ruiz Democratic 53 Bend Emerson Levy Democratic 54 Bend Jason Kropf Democratic
History Territorial period
An initial call for a "thorough and permanent" Democratic Party organization in the Territory of Oregon was sounded by editor Asahel Bush in his Oregon Statesman in June 1851.Oregon Statesman, June 13, 1851, cited in David Alan Johnson, Founding the Far West: California, Oregon and Nevada, 1840-1890. Berkeley, CA: University of California Press, 1992; pg. 53. The highly partisan Bush kept up a relentless drumbeat in his paper against Whig officials and party members, characterizing them as promoters of "monopolies, tariffs, and bank charters [which] fertilize the rich man's soil with the sweat of the poor man's brow."Oregon Statesman, June 27, 1851, cited in Johnson, Founding the Far West, pg. 57. Bush's call was heeded on Independence Day, 1851, with the convocation of a territorial convention at which a central committee was chosen and James Nesmith was made chairman.Charles Henry Carey, History of Oregon: Volume 1. Chicago: Pioneer Historical Publishing Co., 1920; pg. 520.
"The Democracy" of the pre-Civil War period was supported primarily by farmers, and featured a regular cycle of party activities during the agricultural slack time of winter through spring which included local caucuses, Jackson jubilees, an annual Jefferson–Jackson Dinner, county conventions, and Fourth of July bonfires.Johnson, Founding the Far West, pp. 57-58.
The Anti-Democrats of the period, worse organized at the Democrats at the precinct, county, and territorial level, focused upon the issues of temperance and advancing Protestant nativism, marching into elections under three distinct political banners: the People's Party in 1853; the Whig and American party in 1855; and the Republican, Independent, and Maine Law in 1857.Johnson, Founding the Far West, pp. 58-59. Their comparatively superior system of party organization led to Democratic dominance in the pre-statehood period, although factionalism revolving around control over federal appropriations and patronage left the Democratic majority party anything but a united organization.Johnson, Founding the Far West, pg. 61.
Early statehood period
The party's first convention post-statehood was held in Salem on April 20, 1859. Bitterly divided over the issue of slavery,Carey, History of Oregon: Volume 1, pp. 630–631. the convention nominated Lansing Stout, supported by pro-slavery factions led by Joseph Lane,Carey, History of Oregon: Volume 1, pg. 631. for the United States House of Representatives over incumbent Democrat La Fayette Grover. Democratic control of the state legislature between 1859 and 1879 resulted in the selection of eight Democrats as US senators, and only three Republicans were chosen. Beginning in the 1880s the Democrats became the minority party when immigrants from Wisconsin, Michigan, Minnesota and foreign countries moving over to Oregon chose the Republican Party as their main party.
With the start of the 1880s the Democrats had become the minority, and that stayed that way, for the most part, until the start of World War II. During those years however there were a few blips such as 1890 that had the Democrats back on the political map. The adoption of the direct primary gave the Democrats new forms of institutional democracy which lead the way for political advancement. The people of Oregon had a new way of thinking about politics and the Democrats started to use the reform-minded mentality that existed in some of the populace to overturn the Republican control of state politics.
Democratic reform
The Democrats first started to make alliances with third parties in the 1890s but then moved on to market themselves as a partisan organization. The governor at the time, Sylvester Pennoyer, gathered a coalition with a start-up party called the Union Party and independent Republicans from Portland. Pennoyer won his re-election bid and this gave Democrats the confidence they were looking for to beat the Republicans, but the Republicans swept the rest of the state with the exception of a couple of seats in the state legislature. Pennoyer warned both parties of a third party rising due to lack of acknowledgment of political problems that faced the nation. He was correct as the People's Party emerged in Omaha. Pennoyer was agitated with the platforms of both parties that he left and joined the Populists. This created a split in the party between people who wanted to follow Pennoyer to the People's Party and the people who wanted to stay as Democrats.
The refusal of the People's Party to join forces with the Democratic Party led to easy elections for Republicans in the years to come. In 1896 factionalism between these parties led the Republicans carrying Oregon in the presidential and congressional elections. State legislature elections resulted in the Populist leading the Democrats in elected members 18–7. The only meaningful victory that the Democrats could look to was that of Sylvester Pennoyer, who returned to the Democratic ticket and won the election for mayor, being supported by the Democrats and Populists together. The only other Democratic success was that the people of Oregon responded to the call to reform as the Democrats took 12 counties from the Republicans in that presidential election.
The Great Depression and the re-emergence of the Democrats
Between 1900 and 1932 the Republicans enjoyed a two-one ratio over the Democrats, and sometimes three-one. There was no real changed even during the Franklin D. Roosevelt years where the Republican registration never dipped below 50% throughout the state. This remained the case until the boom in employment caused by World War II. This resulted in a drastic increase in Oregon population, which benefited the Democratic party. Workers that came in provided a base to rebuild the Democratic Party.