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2016 Oregon gubernatorial special election
The 2016 Oregon gubernatorial special election took place on November 8, 2016, to elect the Governor of Oregon, concurrently with the 2016 U.S. presidential election, as well as elections for the U.S. Senate and U.S. House of Representatives, other gubernatorial elections and various state and local elections.
The election determined who would fill the remaining two years of the term of Democratic governor John Kitzhaber, who was re-elected in 2014 and resigned in February 2015. Incumbent Democratic governor Kate Brown, who as Oregon Secretary of State succeeded to the governorship, ran for election to the office. In primary elections held on May 17, Brown easily captured the Democratic nomination, and the Republicans picked Salem oncologist Bud Pierce.
Brown won the election and became the first openly LGBT person elected to a term as governor in U.S. history. This election was the first time since 1990 that a woman was elected Governor of Oregon. As of 2026, it was also the most recent gubernatorial special election in the U.S., excluding recall elections.
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Julian Bell, critical care and pulmonary medicine specialist
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Kate Brown, incumbent governor
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Chet Chance, professional driver
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Kevin M. Forsythe, Walmart employee
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Steve Johnson, health worker
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Dave Stauffer, environmental engineer
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Brad Avakian, State Labor Commissioner (running for secretary of state)
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Tina Kotek, Speaker of the Oregon House of Representatives
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Ted Wheeler, state treasurer (running for Mayor of Portland)
Results by county: .mw-parser-output .legend{page-break-inside:avoid;break-inside:avoid-column}.mw-parser-output .legend-color{display:inline-block;min-width:1.25em;height:1.25em;line-height:1.25;margin:1px 0;text-align:center;border:1px solid black;background-color:transparent;color:black}.mw-parser-output .legend-text{} Brown 50–60% 60–70% 70–80% 80–90%
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % |
|---|---|---|---|
| Democratic | 494,890 | 83.03 | |
| Democratic | 49,313 | 8.27 | |
| Democratic | 16,108 | 2.70 | |
| Democratic | 13,363 | 2.24 | |
| Democratic | 10,147 | 1.70 | |
| Democratic | 5,636 | 0.95 | |
| Democratic | 6,595 | 1.11 | |
| 596,052 | 100.00 |
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Allen Alley, former chairman of the Oregon Republican Party, nominee for Oregon State Treasurer in 2008 and candidate for governor in 2010
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Bruce Cuff, real estate broker and candidate for governor in 2014
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Bob Forthan, perennial candidate
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Bob Niemeyer, engineering company owner and candidate for OR-01 in 2014
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Bud Pierce, physician
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Shane Bemis, Mayor of Gresham
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Knute Buehler, state representative and nominee for secretary of state in 2012
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Sid Leiken, Lane County Commissioner, former mayor of Springfield and candidate for Oregon's 4th congressional district in 2010 (running for secretary of state)
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Julie Parrish, state representative
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Dennis Richardson, former state representative and nominee for governor in 2014 (running for secretary of state)
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Sherrie Sprenger, state representative
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Monica Wehby, pediatric neurosurgeon and nominee for the U.S. Senate in 2014
| Poll source | Date(s)administered | Samplesize | Margin oferror | AllenAlley | BruceCuff | BobForthan | BobNeimeyer | BudPierce | Undecided |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| DHM Research | May 6–9, 2016 | 324 | ± 5.7% | 22% | 3% | 1% | 5% | 25% | 44% |
Results by county: Pierce 30–40% 40–50% 50–60% 60–70% Alley 30–40% 40–50%
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % |
|---|---|---|---|
| Republican | 171,158 | 47.66 | |
| Republican | 103,388 | 28.79 | |
| Republican | 41,598 | 11.58 | |
| Republican | 35,669 | 9.93 | |
| Republican | 4,290 | 1.19 | |
| Republican | 3,020 | 0.84 | |
| 359,123 | 100.00 |
The Independent Party of Oregon officially qualified as a major party on August 17, 2015.
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Patrick Barney
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Cliff Thomason, realtor
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Betsy Johnson, Democratic state senator
Results by county. Blue indicates a win by Thomason, yellow a win by Barney.
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % |
|---|---|---|---|
| Independent Party | 9,806 | 34.89 | |
| Independent Party | 6,840 | 24.34 | |
| Independent Party | 11,460 | 40.77 | |
| 28,106 | 100.00 |
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Aaron Donald Auer (Constitution Party), candidate for governor in 2014
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James Foster (Libertarian Party), candidate for OR-01 in 2014
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Complete video of debate, October 13, 2016 - C-SPAN
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Complete video of debate, October 20, 2016 - C-SPAN
| Source | Ranking | As of |
|---|---|---|
| The Cook Political Report | Likely D | August 12, 2016 |
| Daily Kos | Safe D | November 8, 2016 |
| Rothenberg Political Report | Safe D | November 3, 2016 |
| Sabato's Crystal Ball | Safe D | November 7, 2016 |
| Real Clear Politics | Likely D | November 1, 2016 |
| Governing | Safe D | October 27, 2016 |
Aggregate polls
| Source of pollaggregation | Datesadministered | Datesupdated | KateBrown (D) | BudPierce (R) | Other/Undecided | Margin |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Real Clear Politics | October 4–29, 2016 | October 29, 2016 | 45.5% | 35.5% | 19.0% | Brown +10.0% |
| Poll source | Date(s)administered | Samplesize | Margin oferror | KateBrown (D) | BudPierce (R) | CliffThomason (I) | JamesFoster (L) | Other | Undecided |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| SurveyMonkey | November 1–7, 2016 | 1,595 | ± 4.6% | 56% | 41% | — | — | — | 3% |
| SurveyMonkey | October 31 – November 6, 2016 | 1,483 | ± 4.6% | 56% | 40% | — | — | — | 4% |
| SurveyMonkey | October 28 – November 3, 2016 | 1,150 | ± 4.6% | 56% | 40% | — | — | — | 4% |
| SurveyMonkey | October 27 – November 2, 2016 | 934 | ± 4.6% | 55% | 41% | — | — | — | 4% |
| SurveyMonkey | October 26 – November 1, 2016 | 809 | ± 4.6% | 54% | 41% | — | — | — | 5% |
| SurveyMonkey | October 25–31, 2016 | 743 | ± 4.6% | 54% | 42% | — | — | — | 4% |
| FOX 12 Oregon/DHM Research | October 24–29, 2016 | 504 | ± 4.4% | 42% | 33% | 4% | 3% | 4% | 15% |
| Clout Research (R) | October 20–21, 2016 | 928 | ± 3.2% | 45% | 43% | — | — | 6% | 6% |
| KGW Oregonian/Riley Research | October 4–14, 2016 | 608 | ± 4.0% | 48% | 34% | — | — | — | 13% |
| Oregon Public Broadcasting/DHM Research | October 6–13, 2016 | 600 | ± 4.0% | 46% | 33% | 4% | 3% | — | 12% |
| KATU-TV/SurveyUSA | October 10–12, 2016 | 654 | ± 3.9% | 46% | 42% | — | — | 4% | 8% |
| iCitizen | September 2–7, 2016 | 610 | ± 4.0% | 44% | 27% | 3% | 3% | — | 23% |
| KATU-TV/DHM Research | September 1–6, 2016 | 517 | ± 4.3% | 43% | 35% | — | — | — | 18% |
| Clout Research (R) | July 9–13, 2016 | 701 | ± 3.7% | 43% | 42% | 5% | 2% | — | 7% |
| iCitizen | June 23–27, 2016 | 555 | ± 4.0% | 42% | 35% | — | — | — | 23% |
| Action Solutions→ | June 1–2, 2016 | 600 | ± 5.7% | 39% | 37% | — | — | — | 24% |
| Moore Information | April 20, 2015 | 500 | ± 4.0% | 45% | 27% | — | — | — | 28% |
→ Indicates an internal poll conducted on behalf of Bud Pierce.
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | .mw-parser-output .tooltip-dotted{border-bottom:1px dotted;cursor:help}±% |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Democratic | 985,027 | 50.62% | +0.73% | |
| Republican | 845,609 | 43.45% | −0.68% | |
| Independent Party | 47,481 | 2.44% | N/A | |
| Libertarian | 45,191 | 2.32% | +0.83% | |
| Constitution | 19,400 | 1.00% | −0.08% | |
| Write-in | 3,338 | 0.17% | -0.28% | |
| 1,946,046 | 100.00% | N/A | ||
| County | Kate Brown Democrat | Votes | Bud Pierce Republican | Votes | All Others Independent | Votes | | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | | Baker | 23.55% | 2,047 | 69.83% | 6,069 | 6.62% | 575 | | Benton | 59.28% | 28,043 | 34.97% | 16,543 | 5.76% | 2,722 | | Clackamas | 46.36% | 96,735 | 48.35% | 100,882 | 5.26% | 11,030 | | Clatsop | 50.35% | 9,667 | 43.88% | 8,425 | 5.75% | 1,106 | | Columbia | 42.4% | 11,020 | 49.72% | 12,925 | 7.89% | 2,048 | | Coos | 37.44% | 11,500 | 54.98% | 16,889 | 7.58% | 2,330 | | Crook | 24.83% | 2,990 | 68.37% | 8,232 | 6.8% | 818 | | Curry | 40.38% | 4,947 | 52.32% | 6,410 | 7.3% | 894 | | Deschutes | 44.07% | 42,298 | 49.83% | 47,824 | 6.1% | 5,858 | | Douglas | 30.16% | 15,878 | 62.02% | 32,647 | 7.83% | 4,118 | | Gilliam | 26.97% | 277 | 67.58% | 694 | 5.45% | 56 | | Grant | 21.17% | 904 | 72.42% | 3,093 | 6.42% | 274 | | Harney | 22.46% | 886 | 70.23% | 2,770 | 7.3% | 288 | | Hood River | 60.31% | 6,441 | 34.39% | 3,672 | 5.3% | 566 | | Jackson | 44.17% | 46,803 | 49.31% | 52,259 | 6.53% | 6,911 | | Jefferson | 34.1% | 3,169 | 59.01% | 5,484 | 6.89% | 641 | | Josephine | 34.89% | 24,078 | 55.48% | 24,078 | 9.63% | 4,179 | | Klamath | 28.09% | 8,420 | 64.1% | 19,211 | 7.81% | 2,340 | | Lake | 19.74% | 762 | 72.38% | 2,794 | 7.87% | 304 | | Lane | 55.3% | 103,226 | 38.69% | 72,208 | 6.01% | 11,217 | | Lincoln | 53.13% | 13,212 | 40.55% | 10,084 | 6.32% | 1,572 | | Linn | 33.26% | 19,156 | 59.96% | 34,539 | 6.79% | 3,904 | | Malheur | 23.85% | 2,436 | 68.21% | 6,966 | 7.94% | 811 | | Marion | 41.32% | 55,748 | 53.93% | 72,752 | 4.75% | 6,408 | | Morrow | 27.89% | 1,152 | 64.94% | 2,682 | 7.17% | 296 | | Multnomah | 72.91% | 279,210 | 21.97% | 84,139 | 5.12% | 19,593 | | Polk | 40.14% | 15,960 | 54.94% | 21,847 | 4.92% | 1,957 | | Sherman | 23.56% | 234 | 72.61% | 721 | 3.83% | 38 | | Tillamook | 45.44% | 6,152 | 48.74% | 6,599 | 5.79% | 789 | | Umatilla | 31.82% | 8,541 | 60.61% | 16,269 | 7.56% | 2,031 | | Union | 26.74% | 3,410 | 67.12% | 8,561 | 6.14% | 783 | | Wallowa | 29.07% | 1,253 | 65.81% | 2,837 | 5.13% | 221 | | Wasco | 43.24% | 5,057 | 50.23% | 5,874 | 6.53% | 763 | | Washington | 54.99% | 143,278 | 39.26% | 102,282 | 5.75% | 14,987 | | Wheeler | 23.66% | 194 | 70.12% | 575 | 6.21% | 51 | | Yamhill | 39.68% | 18,882 | 54.16% | 25,773 | 6.16% | 2,931 |
Counties that flipped from Democratic to Republican
- Tillamook (largest city: Tillamook)
Counties that flipped from Republican to Democratic
- Clatsop (largest city: Astoria)
Brown won three of five congressional districts. Pierce won the other two, including one that elected a Democrat.
| District | KateBrown | BudPierce | ElectedRepresentative |
|---|---|---|---|
| 54% | 41% | Suzanne Bonamici | |
| 38% | 55% | Greg Walden | |
| 68% | 26% | Earl Blumenauer | |
| 47% | 46% | Peter DeFazio | |
| 45% | 49% | Kurt Schrader |
Nominees
- Aaron Donald Auer (C) for Governor Archived 2016-08-16 at the Wayback Machine
- Kate Brown (D) for Governor
- James Foster (L) for Governor
- Bud Pierce (R) for Governor
- Cliff Thomason (I) for Governor Archived 2016-05-04 at the Wayback Machine
Primary candidates
- Julian Bell (D) for Governor
- Steve Johnson (D) for Governor
- Chet Chance (D) for Governor
- Allen Alley (R) for Governor Archived 2016-04-05 at the Wayback Machine
- Bob Niemeyer (R) for Governor
- Patrick Barney (I) for Governor
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