Democratic Gov. Tina Kotek wins re-election bid in Oregon

Democratic Gov. Tina Kotek has won her re-election bid in Oregon, NBC News projects, defeating Republican state Sen. Christine Drazan.

The contentious race was a rematch from 2022, when Kotek beat Drazan by just 4 points in the solidly Democratic state.

Kotek was burdened by low approval ratings, with polls showing voters were concerned with cost-of-living issues as well as homelessness in the state. Drazan in particular criticized Kotek’s policies on taxes and data centers. According to a Pew Research Center study earlier this year, Oregon was among the top 10 states with the most planned data centers. In September, Kotek announced she would back a statewide moratorium on new data centers.

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Meanwhile, Kotek sought to tie Drazan to President Donald Trump in a state he lost by 14 percentage points in 2024.

“So Christine Drazan has said, ‘Take a risk, vote for me.’ But if we look at her voting record and we look at who she listens to, that would be a risk that I don’t think we should take as a state,” Kotek said during their first debate. “That risk would entail banning abortion, cutting the Oregon Health Plan, eliminating vote by mail, and when it comes to protecting our cities, when Oregon National Guard troops are deployed, no one would stand up for them.”

Drazan tried to distance herself from Trump and instead focus on statewide issues, attempting to put pressure on Kotek over affordability. She said at a debate in October that Kotek “solves every single challenge that she sees, every single problem in the state of Oregon, with a new tax.”

A Republican has not won a gubernatorial race in Oregon since 1982.

Kotek became one of the first out lesbian governors in the country, along with Massachusetts Gov. Maura Healey, during the 2022 election. Prior to that, she had become the first out lesbian speaker of a state House in 2013.