Gov. Tina Kotek formally announced her 2026 reelection bid Thursday, leaving her less than a year to convince Oregonians she remains the best choice to lead the state.  The news came after weeks of clear signals that Kotek, whose campaign has been emailing supporters for months to fundraise, was officially gearing up for the November 2026 election. Kotek’s most prominent political opponent, state Sen. Christine Drazan, R-Canby revealed in late October that she would be trying her hand for the governorship again, teeing up a possible rematch with a rival who came within a few percentage points of defeating her in 2022.  As Oregon battles sluggish economic growth and rising unemployment, Kotek framed herself as a champion of the state’s values who was aware of the plight of working families. Kotek, a Pennsylvania native who began her career as an advocate for the Oregon Food Bank, rose to political prominence as the state’s longest-serving House Speaker from 2013 to 2022. She worked to pass progressive policies in the Legislature before becoming one of the nation’s two first openly lesbian governors alongside Massachusetts Gov. Maura Healey.  On Thursday, Kotek highlighted her central role in fighting President Donald Trump’s attempted deployment of the National Guard to Portland and his administration’s opposition to releasing food assistance during the recent government shutdown. “We stopped an unnecessary military deployment, restored SNAP benefits and got help to families fast,” Kotek said in a Thursday morning statement. “The choice is between a governor who will stand up for Oregon and protect what we believe in, or a governor who will let Donald Trump do whatever he wants.”  The official “Tina for Oregon” announcement marks a notable shift in tone from when Kotek announced her 2022 bid and denounced “the politics of division” on the heels of the COVID-19 pandemic. Since then, her approval ratings have ranked among some of the most unpopular Democratic and Republican governors.  One of her most high-profile controversies involved the nixed “Office of the First Spouse” Kotek was considering creating in 2024 amid scrutiny over multiple departures of staff from her office. The Oregon Government Ethics Commission went on to dismiss complaints against her on the grounds that there was no evidence that Kotek or her wife would benefit from an unpaid volunteer position.  But a challenger to Kotek will likely face an uphill battle, with the most recent Republican Oregon governor winning election in the 1980s. Results from off-year and special elections suggest the upcoming election year will also be difficult for Republicans, who have majorities in both chambers of Congress while an unpopular Republican president holds office. A recent poll of Oregon voters commissioned by the Democratic Governor’s Association found that 61% of respondents prefer a candidate who will challenge Trump’s policies, while 34% said they were in favor of someone who will implement them. Kotek could also face headwinds due to the ongoing limbo facing the $4.3 billion transportation package that the Legislature struggled to get across the finish line this year. Drazan in June led House Republicans in effectively running out the clock and preventing the effort from moving forward. That left Democrats to pass an emergency funding measure during a lengthy special session through increases in the state’s gas tax, vehicle registration and title fees and a transit payroll tax.  The Republican lawmakers now leading a push to place the measure on the November 2026 ballot for voters to undo the tax and fee hikes have reported receiving nearly double the 78,116 signatures needed. Political observers have speculated that Oregon lawmakers may work to schedule the measure for the May 2026 primary election instead of running their general election candidates while defending unpopular tax hikes.  That approach could make a difference for Kotek, who won her race in 2022 against Drazan by more than 3 percentage points. Nonaffiliated challenger Betsy Johnson, a former conservative Democratic state senator from the North Coast, received 8.6% of the vote. Oregon Democrats “can’t risk the potential collateral damage to their candidates from the shrapnel when the bill explodes,” lobbyist Rick Metsger of the Salem-based Pac/West Lobby Group, who is also a former Oregon state senator, wrote in a newsletter Tuesday. Kotek’s announcement also came alongside a flurry of endorsements from prominent Oregon Democrats, nurses, clinicians, ironworkers, construction unions, carpenters, gun control and LGBTQ+ advocates. Her campaign referred to her accomplishments in creating Oregon’s first statewide shelter program for housing, producing affordable housing units and more than 6,000 beds. It also pointed to investments in early childhood education and summer learning. But some of the governor’s own areas of accomplishment have also come with vulnerabilities.  The number of residential permits issued in Oregon has been on the decline in the past few years, while homelessness has risen more than 60% in Multnomah County since 2023. Despite Oregon’s participation in the West Coast Health Alliance for safeguarding vaccine access, the state offered a slower response than other Democrat-led states for guaranteeing COVID-19 vaccine eligibility to residents. Some Oregonians began traveling to Washington to receive the shot. The governor, however, has appeared to take one of the biggest criticisms against her to heart. She unveiled a “prosperity roadmap” on Tuesday at a semiconductor manufacturing company in Tualatin with the goal of reforming permit systems, increasing global trade and providing corporate tax incentives. She is set to speak with business leaders from around the state in Portland on Monday for the annual Oregon Business Plan leadership summit. Drazan, in the meantime, quickly fired back at the governor’s announcement. She accused Kotek of wanting Oregonians to “believe this race is about Washington, D.C., when it’s really about our home.”  “This is Oregon’s time of choosing. This is our chance to choose a brighter future for our families — not the broken promises and stalled progress of her time in office,” Drazan said in a Thursday statement. “We can’t keep doing the same thing and expect different results. Our state has everything it needs to be the best place in America to raise a family, build a home, start a business and receive a world-class education. But we won’t get there with Tina Kotek — we need new leadership.” Campaign finance records as of Thursday show that Kotek’s campaign has around $1.8 million in cash on hand, compared to Drazan’s more than $850,000. Marion County Commissioner Danielle Bethell, the other prominent Republican running for the nomination, has more than $63,000 in available funds. Another potential Republican candidate, the ex-Portland Trail Blazer Chris Dudley who came within less than 2 percentage points of winning the 2010 Oregon governor’s race, has yet to make an announcement about his decision. Oregon Capital Chronicle is part of States Newsroom, a network of news bureaus supported by grants and a coalition of donors as a 501c(3) public charity. Oregon Capital Chronicle maintains editorial independence. Contact Editor Julia Shumway for questions: [email protected]. Follow Oregon Capital Chronicle on Facebook and Twitter. 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