Oregon’s largest teachers union will not endorse any current candidates for governor

Published 10:19 am Tuesday, March 3, 2026

Members of Oregon’s largest teachers union will not endorse any of the current candidates for governor, including incumbent Democratic Gov. Tina Kotek.

On Saturday, 75% of the members of the Oregon Education Association Political Action Committee, the political activities arm of the union, voted not to endorse any of the candidates currently running for governor. That’s according to social media, two people who attended the meeting but could not speak publicly and a photo of results shared with the Capital Chronicle.

Declining to endorse Kotek was a surprising development from the group, which backed her last campaign with more than $389,000 in donations.

The last time the group chose not to endorse any gubernatorial candidate was more than a decade ago, when Democratic then-Gov. John Kitzhaber ran for reelection in 2014 against his Republican opponent, Dennis Richardson.

The union declined to provide a statement or response to questions about the vote by Tuesday morning. Gov. Tina Kotek did not respond to a Monday request for comment by Tuesday morning.

The group also voted on endorsements for a number of other open state and federal seats that will be on May primary and November general election ballots.

Kotek in her first year in office, and after Portland Public Schools teachers went on one of the longest strikes in district history, passed record state school funding at the time: $10.2 billion for the 2023-25 school years. Last year, she oversaw the passage of another record $11.36 billion in funding for state schools during the next two years, as well as new investments in literacy training for teachers and curriculum and tutors for kids, and the first ever promise from the state Legislature to consistently send $35 million a year to schools for summer programs.

Angela Bonilla, president of the Portland Association of Teachers, said in an email that she would wait to say more until the statewide union releases a statement.

“I can tell you anecdotally that I have not talked to a single educator who plans to vote for Kotek due to her poor record on education,” she added.

Portland Public Schools faces a $50 million deficit in next year’s budget due to higher than expected costs due to inflation and unexpected infrastructure repairs, according to reporting from Oregon Public Broadcasting. The district’s chief financial officer, Michelle Morrison, indicated in a letter to families that staff reductions would likely be necessary.

Bonilla listed Kotek’s “unwillingness to declare a state of emergency on education” to provide emergency funding to Oregon schools this year struggling with midyear budget cuts due to potential federal tax changes impacting state tax revenue. Those impacts are expected to be less severe than earlier this year due to brighter revenue forecasts and the passage of a bill to decouple some of Oregon’s tax code from the federal code. There are currently no major cuts to education funding in the state budget being readjusted by lawmakers in the current session.

Bonilla also expressed concern that Kotek passed a statewide school accountability system law in 2025, Senate Bill 141, without “appropriate funding.” The bill updates standards for student outcomes and offers more powers of intervention for the Oregon Department of Education in underperforming schools.

This article was originally published by Oregon Capital Chronicle and used with permission. Oregon Capital Chronicle is part of States Newsroom and can be reached at info@oregoncapitalchronicle.com.