Oregon Governor 2026: where the candidates stand on data centers

3 candidates on the November 3, 2026 ballot, from the Oregon Secretary of State's list (opens in a new tab). The officeholder comes first, then the Republican and Democratic nominees together by last name, then everyone else by last name; in each group a candidate with a statement or vote on the record comes first (how the order works). Each has the same space. The list: Voters' Pamphlet, Oregon General Election November 3, 2026, Official Publication (Oregon Secretary of State, Elections Division), page 26 "List of Candidates & Measures"; the same page in each of the 19 county books VP_G26-Book1_web.pdf to VP_G26-Book19_web.pdf (the pamphlet's own words: 'This is a complete listing of federal and state candidates filed for the November 3, 2026, General Election, as prepared by the Secretary of State for counties covered in this pamphlet'; no list date is printed (the pamphlet says ballots are mailed beginning October 14)).

Checked October 20, 2026 · How the record reads leaders · Report a change · Corrections

More on Oregon: the state page · its laws and bills on data centers · its leaders

The candidates

Tina Kotek

Democrat, Working Families · In office

Of 9 statements on the record, 3 raised concerns about data centers and 6 carry no label.

What they said

0 3 0

What they did

No vote on a data center measure on the record.

9 statements · 0 votes on the record

Photo: Tony Miller, public domain (opens in a new tab), via Wikimedia Commons (opens in a new tab), cropped.

Tina Kotek's page · In their own words
Christine Drazan

Republican, Libertarian

State Senator Christine Drazan came out in favor of a moratorium on new data centers.

Their newest statement on the record, October 13, 2026, Oregon Public Broadcasting - OPB (opens in a new tab).

What they said

4 statements on the record

What they did

No vote on a data center measure on the record.

4 statements · 0 votes on the record

Photo: Oregon State University, CC BY SA 2.0 (opens in a new tab), via Wikimedia Commons (opens in a new tab), cropped.

Christine Drazan's page · In their own words
Brett Smith

Pacific Green

No sourced statement on the record as of October 20, 2026. No vote on a data center measure either. Silence is not a position.

0 statements · 0 votes on the record

Brett Smith's page · In their own words

Labels are applied by the record's published rules: two readings of each statement, and a third that reads its source where the two differ. Every label sits beside its statement and its source, and any label can be challenged through Report a change, with the correction logged on the corrections page.

In their own words

Where does Tina Kotek stand on data centers?

Of 9 statements on the record, 3 raised concerns about data centers and 6 carry no label.

Statements 9 statements

October 13, 2026 · paraphrased

Governor Tina Kotek came out in favor of a moratorium on new data centers.

Oregon Public Broadcasting - OPB (opens in a new tab) · [Archived Copy] (opens in a new tab) · Full quote, context and sources
September 28, 2026 · paraphrased · label set by a tiebreak

Democratic Governor Tina Kotek echoed Sanders' call for a data center moratorium in her reelection campaign.

OPB (opens in a new tab) · Full quote, context and sources
September 8, 2026 · paraphrased · label set by a tiebreak

Governor supports a statewide moratorium on data centers while Oregon develops stronger protections

katu.com (opens in a new tab) · Full quote, context and sources
September 8, 2026 · paraphrased

Governor Kotek wants legislature to pass statewide data center moratorium in 2027 session

Central Oregon Daily (opens in a new tab) · Full quote, context and sources
August 21, 2026 · paraphrased · label set by a tiebreak

Kotek has come out in support of local moratoriums on data centers in advance of statewide actions on the committee's recommendations

Statesman Journal (opens in a new tab) · Full quote, context and sources
August 21, 2026 · paraphrased

Gov. Tina Kotek plans to introduce legislation on data centers in the 2027 legislative session

Statesman Journal (opens in a new tab) · Full quote, context and sources
August 21, 2026 · paraphrased · label set by a tiebreak

The bill would incorporate recommendations from Kotek's Data Center Advisory Committee

Statesman Journal (opens in a new tab) · Full quote, context and sources
August 10, 2026 · paraphrased

Oregon Governor Tina Kotek is backing efforts by local governments to halt data center development, saying more needs to be done to prevent Oregonians from footing the bill.

RTO Insider (opens in a new tab) · Full quote, context and sources
January 1, 2012 · paraphrased

Kotek voted in 2012 to pass bill ensuring tech companies operating data centers in state enterprise zones are only taxed on value of physical assets under five to ten year property tax breaks

OPB (via Google News) (opens in a new tab) · Full quote, context and sources

Votes 0 votes

No vote on a data center measure on the record.

Where does Christine Drazan stand on data centers?

Christine Drazan has 4 statements on data centers on the record.

Statements 4 statements

October 13, 2026 · paraphrased

State Senator Christine Drazan came out in favor of a moratorium on new data centers.

Oregon Public Broadcasting - OPB (opens in a new tab) · [Archived Copy] (opens in a new tab) · Full quote, context and sources
September 5, 2026 · paraphrased

Christine Drazan launched a 30 second online ad stating Tina Kotek rolled out the red carpet for data centers with more than a billion in tax breaks

Willamette Week (opens in a new tab) · Full quote, context and sources
August 28, 2026 · paraphrased

Drazan supports local communities declining to host data centers but opposes an arbitrary moratorium

Oregon Capital Chronicle (opens in a new tab) · Full quote, context and sources
August 28, 2026 · paraphrased

Christine Drazan said Oregon 'has done more than its fair share, and we cannot continue to be the Wild West for data center development'

Oregon Capital Chronicle (opens in a new tab) · Full quote, context and sources

Votes 0 votes

No vote on a data center measure on the record.

Where does Brett Smith stand on data centers?

No public statement on data centers is on the record yet for Brett Smith.

Statements 0 statements

No public statement on data centers is on the record yet for Brett Smith.

Votes 0 votes

No vote on a data center measure on the record.

Candidates and their order come from the Oregon Secretary of State's list (opens in a new tab), verified October 9, 2026. Every candidate, by state · How the record reads leaders.

Are you a candidate in this race or on the campaign? Ask for a correction or send a statement, or email corrections@datacenterrecord.org.

Every race in Oregon, and where each candidate stands

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