ONA’s Political Action Committees (PACs) have endorsed these pro-nursing candidates based on a variety of factors including, voting record, support for nurse issues and overall alignment with ONA values and priorities. You can learn more about the ONA PACs endorsement process here.

Listed below are the candidates that have been endorsed by ONA's PACs at this point. You will find the position, candidate name and a short description about why the ONA PACs chose to endorse each candidate.

More endorsements will be posted as they are determined by the PACs.
 

Oregon Gubernatorial Race: Tina Kotek

The Oregon Nurses Association (ONA) is proud to endorse Representative Tina Kotek in Oregon’s 2022 Gubernatorial Race.

Kotek’s long history of supporting nurses, nursing issues, and health care policy make her the best choice for Oregon’s nurses. ONA is deeply grateful for the leadership she has provided on a number of policy issues of concern to nurses, including her passionate support of Oregon’s unique nurse staffing law, efforts to address workplace violence against nurses, and achieving payment parity for Nurse Practitioners (among many others). Kotek’s leadership on these legislative issues was crucial to their success; we simply would not have these laws in place protecting and elevating nursing practice without her.

Kotek’s understanding of the issues facing nurses across the state, her deep appreciation for the importance of nurses during the pandemic, and her exceptional track record of leadership for Oregonians are among the many reasons ONA has endorsed her in the race for Governor.

More information on Kotek’s campaign can be found on her campaign website at www.tinafororegon.com.

Labor Commissioner: Christina Stephenson

Christina Stephenson runs for Labor Commissioner, the office that oversees the Bureau of Labor and Industries (BOLI), on a strong track record of standing up for working people as a civil rights and workers’ rights attorney.  Her workday is representing workers in legal cases of harassment, discrimination, wage and hour violation, and whistleblowing.  With advocates, including ONA and other unions, she also gives time to winning passage of pro-worker legislation.  She intends to take her deep knowledge of where workers are being left behind to the top office at BOLI, where she can bring vigor and innovation to labor law enforcement.  Christina lives in unincorporated Washington County and previously ran for House District 33 with ONA’s endorsement.

State Senate District 16 (North Coast): Melissa Busch, RN

Melissa Busch is a Providence home health nurse in Columbia County who visits patients at home and in long-term care facilities throughout Senate District 16.  She is running because in her practice she sees too many difficult situations keeping communities sick and causing families to fall behind.  Working families and vulnerable community members need dogged pursuit of solutions that fit coastal Oregon and fit the severity of the challenges we face.  Melissa is a parent, a dedicated volunteer for local nonprofits, and a past participant in the government relations work of ONA.

Other State Senate Endorsements:

• SD 3 (Medford/Ashland) - Sen. Jeff Golden
• SD 4 (Eugene/Springfield) - Sen. Floyd Prozanski
• SD 7 (Eugene) - Sen. James Manning
• SD 8 (Corvallis/Albany) - Sen. Sara Gelser Blouin
• SD 10 (South Salem) - Sen. Deb Patterson
• SD 11 (Salem/Woodburn) - Richard Walsh
• SD 13 (Wilsonville/Tigard) - Aaron Woods
• SD 16 (North Coast) - Melissa Busch, RN
• SD 17 (NW Portland) - Sen. Elizabeth Steiner Hayward
• SD 18 (Aloha) - Rep. Wlnsvey Campos
• SD 19 (Lake Oswego/Tualatin/West Linn) - Sen. Rob Wagner
• SD 24 (East Portland) - Sen. Kayse Jama

State House District 42 (SE Portland): Rep. Rob Nosse

Rep. Rob Nosse has represented House District 42 since 2014 and was on staff at ONA as a Labor Rep for many years.  Twenty years of activism and organizing drive his ambitions as a lawmaker, which have resulted in progress in health care, behavioral health, other social services, and economic fairness.  He serves as Majority Whip for the Oregon House Democrats, Chair of the House Behavioral Health Committee, and Co-Chair of the Joint Ways and Means Subcommittee on Human Services.

State House District 44 (North Portland): Rep. Travis Nelson, RN

Rep. Travis Nelson, former ONA Vice President and ONA member since 2015, has served as the State Rep. for House District 44 since his appointment to the seat in early 2022.  His first and current year in the legislature saw him participate in the committees on Behavioral Health, Human Services, and the Joint Ways and Means Subcommittee on Transportation.  Travis has been a nurse for 17 years.  He is a longtime advocate for the nursing profession, for nurses' needs and rights on the job, and for setting the bar high for quality and equity throughout the health care system.

Other Oregon House of Representatives Endorsements:

• HD 5 (Ashland) - Rep. Pam Marsh
• HD 7 (Springfield) - Rep. John Lively
• HD 8 (South Eugene) - Rep. Paul Holvey
• HD 10 (Central Coast) - Rep. David Gomberg
• HD 13 (North Eugene) - Rep. Nancy Nathanson
• HD 14 (West Eugene) - Rep. Julie Fahey
• HD 16 (Corvallis) - Rep. Dan Rayfield
• HD 19 (South Salem) - Tom Andersen
• HD 20 (West Salem) - Rep. Paul Evans
• HD 21 (Salem/Keizer) - RJ Navarro
• HD 22 (Salem/Woodburn) - Anthony Medina
• HD 25 (Tigard) Ben Bowman
• HD 26 (Wilsonville) - Rep. Courtney Neron
• HD 27 (Beaverton) - Rep. Ken Helm
• HD 28 (SW Portland) - Rep. Dacia Grayber
• HD 29 (Hillsboro/Forest Grove) - Rep. Susan McLain
• HD 30 (Hillsboro) Rep. Nathan Sosa
• HD 33 (NW Portland) - Rep. Maxine Dexter
• HD 34 (Bethany) - Rep. Lisa Reynolds
• HD 35 (Aloha) - Farrah Chaichi
• HD 42 (SE Portland) - Rep. Rob Nosse
• HD 43 (NE Portland) - Rep. Tawna Sanchez
• HD 44 (North Portland) - Rep. Travis Nelson RN
• HD 45 (NE Portland) - Thuy Tran
• HD 46 (SE Portland) - Rep. Khanh Pham
• HD 47 (East Portland) - Rep. Andrea Valderrama
• HD 49 (Troutdale) - Rep. Zach Hudson
• HD 50 (Gresham) - Rep. Ricki Ruiz
• HD 54 (Bend) - Rep. Jason Kropf
• HD 57 (Umatilla, Morrow, Gilliam, Sherman & Wasco Counties) - Rep. Greg Smith
  
  

Multnomah County Chair

• Commissioner Sharon Meieran MD

United States Congress

• Senate: Sen. Ron Wyden
• House of Representatives 1st District: Rep. Suzanne Bonamici
• House of Representatives 3rd District: Rep. Earl Blumenauer
• House of Representatives 4th District: Val Hoyle
• House of Representatives 5th District: Jamie McLeod-Skinner
• House of Representatives 6th District - Andrea Salinas
  

Ballot Measures

YES on Measure 111 - Legislative referral that amends the Oregon Constitution to add that the state "ensure that every resident of Oregon has access to cost-effective, clinically appropriate and affordable health care as a fundamental right"

YES on Measure 112 - Legislative referral that repeals language allowing slavery or involuntary servitude as criminal punishments and authorizes an Oregon court or a probation or parole agency to order alternatives to incarceration for a convicted individual

YES on Measure 113 - Citizen initiative that excludes state legislators from re-election for unexcused legislative absenteeism

YES on Measure 114 - Citizen initiative that enacts a law outlining a procedure to apply for a permit-to-purchase a firearm and prohibits ammunition magazines capable of holding more than 10 rounds