One candidate would keep the state investing in housing production, schools and rights protections; the other leads with lower taxes, spending scrutiny, public safety and parental involvement. Both call it affordability with different tools.
Draft; human review pending.
Key
Said
A campaign statement, in our summary or their words.
Voted
A recorded Council roll call.
— Not found
Not in the sources we reviewed. A research gap, not a position.
Supports education and housing investment, reproductive and gender-affirming healthcare, environmental protection and gun-safety laws.
Supports more housing through eased construction rules and public-private-nonprofit partnerships.
Supports safe-storage rules, no guns in schools, and immigrant due process.
Wants data centers to pay their share of energy costs; opposes tariffs.
Supports permanent conservation funding and environmental protection in a changing climate.
Summaries are our one-line readings of what each candidate says. Issue lines are short forms of the positions in each brief, AI-drafted and awaiting human review; “—” means not found in the sources we reviewed.
Four votes that split this Council
No candidate in this race sits on Council today.
— Not foundNo featured votes are selected for this race yet.
Candidate briefs, A–Z
Senate · District 19 candidate · Oregon Legislature · November 3, 2026
Mary Dirksen
Former state senior policy analyst with budget-committee and volunteer experience.
Photo: Campaign photo · marydirksen.com
In their words
Said: Oregon families deserve better. As a mother who adopted children from foster care, protecting kids and strengthening families is personal.
Voters’ pamphlet
Candidate statement · Filed for the November 2026 state voters’ pamphlet; extracted September 21, 2026
First two sentences of the filed statement (the first is under 12 words); header fields skipped.
The verbatim opening of their voters’ pamphlet statement, the same rule for every candidate. We chose nothing.
What they say they would do
Our summary of their platform, in our words
Proposes tax relief and closer spending oversight alongside stronger public-safety and education standards.
Support law enforcement and stronger consequences for repeat offending.
Reduce wasteful spending and pursue tax relief.
Increase curriculum transparency, parental involvement and foundational learning.
Our reading
Our interpretation, not their words
Tax relief
Public safety
She promises tax relief and spending scrutiny alongside stronger consequences for repeat offenders and parental involvement in schools; the site does not name the tax changes or program cuts that would balance the budget.
— Not foundNot found in the sources we reviewed. That is a research gap, not a position.
Crime, drugs and who responds
Punish repeat offenders
What
Said: Support law enforcement, strengthen consequences for repeat offenders and put victims first, with accountability for crime, addiction and hazards on the streets.
How
— Not in their sources
Measured by
— Not in their sources
Taxes, the kicker and the budget
Tax relief, less waste
What
Said: Rein in wasteful spending, demand transparency for every tax dollar and pursue meaningful tax relief.
How
— Not in their sources
Measured by
— Not in their sources
Roads, transit and climate
— Not foundNot found in the sources we reviewed. That is a research gap, not a position.
The choices this office faces
Every candidate in this race is asked the same 8 questions. Mary Dirksen is on record on 1, with 7 still open. A question without an answer is a research gap, not a position.
No answer we could find
Vote for a 2027 transportation package that raises the gas tax and vehicle fees again?
Nothing on this exact choice in the sources we reviewed.
Let the state keep part of a future kicker refund for wildfire or other one-time needs?
Nothing on this exact choice in the sources we reviewed.
Make data centers pay their own way: separate power rates, an end to tax breaks, or a pause on new ones?
Nothing on this exact choice in the sources we reviewed.
Keep paying for state-funded shelter beds and the homelessness emergency after June 2027?
Nothing on this exact choice in the sources we reviewed.
Keep the 2024 approach of recriminalized possession plus county deflection programs, and fund them in 2027–29?
Nothing on this exact choice in the sources we reviewed.
Spend more state money on wildfire prevention and firefighting?
Nothing on this exact choice in the sources we reviewed.
Keep adding state limits on federal immigration enforcement, on top of Oregon's sanctuary law?
Nothing on this exact choice in the sources we reviewed.
On record
Close the 2027–29 budget gap with new revenue, or with cuts alone?
Said: Would rein in wasteful spending, demand transparency for every tax dollar and pursue meaningful tax relief; her statement says taxes and the cost of living have soared under current Senate leadership.
Dirksen · prioritiesCandidate statement · Website reviewed September 21, 2026Campaign position. Claimed results and numerical premises have not automatically been independently verified.
Dirksen · aboutCandidate statement · Website reviewed September 21, 2026Campaign position. Claimed results and numerical premises have not automatically been independently verified.
Oregon Secretary of State · filed candidate statement · PDF page 82Candidate statement · Filed for the November 2026 state voters’ pamphlet; PDF printed September 9, 2026; reviewed September 21, 2026Written by the candidate or campaign for the state voters’ pamphlet, which is not published until September 29, 2026.
Senate · District 19 candidate · Oregon Legislature · November 3, 2026
Rob Wagner
Incumbent senator and Senate president.
Photo: Campaign photo · robwagnerfororegon.com
In their words
Said: Having grown up in Oregon and raised my four kids here, our state’s future is personal for me.
Voters’ pamphlet
Candidate statement · Filed for the November 2026 state voters’ pamphlet; extracted September 21, 2026
First sentence of the filed statement; the heading “Our State, Our Future” is skipped.
The verbatim opening of their voters’ pamphlet statement, the same rule for every candidate. We chose nothing.
What they say they would do
Our summary of their platform, in our words
Supports education and housing investment, reproductive and gender-affirming healthcare, environmental protection and gun-safety laws.
Build more housing through public, private and nonprofit partnerships.
Protect healthcare access, immigrant rights and public-school funding.
Require data centers to cover energy costs and support firearm safe-storage rules.
Our reading
Our interpretation, not their words
Housing production
Rights protections
He presents continued state investment and protections (schools, housing, healthcare, gun safety) as the answer to federal pressure and costs; his claims of enacted results still need separate record checks.
Said: Build more housing to close the shortage: supported legislation that eases construction and wants public, private and nonprofit partnerships that deliver results.
How
— Not in their sources
Measured by
— Not in their sources
Crime, drugs and who responds
Gun safety, due process
What
Said: Gun safety as public safety: keep firearms out of schools, strong safe-storage standards, and a task force on community safety and firearm suicide; defend due process and immigrant neighbors’ rights.
How
Said: Chief author and sponsor of the legislation creating the Task Force on Community Safety and Firearm Suicide Prevention.
Measured by
— Not in their sources
Taxes, the kicker and the budget
Data centers pay share
What
Said: Make data centers pay their fair share of energy costs; opposes across-the-board tariffs that raise prices.
How
— Not in their sources
Measured by
— Not in their sources
Roads, transit and climate
Ongoing conservation money
What
Said: Defend the environment and natural resources in a changing climate, with permanent ongoing funding for conservation.
How
Said: Passed new permanent, ongoing funding for conservation and a requirement that data centers pay their fair share of energy costs.
Measured by
— Not in their sources
The choices this office faces
Every candidate in this race is asked the same 8 questions. Rob Wagner is on record on 7, with 1 still open. A question without an answer is a research gap, not a position.
No answer we could find
Let the state keep part of a future kicker refund for wildfire or other one-time needs?
Nothing on this exact choice in the sources we reviewed.
On record
Vote for a 2027 transportation package that raises the gas tax and vehicle fees again?
Said: Voted yes on HB 3991 in the Senate on September 29, 2025, the gas-tax and fee package voters later repealed.
Close the 2027–29 budget gap with new revenue, or with cuts alone?
Said: Voted yes on SB 1507 on February 16, 2026, which disconnects Oregon from federal H.R. 1 business tax breaks, raising about $314 million for 2027–29, and enlarges the Earned Income Tax Credit.
Make data centers pay their own way: separate power rates, an end to tax breaks, or a pause on new ones?
Said: Voted yes on HB 3546 on June 3, 2025, putting data centers in their own electricity rate class; his site says he made data centers pay their fair share of energy costs.
Keep paying for state-funded shelter beds and the homelessness emergency after June 2027?
Said: Voted yes on HB 3644 on June 26, 2025, creating the statewide shelter program funded with $204.9 million through June 2027.
Keep the 2024 approach of recriminalized possession plus county deflection programs, and fund them in 2027–29?
Said: Voted yes on HB 4002 in the Senate on March 1, 2024, which recriminalized possession and created county deflection programs.
Spend more state money on wildfire prevention and firefighting?
Said: Voted yes on HB 3940 on June 26, 2025; his statement says Oregon must build resilience amid wildfires and heat waves.
Keep adding state limits on federal immigration enforcement, on top of Oregon's sanctuary law?
Said: Voted yes on HB 4138 on March 5, 2026; his site says he strongly supported new laws protecting the constitutional rights of immigrant and refugee neighbors.
Wagner · aboutCandidate statement · Website reviewed September 21, 2026Campaign position. Claimed results and numerical premises have not automatically been independently verified.
Oregon Secretary of State · filed candidate statement · PDF page 80Candidate statement · Filed for the November 2026 state voters’ pamphlet; PDF printed September 9, 2026; reviewed September 21, 2026Written by the candidate or campaign for the state voters’ pamphlet, which is not published until September 29, 2026.
