2026 Primary Election: When we fight, we win!!!

Why is our union political? This question comes up from time to time, and Oregon’s 2026 Primary Election showed us why. From our endorsement process to Get Out The Vote (GOTV), SEIU members led the way to elect pro-worker champions up and down the ballot.

Myrna Muñoz is a member leader working for the Oregon Department of Education. In 2025 She went on a lobby visit with SEIU to talk to her State Senator about SB 916, which would provide unemployment insurance for striking workers. After her senator told her and other members she wouldn’t support the bill, Myrna decided working families deserve a voice in the legislature and started looking for someone to challenge the long-time incumbent.

Then, earlier this year, that same incumbent backed a bill that would have extended tax breaks to large corporations, including data centers. The community strongly opposed that bill, and Myrna decided that if no one else would take on Senator Sollman, she would step up and do it herself. SEIU members on CAPE talked to both candidates, looked at the Senator’s record, and decided that it was time to take a stand and support our member and send a clear message about our values.

And we backed that up with real support. Through CAPE, our voluntary Political Action Committee, we helped fund Myrna’s campaign and showed up to knock on nearly 13,000 doors for our fellow member. This was a close, tough battle where Myrna was outspent more than 2-to-1 and attacked by her corporate-backed opponent, but people power prevailed over special interests. This is exactly why our union is political.

In total, our union knocked more than 27,000 doors and called over 12,000 voters this election cycle! Our efforts paid off. We focused on a few close races, and our field game made the difference. Initial results showed our endorsed candidates trailing, but we know that most voters don’t cast their ballots until late, and we continued to knock on doors until ballots were due. Once all the votes were counted, our candidates prevailed! 

Big wins include Myrna winning her primary for State Senator, Dr. Tammy Carpenter winning another close primary against an establishment candidate for State Representative, Washington County Commissioner Nafisa Fai making a runoff for Washington County Chair, SEIU member Jennifer Smith winning her race for Eugene City Council, Vanessa Nordyke being elected Salem Mayor, and more! 

Let’s celebrate these victories and all the work our members put in to make them happen. It’s important to know that this is not the end. Some candidates have won outright or have safe races in November, and we will have a very busy General Election. 

And our work doesn’t end on Election Day. Supporting pro-union candidates isn’t about winning elections; it’s about building power together to pass pro-worker policies, strong budgets, and strong contracts. We’re looking forward to working with these candidates to push forward pro-working family policies.