2026 Elections Kick-Off: What We’re Watching and Why it Matters

Description

Join us for the kick-off to City Club’s fall election series with a Friday Forum designed to orient voters, whether you’re just tuning back in after August or already neck-deep in a campaign of your own. Our panel of keen Oregon political observers will survey the 2026 political landscape and highlight key local and statewide contests to watch. Joining us are Julia Shumway, editor of the Oregon Capital Chronicle and one of the state’s most trusted voices on Oregon politics and policy; Shane Dixon Kavanaugh, reporter at The Oregonian covering Portland City Hall and Multnomah County; and John Horvick, Senior Vice President at DHM Research, whose public opinion work has made him one of Oregon’s go-to analysts for understanding what voters are actually thinking and why. The conversation will be moderated by Tim Nesbitt, former Oregon AFL-CIO president, adviser to two Oregon governors, and an independent voice on Oregon elections and civic reform. This is a nonpartisan, big-picture conversation about the races and issues that will shape Oregon in 2027 and beyond.