Oregon's eighth state senate district is represented by Democratic Senator Sara Gelser.

Oregon state senators represent an average of 127,702 residents. After the 2000 Census, each member represented 114,047 residents.

About the chamber

Members of the Oregon State Senate serve four-year terms and are not subject to term limits. Oregon legislators assume office the second Monday in January. Each district of the Oregon State Senate is made up of two districts of the Oregon House of Representatives.

Qualifications

Article 4, Section 8 of the Oregon Constitution states:

• No person shall be a Senator or Representative who at the time of election is not a citizen of the United States; nor anyone who has not been for one year next preceding the election an inhabitant of the district from which the Senator or Representative may be chosen. However, for purposes of the general election next following the operative date of an apportionment under section 6 of this Article, the person must have been an inhabitant of the district from January 1 of the year following the reapportionment to the date of the election.
• Senators and Representatives shall be at least twenty one years of age.
• No person shall be a Senator or Representative who has been convicted of a felony during:
  • The term of office of the person as a Senator or Representative; or
  • The period beginning on the date of the election at which the person was elected to the office of Senator or Representative and ending on the first day of the term of office to which the person was elected.
• No person is eligible to be elected as a Senator or Representative if that person has been convicted of a felony and has not completed the sentence received for the conviction prior to the date that person would take office if elected. As used in this subsection, “sentence received for the conviction” includes a term of imprisonment, any period of probation or post-prison supervision and payment of a monetary obligation imposed as all or part of a sentence.
• Notwithstanding sections 11 and 15, Article IV of this Constitution:
  • The office of a Senator or Representative convicted of a felony during the term to which the Senator or Representative was elected or appointed shall become vacant on the date the Senator or Representative is convicted.
  • A person elected to the office of Senator or Representative and convicted of a felony during the period beginning on the date of the election and ending on the first day of the term of office to which the person was elected shall be ineligible to take office and the office shall become vacant on the first day of the next term of office.
• Subject to subsection (4) of this section, a person who is ineligible to be a Senator or Representative under subsection (3) of this section may:
  • Be a Senator or Representative after the expiration of the term of office during which the person is ineligible; and
  • Be a candidate for the office of Senator or Representative prior to the expiration of the term of office during which the person is ineligible.
• No person shall be a Senator or Representative who at all times during the term of office of the person as a Senator or Representative is not an inhabitant of the district from which the Senator or Representative may be chosen or served on represent. A person shall not lose status as an inhabitant of a district if the person is absent from the district for purposes of business of the Legislative Assembly. Following the operative date of an apportionment under section 6 of this Article, until the expiration of the term of office of the person, a person may be an inhabitant of any district.

Salaries

The Speaker of the House and the President of the Senate receive twice as much salary as other legislators. These salaries have been determined by statute.

Vacancies

If there is a vacancy in the senate, the Board of County Commissioners representing the vacant seat must select a replacement. This can only be done when the senate is in session or the vacancy happens more than 61 days before the next scheduled general election. The board must select a person the political party that last held the vacant seat. Three candidates who are members of the party that last controlled the seat must be considered by the board. A replacement must be selected within 30 days of the vacancy. Persons selected to fill a senate seat serve until the next scheduled general election.

Elections

2020

Elections for the office of Oregon State Senate will take place in 2020. The general election will be held on November 3, 2020. A primary is scheduled for May 19, 2020. The filing deadline is March 10, 2020.

2018

2014

Elections for the Oregon State Senate took place in 2014. A primary election took place on May 20, 2014. The general election was held on November 4, 2014. The signature filing deadline for candidates wishing to run in this election was March 11, 2014. Sara Gelser was unopposed in the Democratic primary. Incumbent Betsy Close was unopposed in the Republican primary. Close also ran on the Libertarian ticket and Gelser also ran on the Working Families Party ticket. Gelser defeated Close in the general election.

The Oregon State Senate was a battleground chamber that identified as having the opportunity to switch partisan control in 2014. The Oregon Senate had a difference in partisan balance between Democrats and Republican of two seats, which amounts to 13.3 percent of the seats up for election in 2014. District 8 in the SenateThe Oregonian as a battleground district that could determine control of the Oregon State Senate. Incumbent Betsy Close (R) was defeated by Rep. Sara Gelser (D-16) in the general election. Close, from conservative Albany, was appointed to the chamber to replace Frank Morse (R), a more moderate Republican who retired. Gelser has served in the House for four terms, representing the liberal college town of Corvallis. Before the general election, Gelser had raised $630,000, compared to $408,000 for Close. Gelser received more than $160,000 from the Senate Democratic campaign fund as well as donations from several union organizations.

Oregon State Senate District 8, General Election, 2014

2010

Elections for the office of Oregon State Senate consisted of a primary election on May 18 and a general election on November 2, 2010. The signature filing deadline for candidates wishing to run in this election was March 9, 2010. Incumbent Frank Morse (R) defeated Dan Rayfield (D) in the general election. Neither candidate faced opposition in their primary.

Oregon State Senate, District 8, General Election, 2010

Campaign contributions

Note: Oregon senate incumbents may receive contributions in off-election years.

From 2010 to 2014, candidates for Oregon State Senate District 8 raised a total of $2,277,350. Candidates who raised money in contributions earned $455,470 on average. All figures come from Follow the Money.

Campaign contributions, Oregon State Senate District 8