Republican gubernatorial candidate Chris Dudley is leading incumbent Democratic Gov. Tina Kotek in a new hypothetical general‑election poll. Dudley, who has not previously held elected office, is a former professional basketball player and business executive. He played 16 seasons in the NBA, including six with the Portland Trail Blazers, and later co‑founded Filigree Wealth Advisors and served as CEO of Diabetomics. He also established the Chris Dudley Foundation and previously served as treasurer of the National Basketball Players Association.
The poll, commissioned by Dudley’s campaign and conducted by the Hoffman Research Group, surveyed 603 likely general‑election voters from May 11–12 and has a margin of error of ±4 percentage points. In a hypothetical matchup, Dudley received 48 percent support compared with 44 percent for Kotek. In a separate scenario, Republican state Sen. Christine Drazan tied with Kotek at 45 percent each. Republican state Rep. Ed Diehl was not included in the poll’s tested matchups.
Respondents also expressed views on overall political dynamics in Oregon. The survey found that 53 percent of voters held an unfavorable view of Kotek, while 33 percent viewed her favorably. Additionally, 58 percent of those surveyed said Oregon is headed in the wrong direction. Both Dudley and Drazan were described as competitive against Kotek in the poll, though Dudley was the only tested Republican candidate shown with a lead.
The poll comes less than a week before the May 19 Republican primary, conducted under Oregon’s vote‑by‑mail system, which will narrow the field of candidates ahead of the general election. Any eventual Republican nominee may face a challenging statewide race; Oregon has not elected a Republican to statewide office since 1994, and the last Republican governor to serve was Victor Atiyeh, who was reelected in 1982.
In California, the Secretary of State’s office released early primary ballot return figures ahead of the June 2 election. The data showed changes in party shares among early voters compared with 2022, with the Republican share of early ballot returns up and the Democratic share down.
Early returns indicated Republicans accounted for a higher proportion than their registration share, while Democratic turnout in early ballots declined. Analysts cautioned that early results may reflect which counties report returns first and the turnout patterns of older voters who tend to vote earlier.