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Good morning, Northwest.
The rematch is set. Republican Christine Drazan will take on incumbent Tina Kotek, a Democrat, for the Oregon governorship.
OPB’s Lauren Dake starts us off this morning with a look at what will make this contest different from 2022.
In other news, it’s been 20 years since Portland General Electric blew up the cooling tower at the only nuclear power plant ever built in Oregon, but its legacy lives on.
Here’s your First Look at Thursday’s news.
— Bradley W. Parks
Top story
Left: Christine Drazan at her election night party on Tuesday, May 19, 2026. Right: Gov. Tina Kotek at her victory announcement Nov. 10, 2022.
Saskia Hatvany and Kristyna Wentz-Graff / OPB
Trump’s actions could loom large in race to be next Oregon governor
Within 10 minutes of Christine Drazan winning the Republican gubernatorial primary on Tuesday night, the Oregon Democratic Party sent out an email casting her as an extremist who takes her orders directly from the White House.
“Christine Drazan’s nomination as the GOP candidate for governor makes the choice in November clear: Trump is on the ballot in Oregon,” the press release stated.
And Drazan has already honed her response: “Tina Kotek wants nothing more than for this race to be about Donald Trump,” she said in a debate earlier this month. “It’s actually who she thinks she’s running against.”
Welcome to Tina Kotek versus Christine Drazan, the sequel. (Lauren Dake)
3 things to know
FILE - A motorist drives along Main Street in Pendleton, Ore., on April 7, 2026.
Kathy Aney for OPB
- Oregonians delivered a blunt message to state leaders when asked to approve new taxes and fees to shore up transportation funding: Find another way to fill our potholes. The resounding defeat of Measure 120 underscored the high costs facing Oregon voters. (Bryce Dole)
- More than 950,000 of Oregon’s 3 million registered voters cast ballots in Tuesday’s primary election, which helps set up races for November. Here are three takeaways from Tuesday’s election. (Kyra Buckley)
- The Pendleton City Council is on the verge of a major shake-up as several challengers lead incumbents, according to unofficial election results. A political action committee donated thousands to candidates backed by a group targeting homelessness. (Antonio Sierra)
Northwest headlines
Battle Ground City Hall on May 20, 2026.
Erik Neumann / OPB
- Battle Ground City Council to consider proclamations condemning ‘antifa,’ praising ICE (Erik Neumann)
- Providence to end most of its health insurance business (Amelia Templeton)
- Wasco County Commissioner Phil Brady, leading race, dies suddenly on Election Day (Jen Baires)
- Portland’s billion-dollar climate fund becomes a blueprint for other cities (Monica Samayoa)
- Thorns set record for shutout minutes at home in 2-0 win over Bay FC (Amanda Vogt, AP)
- First-half run launches Indiana Fever past Portland Fire 90-73 (AP)
Listen in on OPB’s daily conversation
“Think Out Loud” airs at noon and 8 p.m. weekdays on OPB Radio, opb.org and the OPB News app. Today’s planned topics (subject to change):
- Portland businesses hit hard by tariffs await refunds months after Supreme Court ruling
- OSU and UP researchers break down medical mistrust in the age of social media
- Central Oregon records steep decline in people experiencing homelessness, according to latest count
One more look
The Trojan cooling tower stood 499 feet tall and emitted steam from the adjacent nuclear power plant from 1976-1993. Many years after the plant was decommissioned, Portland General Electric blew up its cooling tower in 2006.
Oregon Historical Society / Oregon Historical Society
The ghosts of Trojan: 5 ways Oregon’s only nuclear plant still haunts the Northwest
This week marks both the 50th anniversary of Portland General Electric starting up the only nuclear plant ever built in Oregon, the Trojan Nuclear Plant, and the 20th anniversary of the utility blowing up the plant’s iconic cooling tower.
When it was built, Trojan was the biggest commercial nuclear plant in the country and the second biggest in the world. But its 499-foot cooling tower also became the region’s biggest target for the burgeoning anti-nuclear movement, which, combined with mounting technical problems, spurred PGE to close the plant prematurely.
After decommissioning most of the facility, PGE lined the cooling tower with explosives and invited the world to watch it fall to the ground on May 21, 2006.
The memory of the tower — and its demolition — is still a powerful force. (Cassandra Profita)
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