# 2016 Oregon Secretary of State election

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vte :
The 2016 Oregon Secretary of State election was held on November 8, 2016, to elect the Oregon Secretary of State. Incumbent Democratic Secretary of State Jeanne Atkins declined to seek election; she was appointed in March 2015 following Kate Brown's ascension to the governorship.
Republican Dennis Richardson defeated Democrat Brad Avakian to become the first Republican elected to statewide office in Oregon since 2002, and the first to hold this office since 1985. As of 2025, this remains the last statewide election in Oregon won by a Republican.

## Democratic primary
### Candidates

* Brad Avakian, Oregon Commissioner of Labor and Industries, former state senator and state representative candidate for 2012 Oregon's 1st congressional district special election
* Richard Devlin, state senator and former state representative
* Val Hoyle, state representative

### Results

Democratic primary results :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % |
| | Democratic | Brad Avakian | 204,135 | 38.88% |
| | Democratic | Val Hoyle | 178,829 | 34.06% |
| | Democratic | Richard Devlin | 137,612 | 26.21% |
| | Write-in | Write-in | 4,462 | 0.85% |
| Total votes | Total votes | Total votes | 511,627 | 100.0% |

## Republican primary
### Candidates

* Sid Leiken, Lane County commissioner
* Dennis Richardson, former state representative

### Results

Republican primary results :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % |
| | Republican | Dennis Richardson | 269,790 | 77.95% |
| | Republican | Sid Leiken | 74,237 | 21.45% |
| | Write-in | Write-in | 2,086 | 0.60% |
| Total votes | Total votes | Total votes | 346,113 | 100.0% |

## Independent Party primary
### Nominee

* Paul Damian Wells, machinist and perennial candidate

### Results

Independent Party primary results :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % |
| | Independent Party | Paul Damian Wells | 17,124 | 64.94% |
| | Write-in | Write-in | 9,245 | 35.06% |
| Total votes | Total votes | Total votes | 26,369 | 100.0% |

## Other candidates

* Sharon Durbin (Libertarian), candidate for U.S. House District 2 in 2014
* Michael P. Marsh (Constitution), perennial candidate
* Alan Zundel (Pacific Green), former political scientist and former professor at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas

## General election
### Endorsements
#### Elected officials

* Betsy Johnson, State Senator (D)
* Brad Witt, State Representative (D)
* Philip D. Lang, former Speaker of the House (D)

#### Newspapers

* Statesman Journal
* The Oregonian
* News-Register
* The Register-Guard
* East Oregonian
* Willamette Week
* The Daily Astorian
* The Bulletin
* Portland Tribune
* Mail Tribune

### Polling

| Poll source | Date(s) administered | Sample size | Margin of error | Brad Avakian (D) | Dennis Richardson (R) | Paul Wells (I) | Sharon Durbin (L) | Other | Undecided |
| DHM Research | October 25–29, 2016 | 504 (LV) | ± 4.4% | 27% | 32% | 3% | 3% | 7% | 28% |
| DHM Research | October 6–13, 2016 | 600 (LV) | ± 4.0% | 29% | 34% | 4% | 3% | 5% | 24% |
| iCitizen | September 2–7, 2016 | 610 (RV) | ± 4.0% | 29% | 26% | 4% | 2% | 3% | 36% |
| Clout Research (R) | July 9–13, 2016 | 701 (LV) | ± 3.7% | 34% | 43% | – | – | 10% | 12% |

### Results

2016 Oregon Secretary of State election :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Republican | Dennis Richardson | 892,669 | 47.38% | +4.18% |
| | Democratic | Brad Avakian | 814,089 | 43.21% | –8.07% |
| | Independent Party | Paul Damian Wells | 64,956 | 3.45% | N/A |
| | Pacific Green | Alan Zundel | 47,576 | 2.52% | –0.11% |
| | Libertarian | Sharon Durbin | 46,975 | 2.49% | +1.05% |
| | Constitution | Michael Marsh | 15,269 | 0.81% | +0.29% |
| | Write-in | Write-in | 2,646 | 0.14% | -0.01% |
| Total votes | Total votes | Total votes | 1,884,180 | 100.0% | |
| | Republican gain from Democratic | Republican gain from Democratic | Republican gain from Democratic | Republican gain from Democratic | Republican gain from Democratic |