Shaanth Nanguneri

Former Democratic state senator runs for swing coastal Oregon Senate seat • Oregon Capital Chronicle Rachel Armitage previously served as a state senator for the district in 2022, after the seat was vacated by a candidate for governor.

A former Oregon legislative staffer and Democratic state senator from the North Coast wants to return to the Capitol to take the place of an Oregon Republican barred from seeking reelection.

Oregon House speaker reprimands Republican gubernatorial candidate for fundraising during session • Oregon Capital Chronicle It’s not clear whether Rep. Ed Diehl, R-Scio, can or will face any sanctions from House for collecting campaign funds during the session.

Oregon House Speaker Julie Fahey on Friday chided the chamber’s sole gubernatorial candidate, Republican Rep. Ed Diehl of Scio, for violating self-imposed House rules by collecting campaign donations during this year’s short legislative session. oregoncapitalchronicle.com/2026/02/27/o...

Oregon House speaker reprimands Republican gubernatorial candidate for fundraising during session • Oregon Capital Chronicle It’s not clear whether Rep. Ed Diehl, R-Scio, can or will face any sanctions from House for collecting campaign funds during the session.

Scooplet from @shaanthx.bsky.social: House Speaker Julie Fahey sent Rep. Ed Diehl, R-Scio and a candidate for governor, a letter chiding him for accepting campaign contributions during session because of a questionably legal House rule.

oregoncapitalchronicle.com/2026/02/27/o...

You can hear the sound of these protests reverberating in the House chamber.

The Oregon House has punted an anticipated Thursday vote on the gas tax election shifting legislation to Monday. Gives the secretary of state even less time to verify signatures and gather arguments from Oregonians who wish to weigh in on the state's voter pamphlet should bill pass.

What should the Oregon Capital Chronicle ask candidates? We introduced a voter guide with competitive races in 2024 and plan to expand it to cover all legislative, congressional and statewide races in 2026. Questions are based on our own reporting and…

The filing deadline for the May 19 primary election is in just a few weeks. As our team plans primary coverage, we want to hear from you. What do you want to know from candidates to cast an informed vote?
buff.ly/P8zZnoH

Oregon House passes gun bill bolstering Measure 114 over Republicans' data privacy concerns • Oregon Capital Chronicle The legislation comes as the Oregon Supreme Court weighs whether to uphold the 2022 voter-approved gun control law.

The Oregon House on Wednesday moved to strengthen some of the nation’s strictest state-level firearm safety provisions narrowly enacted by Oregon voters in 2022, after a tense dispute during a committee hearing over the bill brought the chamber to a standstill on Monday.

After Republicans failed to garner enough votes to send this bill back to a budget committee, the House is now at ease..

It's more complicated than both sides are presenting. The CA judge's opinion is likely to be overturned according to most legal experts I speak to. But Oregon's proposed bill is softer than CA's law bc it doesn't create criminal penalties and applies to state, fed and local agents.

Oregon House lawmakers are debating their version of an anti-mask bill for law enforcement, which allows for civil suits against agencies who violate the law. Comes after a federal judge upholding CA's identification law (stayed by 9th circuit) & striking down law targeting feds and local agents.

Smith is back, too.

House Minority Leader Rep. Lucetta Elmer, R-McMinnville, and Rep. Kevin Mannix, R-Salem are now on the floor. So are Rep Bobby Levy, R-Echo and Rep. Mark Owens, R-Crane. Looks like Dems could have enough for a quorum, and some Republicans avoiding the M113 limit on absences by showing up in morning

Aaaand Smith has now left the floor after being pulled aside from a convo with Dems from his aides.

Waiting on the Oregon House floor as most Dems have returned to the chamber since yesterday's adjournment. Rep. Greg Smith, R-Heppner, is back on the floor after announcing his party's walkout on Monday over the gas tax referral bill. We'll see if the rest of his party follows suit and returns.

Oregon House Republicans stage walkout as gas tax election, gun control votes near • Oregon Capital Chronicle The walkout came as controversial gun control and transportation bills neared consideration in the Oregon House.

The House is set to return at 3:45. Republicans say they won't be there, denying quorum to block the first reading of gas tax bill. More from @shaanthx.bsky.social, reporting from the #orleg with @alexbaumhardt.bsky.social and @miamaldonado.bsky.social:
oregoncapitalchronicle.com/2026/02/23/o...

After slow fall COVID shot rollout, Oregon moves to bolster public health officials’ authority • Oregon Capital Chronicle Not all states who are members of the West Coast Health Alliance for vaccines have moved at the same pace to ensure access.

The stories during fall’s annual vaccine season kept piling up: Patients driving to Washington. Doctors concerned about a lack of liability protections. Pharmacists navigating a legal gray area they had never seen before.

Labor Secretary’s Husband Barred From the Department After Sexual Assault Reports

www.nytimes.com/2026/02/19/b...

Tensions rise among Oregon lawmakers over push to introduce bill limitations • Oregon Capital Chronicle One vocal Democrat resigned from caucus leadership over dissatisfaction with his party's support for such legislation.

Tensions rise among Oregon lawmakers over push to introduce bill limitations

Tensions rise among Oregon lawmakers over push to introduce bill limitations • Oregon Capital Chronicle One vocal Democrat resigned from caucus leadership over dissatisfaction with his party's support for such legislation.

Rep. Paul Evans, a Monmouth Democrat and one of the Legislature's most prolific bill writers, quit his post as an assistant Dem caucus leader because he's so mad about a bill to limit how many bills everyone can introduce.

oregoncapitalchronicle.com/2026/02/19/t...

While the Senate has adjourned after Republicans' walkout today ahead of the transportation vote, some Democratic lawmakers in the largely empty House chamber are dancing and singing along to Charli XCX and Icona Pop's' "I love it."

Oregon House clears bill to alert school, university communities of immigration activity  • Oregon Capital Chronicle House Bill 4079 passed the Oregon House by a 35-22 vote on Tuesday, with all Republicans and one Democrat voting in opposition.

Oregon public universities and schools would have to promptly notify their communities when federal immigration agents step onto campus under a bill the Oregon House passed Tuesday.

Supremacy clause strikes again in serving as a roadblock to Oregon lawmakers' efforts to regulate feds' immigration policy, this time in attempting to restrict agents' access to Oregon hospitals.

As Trump’s deportation campaign grows violent, some Oregon Republicans begin to push back • Oregon Capital Chronicle Several lawmakers and Republican spokespeople bristled at requests for comment, but a few expressed concerns with federal agents' tactics.

The Capital Chronicle reached out to more than a dozen House and Senate Republican lawmakers about immigration, most of whom were more reluctant to address the conduct of federal agents than leading gubernatorial candidates for the GOP’s nomination. oregoncapitalchronicle.com/2026/02/16/a...

This story is so notable for all the Oregon Republicans who dodged simple questions from reporters at the Capitol when they could not simply ignore our emails. Fabulous and illuminating reporting from @shaanthx.bsky.social
oregoncapitalchronicle.com/2026/02/16/a...

Judge questions feds’ use of force with tear gas near Portland ICE facility • Oregon Capital Chronicle An attorney representing neighbors of the facility said the federal government is “knowingly putting them through hell."

Judge questions feds’ use of force with tear gas near Portland ICE facility oregoncapitalchronicle.com/2026/02/13/j...

Facing a 'chilling effect,' Oregon lawmakers seek to beef up abortion, trans health care laws • Oregon Capital Chronicle In the wake of Oregon hospitals ending access to gender-affirming care for minors, dueling state policies over abortion and increasingly hostile federal actions toward transgender Americans, Oregon…

In the wake of Oregon hospitals ending access to gender-affirming care for minors, dueling state policies over abortion and increasingly hostile federal actions toward transgender Americans, Oregon Democrats say the state’s protections for doctors and patients need an update.

Rep. Ricki Ruiz, D-Gresham, invited the Crespo-González family to be his special guests today on the House floor in the Oregon State Capitol. Here he is introducing House Speaker Julie Fahey, or “la mera mera,” to them.

Oregon GOP gubernatorial candidate skips Senate floor session for business event • Oregon Capital Chronicle None of the bills Drazan has sponsored involving business and economic issues survived a Monday deadline to schedule committee votes.

State Sen. Christine Drazan, running for governor for the second time, skipped voting on bills on Tuesday to meet with business owners at an Oregon City pub 20 miles outside the Senate district she represents.

Oregon GOP gubernatorial candidate skips Senate floor session for business event • Oregon Capital Chronicle None of the bills Drazan has sponsored involving business and economic issues survived a Monday deadline to schedule committee votes.

State Sen. Christine Drazan, a Canby Republican and candidate for governor, skipped voting on bills today to host a roundtable with business leaders in another senator's district. #orleg #orpol oregoncapitalchronicle.com/briefs/orego... via @shaanthx.bsky.social

A federal judge in California has preliminarily enjoined the mask ban in California's No Secret Police Act on the narrow ground that the law discriminates against the federal government. Other provisions of that law and the No Vigilantes Act may go into effect.

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