Oregon’s 2026 United States Senate race is beginning to reveal a growing political divide between the state’s urban population centers and the increasingly vocal concerns coming out of Southern Oregon communities, where frustration over affordability, crime, homelessness, fuel prices, federal spending, and government accountability has become a central part of the political conversation.
The race officially solidified this week after Republican State Senator David Brock Smith secured the Republican nomination and advanced to the November general election against longtime Democratic incumbent Jeff Merkley. Merkley, first elected in 2008, is now seeking a fourth term in the United States Senate.
But while Brock Smith ultimately emerged as the Republican nominee, Southern Oregon played a far larger role in the primary election than many political observers initially expected.
Among the Republican candidates drawing attention during the primary was Grants Pass resident Russell McAlmond, a businessman and investment executive tied to Southern Oregon’s financial sector. McAlmond entered the Senate race as part of a broader wave of Republican challengers attempting to reshape the political landscape in a state where Democrats have dominated statewide elections for nearly two decades.
Although McAlmond did not win the nomination, his candidacy highlighted the growing political activism emerging from Josephine County and other rural Southern Oregon communities. Grants Pass, Medford, Roseburg, and surrounding areas have increasingly become centers of political frustration over inflation, rising utility costs, housing shortages, taxation, and concerns surrounding public safety and homelessness.
Political analysts throughout Oregon have noted that Southern Oregon voters are becoming more energized and more willing to support candidates who campaign heavily on fiscal restraint, regulatory reform, government accountability, and opposition to increased taxation. The recent rejection of Oregon’s transportation funding measure further underscored the growing divide between urban and rural priorities.
McAlmond’s presence in the Republican primary reflected that shift. His campaign became part of a larger conservative push to expand Republican influence beyond Oregon’s traditional rural strongholds and elevate Southern Oregon voices onto the statewide political stage.
Meanwhile, Brock Smith entered the race with considerably stronger statewide name recognition and political experience. A longtime South Coast political figure from Port Orford, Brock Smith has served in both the Oregon House and Senate and built much of his political identity around representing rural Oregon industries and coastal communities. His background as a longtime family restaurant operator and his ties to Southwest Oregon became a major component of his campaign messaging.
Brock Smith also benefited from being the only elected officeholder in the Republican primary field, something many political observers believed gave him a substantial advantage with voters seeking an experienced challenger to Merkley.
The general election now sets up a familiar political contrast in Oregon.
Merkley remains one of the Democratic Party’s most established political figures in the state. Since defeating Republican Gordon Smith in 2008, Merkley has maintained strong support throughout the Portland metropolitan area and among progressive voters statewide. During his Senate tenure, he has focused heavily on climate policy, healthcare, labor protections, affordable housing initiatives, and consumer protections.
Republicans, however, are increasingly attempting to capitalize on dissatisfaction outside Oregon’s urban centers.
Southern Oregon communities in particular have faced years of economic uncertainty tied to inflation, wildfire recovery costs, housing shortages, rising insurance premiums, and continued strain on public safety and behavioral health systems. Many Republican candidates have argued that federal spending policies and state regulations have contributed to worsening affordability for working-class families and small businesses.
That message appears to be resonating more strongly across Southern Oregon than it has in previous election cycles.
Even though Oregon has not elected a Republican to the United States Senate since 2002 and has not elected a Republican statewide official in recent years, Republican turnout and enthusiasm in rural counties continue to remain strong.
As the 2026 Senate race moves toward November, political attention is expected to intensify throughout Southern Oregon, where voter turnout could play a major role in determining whether Republicans can significantly narrow the statewide gap.
For Grants Pass residents, the election cycle also carries added local significance after seeing one of their own community members, Russell McAlmond, step onto the statewide political stage during the primary race. While his campaign ultimately fell short, it reinforced Southern Oregon’s growing presence in Oregon’s broader political conversation at a time when rural voices are demanding increased attention from Salem and Washington, D.C.