Republican barred from running in 2026 endorses Clatsop County commissioner for Oregon Senate

Courtney Bangs and Senator Suzanne Weber at the Warrenton 4th of July Parade - Left: Courtney Bangs, Right: Sen. Suzanne Weber

Barred from running for the Oregon Senate again in 2026, state Sen. Suzanne Weber, R-Tillamook, is endorsing Clatsop County Commissioner Courtney Bangs to take her seat.

Bangs, vice chair of the county commission and a teacher and director at a private performing arts school in Warrenton, launched her campaign and announced Weber’s endorsement for the May 2026 Republican primary alongside the senator Friday at a Fourth of July parade in Warrenton.

“In the Senate, I will build on the steadfast and bold leadership of Senator Weber, who has been a champion for our rural way of life in Northwest Oregon,” Bangs wrote in a Monday news release.

Weber is one of 10 Senate Republicans who participated in a walkout of the 2023 legislative session who were barred from running for reelection in 2024 and 2026. Under Measure 113, a voter-approved 2022 law meant to dissuade lawmakers from shutting down the legislative process, any lawmaker with 10 or more unexcused absences cannot run for reelection at the end of their term. Weber and her Republican colleagues in the state Senate refused to work for six weeks in 2023 — the longest walkout in state history — to stall bills enacting stricter gun policies, and protecting access to abortion and transgender health care.

Bangs will seek the Republican nomination for Senate District 16 — spanning much of the state’s northwest coast from Astoria to Tillamook. If successful, she’ll run as a Republican for the seat in the November 2026 election.

The district is home to roughly 143,000 Oregonians in six counties. There are slightly more registered Democrats than Republicans, but like most Oregon districts, the bulk of voters are unaffiliated with any party. No other Republican or Democrat has yet publicly entered the district primary races.