Information for candidates

In the 2026 election cycle, United for Portland will consider endorsements of candidates running for Multnomah County Chair, Multnomah County Commission, and Portland City Council.

Currently, we are working on endorsements for the November 2026 general election, and questionnaires will be available for download on our website on July 15th, 2026 with a due date of August 7, 2026.

If you are running, or considering running, for Portland City Council or Multnomah County Commission, we’d love to hear from you. But please know that endorsements will take place in August.

2026 Portland City Council Endorsement Process

The purpose of the United for Portland endorsement process is an opportunity to identify thoughtful, practical leaders running for Portland City Council, demonstrate their qualifications for office, and help educate and prepare those candidates for the challenges they will face. Our goal is to make our endorsement process educational, transparent, open, and inclusionary.

United for Portland will seek to identify and endorse the candidates who will be the best elected leaders, a process which is inherently subjective. In some circumstances, United for Portland may decide to make no endorsement or to make multiple endorsements in a given race.

United for Portland’s endorsements are based on:

• A candidate’s voting record or record of public service.
• Their public positions on key issues including but not limited to: the economy, affordability, homelessness, livability, public safety, and government transparency and accountability.
• Responses to our questionnaire.
• An interview with the United for Portland Board.
• An analysis of political viability which includes factors such as fundraising, campaign planning, endorsements, consulting team, polling, and likely supportive or damaging stories/narratives (if known or available) from research.

While United for Portland’s endorsement process is conducted confidentially, all responses to questionnaires (unless otherwise specified) will be published on our website. However, any information given during an interview about issue positions or about specific campaign plans are held in confidence until after the election is over.

Not all candidates who complete a questionnaire will be interviewed. It may be determined based on responses and record that the applying candidate may not be able to earn United for Portland’s endorsement.

2026 Multnomah County Chair and Commission Endorsement Process

The purpose of the United for Portland endorsement process is to identify thoughtful, pragmatic leaders running for office. United for Portland will seek to identify and endorse the candidate who will be the best elected leader, a process which is inherently subjective. In some circumstances, United for Portland may decide to make no endorsement or to make multiple endorsements in a given race.

United for Portland’s endorsements are based on:

• A candidate’s voting record or record of public service.
• Their public positions on key issues including but not limited to: the economy, affordability, homelessness, livability, mental health services, public safety, government transparency and accountability.
• Responses to our questionnaire.
• An interview with the United for Portland Board.
• An analysis of political viability which includes factors such as fundraising, campaign planning, endorsements, consulting team, polling, and likely supportive or damaging stories/narratives (if known or available) from research.

While United for Portland’s endorsement process is conducted confidentially, all responses to questionnaires (unless otherwise specified) will be published on our website. However, any information given during an interview about issue positions or about specific campaign plans are held in confidence until after the election is over.

Not all candidates who complete a questionnaire will be interviewed. It may be determined based on responses and record that the applying candidate may not be able to earn United for Portland’s endorsement.

Additional Information about Our Process

All United for Portland endorsements are made by the United for Portland Board.

Our goal is to be able to issue final endorsements before the voters’ pamphlet deadline and after the filing deadline. This allows candidates who would like to use the endorsements in the voter’s pamphlet to do so.

An endorsement from United for Portland is not a guarantee or indicator of financial contributions or additional resources to support a candidate or campaign.