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𝐓𝐈𝐍𝐀 𝐊𝐎𝐓𝐄𝐊: 𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐑𝐄𝐂𝐄𝐈𝐏𝐓𝐒 Oregon had a drug crisis, a homeless crisis, and a business exodus — all before Tina Kotek took office. Then she made every single one of them worse. Here’s the full picture of the woman running one of America’s most beautiful states into the ground. 𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐁𝐚𝐜𝐤𝐠𝐫𝐨𝐮𝐧𝐝: 𝐆𝐞𝐨𝐫𝐠𝐞𝐭𝐨𝐰𝐧 𝐃𝐫𝐨𝐩𝐨𝐮𝐭 𝐭𝐨 𝐂𝐚𝐫𝐞𝐞𝐫 𝐏𝐨𝐥𝐢𝐭𝐢𝐜𝐢𝐚𝐧 Born in 1966 in York, Pennsylvania. She enrolled at 𝐆𝐞𝐨𝐫𝐠𝐞𝐭𝐨𝐰𝐧 𝐔𝐧𝐢𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐬𝐢𝐭𝐲 but dropped out, later telling reporters she “𝘥𝘪𝘥𝘯’𝘵 𝘧𝘪𝘵 𝘪𝘯” at the elite Jesuit school. She eventually finished her bachelor’s degree at the University of Oregon in 𝐫𝐞𝐥𝐢𝐠𝐢𝐨𝐮𝐬 𝐬𝐭𝐮𝐝𝐢𝐞𝐬 — not economics, not public policy, not business — 𝘳𝘦𝘭𝘪𝘨𝘪𝘰𝘶𝘴 𝘴𝘵𝘶𝘥𝘪𝘦𝘴. She later earned a master’s in public administration from the University of Washington. She was elected to the Oregon House of Representatives in 2006 and became 𝐒𝐩𝐞𝐚𝐤𝐞𝐫 𝐨𝐟 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐇𝐨𝐮𝐬𝐞 𝐢𝐧 𝟐𝟎𝟏𝟑 — the first openly lesbian speaker of a state legislative chamber in U.S. history. She held the speakership for nearly a decade, making her Oregon’s 𝐥𝐨𝐧𝐠𝐞𝐬𝐭-𝐬𝐞𝐫𝐯𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐇𝐨𝐮𝐬𝐞 𝐒𝐩𝐞𝐚𝐤𝐞𝐫. In 2022, she won the governor’s race by just 𝟑.𝟒 𝐩𝐨𝐢𝐧𝐭𝐬 in a three-way contest — the closest Oregon gubernatorial race in decades — in a state that hadn’t elected a Republican governor since 1982. That’s how unpopular she was before she even started. 𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐖𝐢𝐟𝐞: 𝐀𝐢𝐦𝐞𝐞 𝐊𝐨𝐭𝐞𝐤 𝐖𝐢𝐥𝐬𝐨𝐧 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐒𝐭𝐚𝐟𝐟 𝐄𝐱𝐨𝐝𝐮𝐬 Within months of Kotek taking office, 𝐟𝐢𝐯𝐞 𝐬𝐞𝐧𝐢𝐨𝐫 𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐟𝐟𝐞𝐫𝐬 departed the governor’s office — including her 𝐜𝐡𝐢𝐞𝐟 𝐨𝐟 𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐟𝐟 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐝𝐞𝐩𝐮𝐭𝐲 𝐜𝐡𝐢𝐞𝐟 𝐨𝐟 𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐟𝐟. Reports surfaced that Kotek’s wife, 𝐀𝐢𝐦𝐞𝐞 𝐊𝐨𝐭𝐞𝐤 𝐖𝐢𝐥𝐬𝐨𝐧, had been deeply involved in office operations, attending staff meetings, weighing in on personnel decisions, and creating a toxic work environment. The exodus was so severe and so public that Kotek was forced to issue a formal apology and scrap plans to create an 𝐎𝐟𝐟𝐢𝐜𝐞 𝐨𝐟 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐅𝐢𝐫𝐬𝐭 𝐒𝐩𝐨𝐮𝐬𝐞 — a taxpayer-funded position that would have given her wife an official government role (𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘖𝘳𝘦𝘨𝘰𝘯𝘪𝘢𝘯). An unelected spouse running the governor’s office from the shadows until the staff revolted. That’s Oregon under Kotek. 𝐌𝐞𝐚𝐬𝐮𝐫𝐞 𝟏𝟏𝟎: 𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐃𝐫𝐮𝐠 𝐃𝐞𝐜𝐫𝐢𝐦𝐢𝐧𝐚𝐥𝐢𝐳𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐂𝐚𝐭𝐚𝐬𝐭𝐫𝐨𝐩𝐡𝐞 In 2020, Oregon voters passed 𝐌𝐞𝐚𝐬𝐮𝐫𝐞 𝟏𝟏𝟎, which decriminalized possession of all hard drugs — heroin, fentanyl, methamphetamine, cocaine — reducing possession to a $100 citation. Kotek supported it. Progressive nonprofits and Soros-backed organizations championed it. Oregon became the first state in America to essentially legalize hard drug use. The results were devastating. Fentanyl overdose deaths in Multnomah County — home to Portland — increased 𝟓𝟑𝟑% between 2018 and 2022 (Multnomah County Health). Statewide, overdose deaths rose from 𝟐𝟖𝟎 𝐢𝐧 𝟐𝟎𝟏𝟗 to 𝟗𝟓𝟔 — more than tripling in just four years (Oregon Health Authority). Portland’s streets became open-air drug markets. Tin foil and needles littered sidewalks. Addicts smoked fentanyl on public transit in broad daylight. By 2024, the disaster was so undeniable that even Oregon’s Democratic legislature reversed course. Kotek signed 𝐇𝐨𝐮𝐬𝐞 𝐁𝐢𝐥𝐥 𝟒𝟎𝟎𝟐, which 𝐫𝐞𝐜𝐫𝐢𝐦𝐢𝐧𝐚𝐥𝐢𝐳𝐞𝐝 drug possession — effectively admitting the entire experiment was a catastrophic failure. The law she championed k∗lled hundreds of Oregonians before they pulled the plug. And Kotek signed the reversal without ever acknowledging her role in pushing it. 𝐏𝐨𝐫𝐭𝐥𝐚𝐧𝐝: 𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐂𝐢𝐭𝐲 𝐓𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐃𝐢𝐞𝐝 Portland was once one of the most desirable cities in America. Under a decade of progressive governance that Kotek enabled and championed from the state house, it became a national cautionary tale. Downtown Portland’s 𝐨𝐟𝐟𝐢𝐜𝐞 𝐯𝐚𝐜𝐚𝐧𝐜𝐲 𝐫𝐚𝐭𝐞 𝐡𝐢𝐭 𝟑𝟒.𝟔% — one of the highest in the nation (𝘊𝘰𝘚𝘵𝘢𝘳). Retail vacancy downtown reached 𝟑𝟐%. The businesses that built Portland’s identity fled: 𝐃𝐮𝐭𝐜𝐡 𝐁𝐫𝐨𝐬 moved its headquarters to Scottsdale, Arizona. 𝐓𝐞𝐤𝐭𝐫𝐨𝐧𝐢𝐱, a Portland institution for 80 years, relocated. 𝐀𝐝𝐨𝐛𝐞 closed its Portland office. 𝐊𝐞𝐞𝐧 𝐅𝐨𝐨𝐭𝐰𝐞𝐚𝐫 left for Indianapolis. The Portland metro area lost 𝟗,𝟔𝟎𝟎 𝐩𝐨𝐬𝐢𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐬 as companies decided the city wasn’t worth the risk anymore. The city that prided itself on being weird became the city people leave. And Kotek, who ran the state legislature through Portland’s entire decline, now sits in the governor’s mansion pretending she had nothing to do with it. 𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐇𝐨𝐦𝐞𝐥𝐞𝐬𝐬𝐧𝐞𝐬𝐬 𝐃𝐢𝐬𝐚𝐬𝐭𝐞𝐫 On her very 𝐟𝐢𝐫𝐬𝐭 𝐝𝐚𝐲 𝐢𝐧 𝐨𝐟𝐟𝐢𝐜𝐞, Kotek declared a 𝐡𝐨𝐦𝐞𝐥𝐞𝐬𝐬𝐧𝐞𝐬𝐬 𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐭𝐞 𝐨𝐟 𝐞𝐦𝐞𝐫𝐠𝐞𝐧𝐜𝐲. She has since renewed it 𝐭𝐡𝐫𝐞𝐞 𝐭𝐢𝐦𝐞𝐬 — because nothing she’s done has worked. The 2025 Point-in-Time count found 𝟐𝟕,𝟏𝟏𝟗 𝐡𝐨𝐦𝐞𝐥𝐞𝐬𝐬 𝐢𝐧𝐝𝐢𝐯𝐢𝐝𝐮𝐚𝐥𝐬 statewide, with 𝟏𝟐,𝟎𝟑𝟒 𝐢𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐏𝐨𝐫𝐭𝐥𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐦𝐞𝐭𝐫𝐨 𝐚𝐫𝐞𝐚 — a 𝟔𝟏% 𝐢𝐧𝐜𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐬𝐞 from just two years prior (OHCS). Across the state, 𝟏𝟔,𝟓𝟏𝟐 𝐩𝐞𝐨𝐩𝐥𝐞 were unsheltered — sleeping on streets, in parks, under bridges. Oregon’s homeless population now rivals states with double and triple its population. Since 2021, Oregon has raised over $𝟏.𝟑 𝐛𝐢𝐥𝐥𝐢𝐨𝐧 for homelessness services through the Metro Supportive Housing Services tax and other measures. Over a billion dollars spent. The result: more homeless people than when they started. The money went to nonprofits, administrators, consultants, and bureaucrats. The tents stayed. Kotek’s signature policy was a pledge to create 𝟔𝟎𝟎 𝐬𝐡𝐞𝐥𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝐛𝐞𝐝𝐬 in 90 days. She missed the deadline. She revised the goal downward. She stopped talking about it. The emergency she declared on Day One is now a permanent condition of the state she governs. 𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐍𝐮𝐦𝐛𝐞𝐫𝐬 𝐃𝐨𝐧’𝐭 𝐋𝐢𝐞 Kotek’s approval rating sits at approximately 𝟒𝟐% — making her among the 𝐥𝐞𝐚𝐬𝐭 𝐩𝐨𝐩𝐮𝐥𝐚𝐫 𝐠𝐨𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐧𝐨𝐫𝐬 in the country (Morning Consult). In a state that hasn’t elected a Republican governor in over 40 years, she nearly lost to a Republican and an independent in a three-way race. Oregon’s voters are not right-wing. They’re just tired. 𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐏𝐚𝐭𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐧 A Georgetown dropout with a religious studies degree who spent a decade running Oregon’s state house while the state crumbled around her. Who championed the most radical drug decriminalization law in American history — a law that tripled overdose deaths before it had to be repealed. Whose wife ran the governor’s office until half the senior staff quit. Who declared a homelessness emergency on Day One and has renewed it three times with nothing to show for it. Who watched Portland’s downtown empty out, its businesses flee, and its streets fill with addicts and tents — and somehow still has a job. Over $𝟏.𝟑 𝐛𝐢𝐥𝐥𝐢𝐨𝐧 spent on homelessness. 𝟓𝟑𝟑% increase in fentanyl deaths. 𝟑𝟒.𝟔% office vacancy in downtown Portland. 𝟔𝟏% increase in homeless population. Every number is sourced. Every dollar is on the record. 𝐒𝐡𝐞 𝐝𝐢𝐝𝐧’𝐭 𝐢𝐧𝐡𝐞𝐫𝐢𝐭 𝐚 𝐜𝐫𝐢𝐬𝐢𝐬. 𝐒𝐡𝐞 𝐛𝐮𝐢𝐥𝐭 𝐨𝐧𝐞. 𝐀𝐧𝐝 𝐎𝐫𝐞𝐠𝐨𝐧 𝐢𝐬 𝐩𝐚𝐲𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐢𝐭 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐢𝐭𝐬 𝐜𝐢𝐭𝐢𝐞𝐬, 𝐢𝐭𝐬 𝐛𝐮𝐬𝐢𝐧𝐞𝐬𝐬𝐞𝐬, 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐢𝐭𝐬 𝐥𝐢𝐯𝐞𝐬.