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Voters in Washington County, Oregon are choosing a new County Chair after Kathryn Harrington resigned in September following backlash over flipping off Commissioner Nafisa Fai during a public Board meeting. Vice Chair Jerry Willey and Commissioner Jason Snider have since presided over Board meetings on an interim basis.

Fai, who called for Harrington's resignation, faces fellow Commissioner Pam Treece in the race. Fai's campaign was also entangled in a dispute over a manipulated image falsely tied to an upside-down flag, later clarified as misreported. Fai emphasizes affordability and climate and mental health investments, while Treece, a former teacher, prioritizes housing, public safety, and economic vitality.

Early voting surged ahead of Tuesday's elections across multiple states. More than 1.7 million Ohioans voted early, topping the 2022 midterm record, with closely watched governor (Ramaswamy vs. Acton) and Senate (Husted vs. Brown) races on the ballot; Cuyahoga County's early in-person total alone exceeded its entire 2022 count, and officials say Ohio could break its record for most votes ever cast in a gubernatorial election. Minnesota saw a parallel surge in metro and rural counties. In Florida, nearly 40 percent of the electorate, about 5.4 million of 13.7 million registered voters, had already cast ballots by Monday, with Democrats turning out at higher rates relative to registration than Republicans. North Carolina also topped its 2022 pace, with 2.8 million early ballots cast, 35.7 percent turnout versus 29 percent four years earlier. In New York, Monroe County logged over 95,000 early ballots, about 40,000 more than its previous midterm high, with surrounding counties reporting similar gains. Analysts caution strong early turnout doesn't reliably predict final results or partisan advantage.

Polls in Ohio, Florida, North Carolina, and New York are open Tuesday for voters who haven't yet cast ballots; absentee ballots must be physically received by county election boards by the stated deadlines to count.

Morrison Child and Family Services in Portland, Oregon, has filed a WARN notice warning of 73 potential layoffs effective Dec. 31 if the federal Office of Refugee Resettlement does not renew a grant funding two programs serving unaccompanied immigrant children: Home Study & Post Release Services and a Long Term Group Home. Affected roles include counselors, case managers, caseworkers, supervisors, and administrative staff. Morrison's CEO says programs remain operational with no formal funding update yet. A federal spokesperson said demand for such services has sharply declined under the Trump administration, with unaccompanied children in care dropping from roughly 22,000 to about 1,600, prompting facility closures nationwide.

Oregon Senators Ron Wyden and Jeff Merkley, along with Rep. Suzanne Bonamici, have asked the DHS Office of Inspector General to investigate an incident in Hillsboro in which video appears to show an ICE agent slashing a couple's tire. The lawmakers say the couple had been observing and recording ICE agents in a supermarket parking lot on Oct. 7 when several agents in three vehicles boxed them in before puncturing the tire and leaving. They cite a broader pattern of aggressive tactics against observers and reference the death of Alex Pretti in Minnesota during a federal agent encounter. DHS says the incident is under investigation.

Rep. Marie Gluesenkamp Perez (D-WA), with Reps. Brian Fitzpatrick (R-PA) and Don Bacon (R-NE), introduced the Ronald Reagan Peace Through Strength Act to block President Trump's deal allowing Russian diesel and oil imports meant to ease U.S. gas prices. The bill would void the Treasury's Russian oil waiver, ban future waivers, and bar funding agreements that violate the 2022 Ending Importation of Russian Oil Act. It also requires intelligence agencies to quickly notify Congress of disruptions to Ukraine's defense support, following Starlink service cutoffs.

Sponsors call the deal a violation of law and a boost to Russia's war funding. The White House defends it as lowering global diesel prices. Analysts note the import volumes are too small to meaningfully affect prices.

Oregon Attorney General Dan Rayfield and Illinois Attorney General Kwame Raoul are leading a multistate lawsuit, filed in U.S. District Court in Eugene, accusing the Treasury Department and its Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) of gutting the Corporate Transparency Act. The 2021 bipartisan law required businesses to disclose ownership information to help authorities track money laundering, shell companies, and fraud. A FinCEN rule issued in August 2026 exempted roughly 99.9% of businesses from reporting and the agency moved to delete existing ownership data. The suit, joined by nearly 20 states and Washington, D.C., claims the changes violate federal rulemaking law and seeks to restore the database.

Portland's City Council voted 8-4 to join the Oregon Arena Joint Authority, a state-mandated body overseeing a potential renovation of the Moda Center alongside representatives from Oregon and the county. The joint authority will oversee construction and future capital improvements, a requirement tied to the state bill that set aside renovation funding. Some councilors objected to speculative budget-impact language and limited council representation among the city's three appointees; an amendment to strike that language failed. Council President Jaime Dunphy said the city still needs a finalized budget, clear lease terms, labor standards, and a community benefits agreement before final funding action. Councilors unanimously approved the city administrator, a building official, and a budget office representative as appointees.

Election offices in more than two dozen states, plus numerous members of Congress, have received suspicious letters containing a white powdery substance in the days before the midterms. Tennessee, Ohio, Oklahoma, Louisiana and Oregon officials reported intercepted or opened packages, some prompting evacuations and hazmat responses; preliminary tests have found no hazardous material. Affected lawmakers include Sens. Alex Padilla, Ted Cruz, Amy Klobuchar and Chris Murphy, and several California representatives. The FBI, U.S. Postal Inspection Service and U.S. Capitol Police are investigating. Election official associations condemned the threats. Similar mailings targeted officials ahead of the 2024 election and in 2023, when some contained traces of fentanyl.