Our Favorite Progressive Candidates in 2026 - Tammy Carpenter, Oregon House of Representatives District 27

The Democratic Socialists are on the rise all over the country, including (unsurprisingly) progressive Oregon. In the Portland area, an anesthesiologist named Dr. Tammy Carpenter (she/her) is an unapologetic Democratic Socialists, having joined in 2016 during the presidential campaign of Bernie Sanders. Over her 20 years as an anesthesiologist she witnessed patients seeking treatment who couldn’t afford healthcare deductibles or healthcare plans themselves, watching patients drowning in debt. One of the three pillars of her campaign is universal healthcare, as well as taxing the rich and funding the people.

Where are you based?
Beaverton, OR

What is your position/what position are you running for?
I am running for State Representative for Oregon House District 27. The district sits just west of the Portland city limits and is the easternmost edge of Washington County. The district seat is the city of Beaverton, the 7th largest city in Oregon, and encompasses many unincorporated neighborhoods.

How would you briefly summarize your platform?
We live in a time of great abundance. We all should truly be thriving right now but our corporate overlords and the bro-ligarchs have too much political power. I am running on a democratic socialist platform because I believe that wealthy people and corporations shouldn’t be allowed to hoard wealth when so many people are struggling to survive. Billionaires should not exist and every single one of them is a policy failure. The current wealth and income disparity is not just an existential threat for working class people, it is an existential threat to our democracy. I am running to reduce inequality and ensure that every Oregonian can live a dignified life. I believe housing and healthcare are human rights and we all deserve the freedom to flourish, with jobs that pay a living wage with plenty of time for recreation, and fully-funded education from cradle to career.

What inspired you to run?
I am so inspired by the electoral work of Democratic Socialists of America. The work done by the NYC Chapter to help Zohran Mamdani win the Democratic nomination and the general election in New York City was incredible and it showed that people power can beat the power of money and the establishment and entrenched politicians that want to maintain the status quo.

So when we look at Oregon, we see a very blue state. The Democrats have super-majorities in the State House and Senate, and they hold every state-wide elected office. There is absolutely no reason we should have so many families struggling to get by. It has been beyond frustrating to see our elected leaders have so much power at their disposal and be unwilling to use that power to improve the lives of ordinary Oregonians. I am running for the state legislature to tax the rich and fully fund all the programs we deserve.

What change are you hoping to bring to your district and country?
When Mamdani was running for office on a platform of freezing the rent, and fast and free buses, and city-run grocery stores, the establishment was disdainful and said there is no way he could do that. And then Mamdani got in office and… just did it. It is almost as if the NYC Mayor could have done those things at any time and just didn’t want to. I want the people of HD 27 and Oregon to know that change is possible, that a better world is possible, that their elected leaders can actually do things that will improve their lives.

How long have you been in office? What do you consider to be your major accomplishments so far?
The only elected office that I have held is my current office as a Beaverton School Board Member. I am proud to have served the Beaverton School District, our teachers, and our students since I was elected in 2023. In three years, I have brought transparency to our contracts with School Resource Officers, and have been forcing votes to end our contract with the police so that our most vulnerable and marginalized students can go to school without being policed. I was the only School Board Member in the State of Oregon to support a bill extending Unemployment Benefits to workers on strike. I provided testimony to the legislative committee and wrote an op-ed because I believe strongly in balancing the power between the bosses and the workers.

What do you feel are the most important issues right now, why, and how do you plan to tackle them?
People cannot afford to live – housing, healthcare, food, gas – everything is more expensive. We need to fundamentally change how resources are distributed to ensure every American has the freedom to flourish.

At the state level, I am looking at improving the lives of tenants through a renters’ bill of rights that includes lifting the ban on rent control and protecting the ability of tenants to organize. I am also working on transit-oriented development that will help us make progress on our climate goals while also addressing affordability. We also must expand social housing in the state.

Oregonians passed a constitutional amendment declaring healthcare as a human right. The legislature has been working on a single-payer healthcare system to put that belief into practice. I hope to bring that bill to the legislature in January.

America is extremely divided these days. How would you hope to bridge that divide with your constituents to better unite Americans?
More and more, people are waking up to the fact that it is the oligarchs and the Epstein class that are making our lives so miserable. When people in a red state have a data center move next door to their kid’s school, they are just as pissed as we are in a blue state. Our lives are controlled by corporations and the elected leaders they own. So in many ways it doesn’t matter if your senator or representative has an R or a D next to their name – it is still the working people that lose out.

I hope to help people connect the dots.

People are divided because our media tells us we should be divided. However the issues I hear about from people on the left are the exact same issues that people on the right are struggling with. When we can come to people with real solutions, we can bridge that divide.

During my campaign we talked a lot about data centers. In many ways this issue epitomizes the rot at the heart of the establishment and it reminds people that our elected leaders are beholden to the corporations rather than the people in their district. When we can connect the dots for people about how their lives are immiserated by the elite and the Epstein class,

How do you see your unique identity and background to be an asset to you in office?
The State of Oregon has only two physicians in elected office – a State Senator and our Treasurer. I am running to be a Representative in the Oregon State House and would be the only physician among the 60 State Representatives. This is important because, after serving my community as an anesthesiologist for 20 years, I deeply understand the dysfunction of our healthcare so-called system and how our patients and providers are suffering.

As a physician I know first-hand that reproductive care is healthcare and that gender-affirming care is lifesaving. I am so proud to have provided anesthesia for patients receiving gender-affirming surgery – I will treasure the sheer joy of those moments for the rest of my life.

I also know that so many patients did not receive timely care and so many more were in crippling debt because of our broken system. I will always be committed to a people-first, human-centered policy platform and I am humbled that my life of service to my patients gives me strength as I am sworn into office in January 2027.

What is your motto in life?
It isn’t left versus right. It’s the 99% against the 1%.

Where can we find out more about you?
@OregonTammy on all the platforms (except the hellhole that is formerly known as Twitter). Also see my campaign website: TammyForOregon.com
Instagram: oregontammy
TIkTok: oregontammy