Governor Tina Kotek’s grip on political support in Oregon just took another hit, and this time it’s coming from groups that once stood firmly in her corner.

According to reporting from KOIN 6 News, two organizations that backed Kotek during her 2022 run for governor have now declined to endorse her for reelection in 2026. The Oregon Education Association and the Oregon Working Families Party are both stepping back this time around, a clear signal that even some of the governor’s longtime allies are growing uneasy with the direction Oregon has gone under her leadership.

The Oregon Education Association, which was actually Kotek’s largest financial supporter during the 2022 election cycle, conducted a vote among its members and the result was striking. Seventy five percent of the union’s members chose not to endorse the governor this time.

That is not a small number, and it suggests serious frustration among educators across the state.

OEA President Enrique Farrera told KOIN that union members want to see “true investment” in the future of Oregon’s education system. The fact that a union that poured massive financial support into Kotek’s campaign only a few years ago is now refusing to endorse her speaks volumes.

The Oregon Working Families Party also declined to offer its support for the governor’s reelection bid. In a statement, the group said any candidate seeking its endorsement must demonstrate a commitment to addressing the economic struggles of working people in Oregon and building a system that works for everyone.

While the organization said the race is still developing and that endorsements could come later, the refusal to immediately back Kotek again is a notable shift from the last election.

Of course, the governor’s office pushed back on the narrative.

In a statement to KOIN, Kotek’s team claimed she has delivered “record investments” in Oregon’s schools, pointing to funding for literacy training, tutoring programs, and summer learning initiatives. The statement also pivoted to national politics, blaming federal actions and claiming the governor is working to protect Oregon’s education system.

But for many Oregonians watching the state struggle with rising homelessness, crime, failing schools, and an affordability crisis that continues to push families out, the talking points coming from Salem are starting to sound awfully familiar.

Promises of “record investments” have become routine in Oregon politics. Results, however, are much harder to find.

The loss of endorsements from two previously supportive organizations may not determine the outcome of the 2026 race on its own, but it is another sign that frustration with the status quo in Oregon is growing.

Even among the governor’s own political allies.

With the election now just about eight months away, cracks in that support could widen as more voters begin asking a simple question many Oregonians are already wondering:

After years of the same policies and the same leadership in Salem, is Oregon actually getting better?

Right now, even some of Tina Kotek’s former backers don’t seem convinced.