When the new Oregon House takes office on Jan. 9, 2023, at least a third of its 60 members will be new or serving their first full terms after their initial appointments.

In contrast, the Oregon Senate will lose its most senior member — Democrat Peter Courtney of Salem, who is retiring after 24 years, 20 of them as its presiding officer, and 14 previous years in the House — but turnover is not expected to be quite as drastic.

When filings closed Tuesday, March 8, for the May 17 party primaries, nearly two-thirds of the representatives filed for re-election — though some are running in new districts as a result of redrawing after the 2020 Census — but 20 seats were open.

The most recent record for turnover was set after the 1998 election, when legislative term limits then in effect kicked in, and the House seated 25 new members. (One other new member had served previously, and a second came over from the Senate). That mark was exceeded only in 1973, after Oregon went to single-member legislative districts, resulting in 28 new members.

The Supreme Court tossed out legislative term limits in 2002.

Of the departing representatives:

• Six are running for the Senate: Republicans Daniel Bonham of The Dalles, Cedric Hayden of Fall Creek, Raquel Moore-Green of Salem and Suzanne Weber of Tillamook, plus Democrats Wlnsvey Campos of Aloha and Mark Meek of Gladstone.

• Three are running for the new 6th District seat in the U.S. House: Democrats Teresa Alonso Leon of Woodburn and Andrea Salinas of Lake Oswego, and Republican Ron Noble of Carlton.

• Nine are retiring: Democrats Karin Power of Milwaukie, Rachel Prusak of West Linn, Jeff Reardon of Happy Valley, Sheri Schouten of Beaverton, Barbara Smith Warner of Portland, Marty Wilde of Eugene and Anna Williams of Hood River, plus Republicans Duane Stark of Grants Pass and Jack Zika of Redmond.

• Two interim appointees, Republican Jessica George of Keizer and Democrat Chris Hoy of Salem, chose not to run. The other six are seeking full terms of their own.

The current lineup is 37 Democrats and 23 Republicans.

Senate outlook

The Senate will not see quite the same turnover as the House, although there are notable departures and matchups.

Courtney is retiring after 24 years, plus 14 years in the House, for a record 38 years overall. Democrat Lee Beyer of Springfield racked up almost 15 years — 12 of them in his current stint — plus another seven years in the House. Republican Chuck Thomsen of Hood River is leaving after 12 years.

The appointed successors to Democrats Ginny Burdick of Portland and Betsy Johnson of Scappoose — both of whom resigned last year — chose not to seek full terms.

Eight Democratic incumbents, including appointee Janeen Sollman of Hillsboro, and two Republican incumbents are seeking re-election.

Democrat Deb Patterson of Salem edged a Republican appointee in 2020, and she faces Republican Rep. Raquel Moore-Green.

Republican Kim Thatcher of Keizer is running in a district redrawn to take in more of Democratic areas of Salem. Republican Bill Kennemer of Oregon City had been in the Senate 10 years and in the House 10 years before he filled the seat vacated by Alan Olsen of Canby, who moved out of state. He faces Democratic Rep. Mark Meek of Gladstone.

Also considered a key race for Senate control is the contest for Johnson’s open seat, which extends to the north coast.

Six Democrats and eight Republicans, plus the lone independent, are in the middle of their four-year terms. The current lineup is 18 Democrats, 11 Republicans and one independent.