Lesly MunozServing

Lesly Munoz

State HouseDemocrat

OR-HD-22 State House

Mexican-American·State Representative (2025-present)

Why This Race Matters

Munoz holds Oregon's most competitive state House seat -- she won by just 161 votes in 2024 (50.4%-49.6%), the race that secured Democrats' supermajority. HD-22 is the state's only majority-minority legislative district (over 60% Hispanic/Latino), making it a bellwether for Latino political power in Oregon. Republicans will aggressively target this seat in 2026 to break the supermajority.

No 2026 challengers have filed yet (Oregon filing deadline is March 2026). In 2024, PCUN (the farmworkers' union) knocked on 30,000+ doors and the Working Families Party made 44,000+ bilingual calls to help Munoz win. Her campaign raised $569,765 in 2024. Endorsed by the DLCC and Oregon Working Families Party.

Key dates to watch: Primary on May 19, 2026 and General Election on November 3, 2026.

About

Lesly Munoz represents Oregon House District 22, covering Woodburn, parts of Salem, Keizer, Gervais, and Hayesville -- the state's only majority-minority legislative district (over 60% Hispanic/Latino). The daughter of Mexican immigrants, she spent her career as a labor organizer fighting for fair wages and workplace protections for educators, farmworkers, and healthcare workers. She flipped the seat in 2024 by just 161 votes, giving Oregon Democrats a supermajority in the House.

Family & Heritage

Daughter of Mexican immigrants whose parents came to America in pursuit of better economic and educational opportunities. Her father worked as a landscaper and laborer, and her mother held numerous jobs including as an instructional assistant in public schools. Single working mother of four, raising her children in Woodburn.

Political Career

Before Politics

UniServ Consultant, Oregon Education Association; Council Representative, AFSCME (2019); Organizer, Oregon School Employees Association (2016-2019); Field Representative, OSEA (2014-2016)

Education

B.A. in Liberal Arts, Portland State University; B.S. in Telecommunications, Mt. Sierra College

Key Issues & Priorities

*Fair wages and workplace protections
*Farmworker rights and agricultural worker safety
*Education funding and public school investment
*Affordable housing and reducing homelessness
*Mental health and behavioral health services
*Fully funding police and fire departments

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