Anthony Broadman Elected as New Oregon Senate Democratic Leader

“Voters entrusted us with the largest Democratic majority in decades, and our first priority must be making life more affordable for Oregon families,” said State Sen. Anthony Broadman, D-Bend, in a statement.

Oregon Senate Democrats selected Broadman as their new caucus leader as they head into a long legislative session. A press release from Senate Democrats notes that Broadman, who won his first term in the state Senate in 2024, is the initial Democratic leader in the chamber to hail from east of the Cascades since the 1980s.

His district includes Bend, Redmond, Sisters and much of Deschutes County. Before that, Broadman was a Bend City Council member and an attorney for tribal governments, including a tenure as chief judge of the Warm Springs Court of Appeals located on the Warm Springs Reservation in Central Oregon.

Broadman said that his main focus areas are the economy, cost of living, and enhancing the safety of Oregon’s communities and schools. Broadman represents Bend, where there was a school shooting last month at Silver Rail Elementary School.

Broadman replaces Sen. Kayse Jama, D-Portland, who achieved a historic milestone upon entering the Oregon State Senate by becoming its initial Muslim American and former refugee member. Jama fled from Somalia and came to Portland in 1998. He was elected to leadership in 2024 and voluntarily stepped aside, though he is still serving in the Oregon Senate.

Senate Democrats also reelected Senate President Rob Wagner to the post. Wagner, of Lake Oswego, was first appointed to the state Senate in 2018.

Wagner succeeded longtime Senate President Peter Courtney, who served in the post for about two decades. Courtney was the longest-serving state lawmaker in Oregon’s history and died in 2024.

Sen. James Manning was selected as Senate President Pro Tempore. The full chamber will vote in January on Wagner’s and Manning’s positions, while Broadman’s selection is effective immediately.