City of La Grande will not hold primary elections due to insufficient number of candidates
By Garrett Christensen on Wednesday, March 11th, 2026 in More Top Stories Northeastern Oregon News
LA GRANDE – The City of La Grande recently announced that it will not hold a Primary Election on May 19, 2026. This is due to only two or fewer candidates running for all positions up for election. Both the Mayor’s position and council position 5 only have their incumbents running, while council positions 6 and 7 only have a single candidate beyond the incumbent. All candidates will appear during the November 3 general election.
For more details, see the full press release from the city below:
(Release from the City of La Grande)
A Primary Election will not be held in the City of La Grande on Tuesday, May 19, 2026. Pursuant to Section 29 of the La Grande City Charter, if two (2) or fewer candidates file for any particular Position Number, the names of those candidates will appear only on the November 3, 2026, General Election ballot.
All City Council positions are non-partisan, and the filing deadline with the City of La Grande has now passed. The following eligible candidates have qualified for certification to the November ballot.
POSITION NUMBER 1, MAYOR, TWO-YEAR TERM
Justin B. Rock (incumbent)
POSITION NUMBER 5, COUNCILOR, FOUR-YEAR TERM
Molly King (incumbent)
POSITION NUMBER 6, COUNCILOR, FOUR-YEAR TERM
Rod Sands
Denise Wheeler (incumbent)
POSITION NUMBER 7, COUNCILOR, FOUR-YEAR TERM
Corrine Dutto (incumbent)
John R. Lackey
Ballots for the November 3, 2026, General Election will be mailed to registered voters in accordance with state election timelines. The City of La Grande encourages all eligible voters to participate in this year’s election.
For additional information please contact City Recorder/Elections Official Stacey Stockhoff at 541-962-1351 or sstockhoff@cityoflagrande.org.
