Six graduates of the union-sponsored Oregon Labor Candidates School are running for the Oregon Legislature this November. Two have a fighting chance of winning office as Democrats — in open seats in districts where the two major parties are closely matched. Two face long odds against incumbents in Republican-leaning districts. And two are running without union support as minor party candidates against Democrats that have union endorsements.

Fighting chance

Ray Lister: An electrician and union rep at IBEW Local 48, he’s running for House District 26 in Wilsonville against Republican real estate lawyer Richard Vial. The seat is currently held by a Republican, John Davis, who chose not to seek re-election. Lister has raised $143,000, mostly from labor, while Vial has raised $293,000 — including $70,000 in loans from his family coffers, and $25,000 from billionaire Phil Knight.  — RayLister.com

Teresa Alonso Leon: An SEIU member and the child of migrant farm workers, she’s a Woodburn City Council member, and works as the administrator for Oregon’s GED program. She’s raised $332,000 in her race to succeed Democrat Betty Komp in House District 22. Her opponent, Republican former Marion County commissioner Patty Milne, has raised $356,000, including $50,000 from Phil Knight. — ElectAlonsoLeon.com

Uphill battle

Mark Reynolds: A member of Oregon Education Association, he’s challenging Hood River Republican incumbent Mark Johnson in House District 52, one of Oregon’s most anti-labor legislators. But Reynolds is being outspent about 10-to-1.  — ReynoldsForOregon.com

Tom Kane: A member of Portland Association of Teachers,  he faces incumbent Republican Vic Gilliam for House District 18 (Silverton). — TomKaneForStateHouse.com

Ditching the Democrats

James Ofsink: An AFSCME-represented IT worker at OHSU, he’s running for State Senate as a candidate for the Progressive Party, challenging Democratic state rep Kathleen Taylor to fill the District 21 (Southeast Portland) seat being vacated by Democrat Diane Rosenbaum. — ofsink.today

Sami Al-AbdRabbuh: An American Federation of Teachers-represented engineering instructor at Oregon State University, he’s running for House District 16 as a candidate for the Progressive Party against incumbent Democrat Dan Rayfield.  — sami2016.com

More local union candidates — City, county, state and federal

Sheri Malstrom, a member of Oregon Nurses Association, won the Democratic primary for Oregon House District 27 (Beaverton), and since no Republican filed for the office, she’ll head to Salem in January, succeeding Tobias Read, who’s running for state treasurer. — SheriMalstrom.com

Amanda Schroeder, president of American Federation of Government Employees Local 2157, is running for Multnomah County Commission District 4 against Lori Stegmann, a Chamber of Commerce board member and Gresham City Council member. — AmandaForEastCounty.com

Shanti Llewallen, a longshore worker and member of ILWU Local 8, is running for U.S. Senate as a candidate of the Oregon Working Families Party. The party decided to challenge incumbent Ron Wyden because he voted for Fast Track, paving the way for future NAFTAs. — ShantiForSenate.com

Mark Crenshaw, president of IBEW Local 280, is running for mayor of Junction City against Andy Nuckolls, a 2016 graduate of Junction City High School. Junction City, population 5,392, is 15 miles north of Eugene.

Jim Moeller, a mental health and addiction counselor for Kaiser Permanente, is a member of Oregon Nurses and Health Professionals.(OFNHP/AFT) He’s also a Washington state rep, and this year he’s running for U.S. Congress against Republican incumbent Jaime Herrera Beutler. — JimMoeller.org