David Brock Smith

Smith was born in Port Orford, Oregon, and grew up there; he is a third-generation resident of Oregon’s Senate District 1.⁠[1][2]

He graduated from Pacific High School and attended Southwestern Oregon Community College and Southern Oregon University.⁠[2]

He worked in the culinary industry at restaurants in the Rogue Valley before returning to Port Orford to take over his family’s 45-year-old restaurant and lounge.⁠[2][3]

He has also served on the board of the South Coast Business Employment Corporation.⁠[2]

He served as president of the Port Orford City Council and president of the local chamber of commerce, chaired and vice-chaired the Curry County Board of Commissioners, and held roles with the Association of Oregon Counties and the National Association of Counties.⁠[2][1]

He also served for many years on the Port Orford-Langlois School Board and has been a Rotarian and a youth soccer coach.⁠[2]

In 2017 Smith was sworn in as the representative for Oregon House District 1, succeeding Wayne Krieger, and served until January 2023.⁠[2][1]

In the House he was vice chair of the Economic Development and Trade Committee and of the Energy and Environment Committee and co-vice chair of the Joint Committee on Carbon Reduction, and served on committees on agriculture, land use and natural resources, and early childhood and family supports.⁠[1][4]

In January 2023 county commissioners appointed Smith to succeed Republican Dallas Heard, who had resigned, as senator for Oregon Senate District 1, which covers Curry County and parts of Coos and Douglas counties; his term runs until 2029.⁠[3][2][4]

He is the Senate Republican deputy leader; in 2026 he was vice chair of the Senate Energy and Environment Committee and served on the Senate Veterans, Emergency Management, Federal and World Affairs Committee and on the Ways and Means Committee.⁠[4]

He is a member of the bipartisan Oregon Legislative Sportsmen’s Caucus and Coastal Caucus, has co-chaired the Sportsman’s and Wine caucuses, and backed a law that set in motion a state-backed study of the benefits and disadvantages of offshore wind production.⁠[3][4]

He has co-convened the Sudden Oak Task Force, the Maritime Workforce Development Task Force and the Oregon Coast Trail effort, served on the Governor’s Opioid Epidemic Task Force, and is a Senate board member of the Oregon Infrastructure Finance Authority and the Oregon Senate delegate to the Pacific NorthWest Economic Region (PNWER).⁠[4]

On March 4, 2026, Smith announced a campaign for the U.S. Senate. “My focus will be squarely on the people of Oregon,” he said, adding that he would “fight to make everyday life more affordable for working families.”⁠[3]

In the May 19 Republican primary Smith finished first among seven candidates with 29.5% of the vote, ahead of Jo Rae Perkins (27.1%) and Brent Barker (23.3%). The Associated Press declared him the winner on May 22, the last significant race called after the state’s primary.⁠[1][5]

In a statement after the primary he said, “This campaign is about putting Oregon first.”⁠[5]

Smith has said affordability is Oregon’s biggest problem and presented himself as a pragmatic lawmaker who can work across the aisle. Through June 30 he had raised about $120,000.⁠[6]

In the November 3 general election Smith lost to incumbent Democratic Sen. Jeff Merkley; at 11:00 p.m. EST the Associated Press declared that Merkley had won reelection.⁠[7][1]

Senator David Brock Smith (Oregon State Legislature): Official website: https://www.oregonlegislature.gov/smithd (opens in a new window).⁠[4]