Overall Sentiments in the Pacific Northwest
For decades, DHM has been tracking public sentiment across the Pacific Northwest. One of the first questions we often ask our survey respondents is if they think their community is headed in the right direction or on the wrong track. In DHM’s most recent July 2025 Panel survey, the percentage of Oregonians who feel the state is headed in the right direction is the highest we’ve seen since a record low after the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, even surpassing wrong track.
Similarly, among Washingtonians, the percentage of those who feel Washington state is headed in the right direction is the highest we’ve seen since we began regularly tracking sentiments in the state in 2022. In contrast to Oregon, however, Washingtonians are still more likely to see the state as on the wrong track.
Oregonians who have a positive outlook on the state economy and those who rate their personal financial situation as good are more likely to say the state is heading in the right direction (67% and 56% right direction, respectively). This is also true among Washingtonians with a positive outlook on the statewide economy and their personal finances (65% and 49% right direction, respectively).
Partisanship Plays a Role
Looking at yearly averages, Republicans seem to be playing the biggest role in driving the current increase in positive sentiment in the Pacific Northwest. In Oregon, positive Republican sentiment (those who say Oregon is headed in the right direction) jumped 15 points since the 2024 election; this is the highest sentiment has been among Republicans since 2015.
Party differences in Washington are especially sharp. Just a few years ago, there was a nearly 60-point gap in optimism between Democrats and Republicans. By 2025, that gap has narrowed significantly, with 46% of Democrats and 43% of Republicans saying the state is on the right track. Independent sentiment has held steady, with just over one in four expressing optimism.
This narrowing of party differences on views of the direction of the state is largely driven by Republicans. Those with a positive view of the statewide economy and their personal finances—particularly Republicans—are much more likely to believe Washington is headed in the right direction than those with negative economic sentiment.
Across the Pacific Northwest, the timing of this upward shift is most likely tied to national politics, with positive Republican sentiment toward the direction the country is headed increasing drastically after the 2024 election and again after President Trump’s second-term inauguration in early 2025. Nationally, Republicans tend to rate the condition of the national economy as good while having a Republican president, and bad while having a Democrat as president.
Therefore, the question arises: Is right direction on the rise, or is optimism only temporarily rising among the “Right”? DHM will continue to watch this trend during the current administration and beyond.