Rebecca D. Guptill is seeking re-election to Oregon's 20th Judicial District Circuit Court Position 2 in the Nov. 3 general election. The nonpartisan race covers Washington County.

Guptill has served as a circuit court judge at Washington County Circuit Court since 2019. She appeared on the nonpartisan primary ballot on May 19, 2026, according to Ballotpedia. She is certified for the general election ballot, according to BallotReady election data.

Candidate information

Name: Rebecca D. Guptill

Office sought: Circuit Court Judge, District 20, Position 2

Election: Oregon General Election, Nov. 3, 2026

Education:

  • High school diploma, Waldport High School, 1998
  • Bachelor's degree in journalism, University of Southern California, 2002 (cum laude, with Thematic Option Certificate)
  • Juris doctor, Willamette University, 2005

Experience and public service

Guptill said she has served as presiding judge at Washington County Circuit Court. Before joining the bench, she worked in private practice at several Washington County law firms, according to her Avvo profile.

Her career in law includes positions as a law clerk at Clark Lindauer Fetherston Edmonds Lippold & Collier from 2003 to 2004 and a law clerk for Carl D. Crowell from 2004 to 2005. She held associate attorney roles at Ridehalgh & Associates from 2005 to 2007 and Cummins Goodman Fish Denley & Vickers from 2007 to 2008.

She was a senior associate attorney at Hillsboro Law Group from 2008 to 2012 and an associate attorney at Harris Law Firm from 2012 to 2019. She also served as a pro tem judge at Washington County Circuit Court in 2016.

Her volunteer service includes president of the Washington County Bar Association in 2014 and 2015, delegate to the Oregon State Bar House of Delegates in 2014 and 2015, and chair of the Washington County Law Library Committee in 2017. She said she serves as a board member of the Family Justice Center of Washington County.

On the issues

Judicial independence in criminal sentencing

During a dispute over Washington County's Adult Recovery Court, also known as drug court, Guptill said she defended judicial independence in sentencing decisions. She said: "Preservation of this independent judicial discretion is what keeps us from being AI robots."

She wrote that sentencing is inherently a judicial function that cannot lawfully be delegated to another party or branch of government.

Judicial education on domestic and sexual violence

Guptill testified before the Oregon Legislature in support of Senate Bill 710 on April 21, 2025. The bill would mandate specialized training for judges on domestic and sexual violence. She said domestic and sexual violence and the trauma it causes affects every type of case coming before the court. In her testimony, she advocated for replacing existing continuing legal education requirements with judge-specific continuing education standards focused on evidence-based, trauma-informed training.

Responses are based on public data and answers to a Tigard Today questionnaire if they were provided.