As of 1 p.m. on Wednesday, May 18, Secretary of State Shemia Fagan reported 937,445 ballots had been returned of 2,948,373. That pegs the statewide voter turnout at 31.8%, slightly above the 2018 turnout, the last non-presidential year primary election in Oregon.
Wasco County ended Election Day at 36.57% turnout, compared to 48.67% in 2020 and 38.19% in 2018, according to County Clerk Lisa Gambee. Roughly 50% of ballots were received between Monday, May 16 and Tuesday, May 17, with Election Day being 1/3 of all ballots (12% out of 36%).
Hood River County had a voter turnout of 40.87% as of election day, according to Brian Beebe with county elections. Beebe noted postmarked ballots received by May 25 will be counted, under new state law, so final turnout will not be known until then.
Circuit Court judge (Wasco, Hood River, Gilliam, Sherman and Wheeler counties)
Five-county results for Judge of the Circuit Court, 7th District, Position 4, on May 19 showed John A. Wolf with 53.57% of the vote (6,503 votes), leading Caleb M. Berthelsen, who had 46.15% (5,603 votes), according to information from the Oregon Secretary of State’s office.
Wyden wins, could face Perkins
U.S. Sen. Ron Wyden, D-Oregon, easily won the Democratic primary for the seat he has held since 1996. As of Wednesday afternoon, Wyden had 89% of the vote.
On the Republican side, Jo Rae Perkins of Albany was leading the GOP primary with 32% of the vote. Darin Harbrick, owner of Harbick’s Country Inn and Harbick’s Country Store in the McKenzie River Valley, was second with 30% of the vote. The slow ballot count in Clackamas County could affect the outcomes.
If Perkins wins the primary, it will be her second race for the U.S. Senate in two years. She won the Republican nomination in 2020. Democratic incumbent Jeff Merkley won with 56% of the vote, while Perkins received 39%.
Perkins’ association with the QAnon conspiracy posed a problem for other Republicans running for office in 2020, with some candidates declining to appear at party events in which she took part.
Trio of incumbents win primaries in “safe” congressional districts
U.S. Rep. Suzanne Bonamici, D-Beaverton, U.S. Rep. Cliff Bentz, R-Ontario, and U.S. Rep Earl Blumenauer, D-Portland, won their party’s primaries in the 1st, 2nd, and 3rd congressional districts, respectively. All three districts have prohibitively large voter majorities of the incumbent’s party.
Kotek, Drazan top 34 candidates for governor
Kotek, who stepped down as House speaker to run for governor, easily won the Democratic nomination for governor, with 56% of the vote. Treasurer Tobias Read conceded to Kotek late Tuesday, having received 32% of the vote.
Christine Drazan, the former House minority leader, was leading in the Republican race with 23% of the vote. Former GOP state chair Bob Tiernan was second with 18%.
Tiernan conceded on Wednesday, but Drazan said she would hold off declaring victory due to the stalled ballot count in Clackamas County.
Betsy Johnson, a former state senator, is also mounting a bid for governor without any party affiliation.
Stephenson tops BOLI race, but may face Helt in run-off
The race for the non-partisan position of commissioner of the Bureau of Labor and Industries appears headed for a run-off.
Portland labor lawyer Christina Stephenson ran up a large edge over her six rivals in the race. But with 47% of the vote, she’s falling short of the 50% required to skip a run-off in November.
If current trends hold, she would face former Rep. Cheri Helt, R-Bend, who has 19% of the vote, in the general election.
County results
Full unofficial counts reported May 17. Final results due May 25.
Sherman County
Circuit Court Judge, 7th District Position 4:
John A Wolf: 292
Caleb M Berthlesen: 209
Sherman County Commissioner, Position 2, Democratic:
No candidate filed: 0
Write-In: 8
Sherman County Commissioner, Position 2, Republican:
Justin Miller: 256
Write in: 1
State Representative for 57th District, Democratic
No candidate filed: 0
Write-in: 6
State Representative for 57th District, Republican
Greg Smith: 322
Sherman County Assessor:
Drew Messenger: 511
Write in: 3
District Attorney, Sherman County
Wade M. McLeod: 481
Write in: 6
US Senator, Democratic
Ron Wyden: 84
Brent Thompson: 6
William E Barlow lll: 1
US Senator, Republican
Darin Harbick: 70
Sam Palmer: 116
Jo Rae Perkins: 104
Christopher C. Christensen: 20
Ibra A Taher: 1
Robert M Fleming: 5
Jason Beebe: 40
Wasco County
US Senator (DEM)
Ron Wyden: 2,016
Brent Thompson: 120
William Barlow: 190
US Senator (REP)
Darin Harbick: 671
Sam Palmer: 312
Joe Rae Perkins: 812
Christopher Christensen: 167
Ibra A Taher: 34
Robert M Fleming: 81
Jason Beebe: 292
US Representative, 2nd District (DEM)
Adam Prine: 586
Joe Yetter: 1,192
US Representative, 2nd District (REP)
Mark Cavener: 431
Katherine M Gallant: 137
Cliff S Bentz: 1,877
Governor (DEM)
Tobias Read: 909
John Sweeney: 33
Patrick Starnes: 52
Dave Stauffer: 32
Peter Hall: 4
Genevieve Wilson: 11
Keisha Lanell Merchant: 4
Michael Cross:11
George Carrillo: 56
Tina Kotek: 988
Michael Trimble:15
Ifeanyichukwu Diru: 10
Wilson Bright: 9
Julian Bell: 22
David Beem: 13
Governor (REP)
Amber Richardson: 21
Bill Sizemore: 137
Stefan Strek: 6
Nick Hess: 47
John Presco: 3
Bud Pierce:112
Stan Pulliam: 347
Kerry McQuisten: 215
Tim McCloud: 26
Brandon Merritt: 24
Reed Christensen: 18
Jessica Gomez: 59
Marc Thielman: 252
Bob Tiernan: 424
Christine Drazan: 530
Court Boice:15
Bridget Barton: 309
Raymond Baldwin: 3
David Burch: 6
State Senator, 26th District (DEM)
Raz Mason: 1421
State Senator, 26th District (REP)
Michael Nugent: 108
Daniel Bonham: 1,555
Steve Bates: 142
State Representative, 52nd District (DEM)
Darcy Long: 1512
State Representative, 52nd District (REP)
Britt Storkson: 75
Jeff Helfrich: 1524
James Born: 138
State Representative, 57th District (REP)
Greg Smith: 606
Commissioner of the Bureau of Labor and Industries
Christina Stephenson, 1,861
Cheri Helt: ,1162
Chris Henry: 165
Robert Neuman: 313
Casey Kulla: 701
Brent Barker: 725
Aaron Baca: 128
Judge of the Supreme Court, Position 6
Roger DeHoog: 3,655
Judge of the Court of Appeals, Position 3
Darleen Ortega: 2,926
Vance Day: 2337
Judge of the Court of Appeals, Position 5
Scott Shorr: 3,624
Judge of the Court of Appeals, Position 8
Ramon A. Pagan: 3,532
Judge of the Circuit Court, 7th District, Position 4
John Wolf: 3,017
Caleb Berthelsen: 2,749
Judge of the Circuit Court, 7th District, Position 2
Marion Weatherford: 3,712
Commissioner, Position 1
Scott Hege: 3,841
Cynthia Bearss: 1,566
Commissioner, Position 3
Rod Runyon:- 2,936
Phil Brady: 3,169
Hood River County
US Senator (DEM)
Ron Wyden: 2,816
Brent Thompson: 110
William E. Barlow III: 197
US Senator (REP)
Darin Harbick: 405
Sam Palmer: 179
Jo Rae Perkins: 555
Christopher C. Christensen: 118
Ibra A Taher: 28
Robert M Fleming 28
Jason Beebe: 137
US Representative, 3rd District (DEM)
Jonathan E. Polhemus: 193
Earl Blumenauer: 2,794
US Representative, 3rd District (REP)
Joanna Harbour: 967
Governor (DEM)
Tobias Read: 1,036
John Sweeney: 24
Patrick E. Starnes: 52
Dave W. Stauffer: 12
Peter W. Hall: 9
Genevieve Wilson: 13
Keisha Lanell Merchant: 11
Michael Cross: 5
George L. Carrillo: 54
Tina Kotek: 1,742
Michael Trimble: 11
Ifeanyichukwu C. Diru: 13
Wilson R. Bright: 13
Julian Bell: 26
David Beem: 8
Governor (REP)
Amber R Richardson: 12
Bill Sizemore: 68
Stefan G. Strek (Stregoi): 1
Nick Hess: 18
John G. Presco: 2
Bud Pierce: 99
Stan Pulliam: 243
Kerry McQuisten: 97
Tim McCloud: 19
Brandon C. Merritt: 10
Reed Christensen: 8
Jessica Gomez: 61
Marc Thielman: 113
Bob Tiernan: 269
Christine Drazan: 337
Court Boice: 12
Bridget Barton: 223
Raymond Baldwin: 2
David A. Burch: 2
State Senator, 26th District (DEM)
Raz Mason: 2,381
State Senator, 26th District (REP)
Michael J. Nugent: 107
Daniel G. Bonham: 1,325
Steve Bates: 173
State Representative, 52nd District (DEM)
Darcy Long: 2,379
State Representative, 52nd District (REP)
Britt Storkson: 39
Jeff Helfrich: 1,476
James Born: 97
Commissioner of the Bureau of Labor and Industries
Christina E. Stephenson: 2,502
Cheri Helt: 929
Chris Henry: 138
Robert Neuman: 219
Casey M. Kulla: 641
Brent T. Barker: 395
Aaron R. Baca: 73
Judge of the Supreme Court, Position 6
Roger J. DeHoog: 3,619
Judge of the Court of Appeals, Position 3
Darleen Ortega: 3,520
Vance Day: 1,457
Judge of the Court of Appeals, Position 5
Scott A Shorr: 3,606
Judge of the Court of Appeals, Position 8
Ramón A Pagán: 3,583
Judge of the Circuit Court, 7th District, Position 4
John A. Wolf: 2,653
Caleb M. Berthelsen: 2,244
Judge of the Circuit Court, 7th District, Position 2
Marion T. Weatherford: 3,549
Hood River County, Commissioner Chair)
Ron Rivers: 2,127
Jennifer Euwer: 3,737
Hood River County, Commissioner District 1
Kathleen Sanders: 545
Leti Valle Moretti: 1,315
Hood River County, Commissioner District 3
Ed Weathers: 827
Justice of the Peace
John Harvey: 183
Commented