Presidential election
Reliably Democratic in the past several presidential elections, Oregon was not one of the swing states under the electoral magnifying glass this year. Still, many Oregonians were eager to vote – though not as many as in past years.
Oregon elections would need to have received a massive influx of 700,000 or more ballots Tuesday and afterward to reach the turnout levels seen in the past two presidential elections.
In 2020, state voter turnout reached 73% by the day before the November 2020 election, ultimately hitting 82%. That year, then-former Vice President Joe Biden carried Oregon 56.64% Biden to then-President Donald Trump’s 40.25%.
MORE: Live Oregon election results
MORE: Live updates from national, statewide, local races
MORE: Oregon’s general election preview
U.S. House of Representatives
Portland-area voters cast ballots in two of the most competitive races for Congress this fall.
Lori Chavez-DeRemer, left, is fighting to hold onto one of the most closely contested seats in the U.S. House of Representatives this fall. Her challenger is Democrat Janelle Bynum, a business owner and state lawmaker.courtesy of campaigns
Oregon Congressional District 5
Democrat Janelle Bynum, a four-term member of the state House, beat first-term Republican U.S. Rep. Lori Chavez-DeRemer in a hard-fought battle that the Cook Political Report had rated as a toss-up.
The winner of the close race wasn’t clear until the Thursday evening after the election showed no viable path for the incumbent to overcome Bynum’s lead for 48% to 45%.
District 5 stretches from Southeast Portland to Bend. As of August, Democrats made up about 31% of the district’s 530,000 registered voters and Republicans made up about 27%.
Washington Congressional District 3
Joe Kent, left, and U.S. Rep. Marie Gluesenkamp Perez are preparing for a rematch in November that experts anticipate could be one of the closest races in the country.Mark Graves/The Oregonian/OregonLive. Marie Gluesenkamp Perez campaign.
In Washington, first-term Democratic U.S. Rep. Marie Gluesenkamp Perez defeated Republican Joe Kent in the race to represent southwest Washington in Congress.
As of Thursday, Nov. 7, Washington election officials reported that Gluesenkamp Perez led by 51.3% to 48.3%, a difference of 11,000 votes.
Gluesenkamp Perez defended her seat against Trump-endorsed Republican Joe Kent in a rematch of the 2022 race for Washington’s 3rd Congressional District, which spans the southwestern part of the state.
Other Oregon congressional races
In the 6th Congressional District, Democratic U.S. Rep. Andrea Salinas defeated businessman Mike Erickson in a rematch of their 2022 race.
Democratic U.S. Rep Val Hoyle won re-election, successfully defending her 4th District seat against Air Force veteran Monique DeSpain.
Democratic state Rep. Maxine Dexter won the seat held by retiring U.S. Rep. Earl Blumenauer in the 3rd District.
Other statewide races
Oregon chose a new secretary of state, attorney general and treasurer in Tuesday’s election.
Democrats have controlled those statewide offices for years. Since 1985, voters have only elected a Republican to serve as secretary of state once. Republicans haven’t been elected as state treasurer or attorney general since 1993.
Attorney General
Former Democratic Oregon House Speaker Dan Rayfield defeated Will Lathrop, a former deputy district attorney in Marion and Yamhill counties, in the race to replace Oregon Attorney General Ellen Rosenblum in one of this year’s most competitive statewide races.
Both candidates raised around $1 million for their campaigns, with Rayfield slightly ahead in fundraising as of mid-August.
Democratic candidate Dan Rayfield, left, and Republican candidate Will Lathrop competed to be Oregon’s next attorney general.File photos
Oregon Secretary of State
Democratic state Treasurer Tobias Read beat state Sen. Dennis Linthicum of Beatty, who was barred from seeking reelection to the Senate after participating in a 2023 walkout.
The two candidates said they would take vastly different approaches in the office that has seen high turnover and increased public scrutiny in recent years.
Tobias Read, left, and Dennis Linthicum squared off to become Oregon’s next secretary of state.Courtesy of campaigns
Oregon Treasurer
Democratic state Sen. Elizabeth Steiner defeated Republican Sen. Brian Boquist, who also was barred from seeking reelection in the Senate after participating in the 2023 walkout.
Democrat Elizabeth Steiner and Republican Brian Boquist have served together in the Oregon Senate for 13 years. They’re running against one another to be state treasurer.Steiner campaign, Oregonian file photo
State measures
Oregon voters decided on five statewide measures on their ballot this November.
Measure 115 would amend the state Constitution to allow the Oregon Legislature with a two-thirds vote in each chamber to impeach statewide elected officials, including the governor, secretary of state, attorney general, treasurer and labor commissioner. The measure passed.
MORE: Oregon is the only state where lawmakers can’t impeach statewide office holders. Will voters change that with Measure 115?
Measure 116, which was defeated, would have established an independent compensation commission to determine the salaries of certain elected officials, including the governor, statewide elected officials, state lawmakers, judges and district attorneys.
MORE: Oregon voters to decide whether independent commission should set salaries for state elected officials
Measure 117, which was defeated, would have instituted single-winner ranked-choice voting for future federal and statewide races. Alaska and Maine are currently the only two states that have fully implemented that system. 16 Oregon county clerks have raised concerns about the cost of the ranked-choice voting measure.
Of all the statewide measures, Measure 118 is the most contentious. The measure would raise corporate taxes to give every Oregonian an estimated $1,600 per year.
Proponents said it would relieve some of the financial burden on low-income Oregonians and require large corporations to pay their fair share in taxes. But the measure has faced strong opposition from both Democrats and Republicans. Voters rejected the measure.
Measure 119, which passed, will require owners of cannabis businesses to allow workers to unionize without interference.
MORE: Oregon voters will decide whether to ease way for cannabis workers to unionize
LC- Yuxing Zheng/The Oregonian
City of Hillsboro
Hillsboro voters rejected adding fluoride to the public water supply, weighing in on a mineral that’s widely used to strengthen tooth enamel but that opponents say can hurt children’s neurological development.
MORE: Hillsboro voters will advise city whether to add fluoride to water supply
Portland City Council and Mayor
Portland voters selected a new mayor and a dozen City Council members in an historic election that will radically transform government and political power structures in Oregon’s most populous city.
The 2024 election comes two years after voters approved the revamp in 2022.
Instead of electing five City Council members, voters will instead elect a 12-person City Council whose members will come from four large geographic districts.Michelle Brence/Staff (file)
MORE: How Portland elects its mayor is about to drastically change. Here are the promises — and pitfalls
Portland voters elected Keith Wilson as mayor, using a common form of single-winner ranked-choice voting that has been adopted in more than 40 U.S. cities.
But Multnomah County election officials estimate as many as 53% of ballots across the county may be left to be tallied. So the race’s final outcome is far from certain and top rival Carmen Rubio, an incumbent Portland city commissioner, can’t be counted out.
MORE: Portland enters ‘uncharted territory’ with first-in-nation City Council election system
Instead of electing five members to the City Council, Portland voters will instead elect 12 members who will come from four large geographic districts. Here are the winners:
District 1
Candace Avalos
Jamie Dunphy
Loretta Smith
District 2
Sameer Kanal
Elana Pirtle-Guiney
Dan Ryan
District 3
Tiffany Koyama Lane
Angelita Morillo
Steve Novick
District 4
Oliva Clark
Mitch Green
Eric Zimmerman
MORE: See the new City Council district boundaries
Multnomah County Board of Commissioners
Nonprofit policy director Meghan Moyer won the District 1 seat on the Multnomah County Board of Commissioners to represent Portland’s westside, defeating administrative law judge Vadim Mozyrsky.
Partial results tallied as of 8 p.m. showed Moyer with 57% of the vote to Mozyrsky’s 42%. But county officials estimate as many as 46% of countywide ballots may be left to be tallied.
In District 2, Shannon Singleton, a trained social worker and former head of the Portland-Multnomah County Joint Office of Homeless Services, defeated former Portland Mayor Sam Adams. The county district spans North and Northeast Portland.
Singleton had captured 53% of the vote to Adams’ 46%, preliminary results tallied at 8 p.m. Tuesday showed.
Longtime social worker and housing advocate Shannon Singleton and former Portland Mayor Sam Adams are vying for a seat on the Multnomah County Commission.Courtesy of Campaigns
Clackamas County Board of Commissioners
Incumbent Clackamas County Chair Tootie Smith lost her bid to keep her seat in a runoff against former Clackamas County Sheriff Craig Roberts.
In the May primary, Roberts received more votes than Smith but failed to reach more than 50% to win the chair seat outright. The race ended up looking different with a much higher turnout expected in the 2024 general election than in the primary.
Small business owner Melissa Fireside beat the embattled incumbent Clackamas County Commissioner Mark Shull.
