Portland, Multnomah County early primary election results
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Democratic Oregon state Reps. Maxine Dexter and Janelle Bynum won their respective primaries for two key congressional districts and will advance to the November ballot, according to AP.
Driving the news: In the 5th Congressional District, Bynum defeated Jamie McLeod-Skinner and will face Rep. Lori Chavez-DeRemer, a first-term Republican U.S. representative.
- In the 3rd Congressional District, Dexter defeated Susheela Jayapal and Eddy Morales in the race to replace retiring Democratic Rep. Earl Blumenauer's seat. AP called the Republican primary for that seat for Joanna Harbour.
- The solidly Democratic district covers the east side of Portland out to Hood River.
The big picture: The congressional races are just two of several high profile races and ballot measures Portland voters weighed in on in Oregon's primary election Tuesday night.
Yes, but: With votes being counted throughout the week in vote-by-mail Oregon, fuller results for some of the other races may not be known until the end of the week.
The intrigue: Several races, including county-level ballot measures, could be decided via Tuesday's primary and won't be on the ballot in November's general election.
- Races for elected offices, such as Multnomah County District Attorney and seats on the Board of Commissioners, could be decided if one candidate receives more than 51% of the vote.
- If no one garners that percentage of the vote, there'll be a runoff in November.
Here's where some races stood as of Tuesday night's first count:
District attorney
Multnomah County District Attorney Mike Schmidt is trailing Nathan Vasquez, a deputy within his office, in early returns.
- Vasquez had 56% while Schmidt, who took office in 2020, had 44% of the vote.
Statewide elected
In the Democratic primary for secretary of state, Tobias Read beat state Sen. James Manning in early returns, with 71% of the vote, AP reported.
AP also called the Republican primary for state Sen. Dennis Linthicum, who was barred from reelection to the Legislature after participating in last year's walkout. He had 66% of the vote in that race.
Multnomah County
With four out of five Board of Commissioners seats open, here's who is coming out ahead late Tuesday night.
- District 1: Meghan Moyer, 45%, Vadim Mozyrsky 42%.
- District 2: Shannon Singleton, 43%, Sam Adams, 25%
- District 3: Incumbent commissioner Julia Brim-Edwards, 76%, TJ Noddings, 23%.
- District 4: Vince Jones-Dixon 49%, Brian Knotts 43%
Measures
Voters were approving a Portland's 10-cent vehicle gas tax in early returns, which funds street repairs and safety improvement projects — with 69% in favor and 31% against.
- Other measures: Voters were asked to renew a levy to pay for one-fifth of the teaching positions within the Portland Public Schools district. Yes votes were leading by 70% to 30% in early returns.
- The Metro Council proposed a $380 million bond measure for upkeep of the Oregon Zoo, including sea otter and tiger habitats, paid for by a property tax in Multnomah, Washington and Clackamas counties. Voting was 55% in favor in early returns.
- Multnomah County proposed a bond to raise $150 million to upgrade flood protection along the Columbia River, with yes votes at 67% to 33% for no in early returns.
Presidential primary
Oregon's presidential primaries are largely moot since the nominees have long been chosen, but the AP quickly called the races for President Joe Biden and Republican Donald Trump, who was uncontested.
What we're watching: More mailed-in ballots will be tallied in the coming days, clarifying the results.
- Voters can check the status of their ballot by going to oregonvotes.gov/myvote.