GOP looks to end Dems’ hold on Oregon governorship
SALEM, Ore. — Oregon’s gubernatorial election hung on a knife’s edge Wednesday, with the race too early to call in a state that has voted in Democratic governors since 1986.
Democrat Tina Kotek was slightly ahead of Republican Christine Drazan, according to partial results from the secretary of state’s office.
The presence of a third, unaffiliated candidate in the race had buoyed GOP hopes they could win an Oregon governor’s race for the first time in 40 years and break the Democrats’ dominance of statewide races on the West Coast of the United States.
Because Oregon’s vote-by-mail system now allows ballots to be counted if they were postmarked by 8 p.m. on Election Day, an untold number of ballots are in the hands of the postal service.
Nov. 15 is the last day for election officials to receive valid postmarked ballots by mail. In past general elections, votes needed to be received by election day.
Oregon Secretary of State Shemia Fagan said verifying election results takes time.
Drazan’s campaign said at midday Wednesday: “We continue to monitor returns with the expectation that this race will tighten.”
Kotek’s spokeswoman, Katie Wertheimer, said the campaign had no official statement and was also watching returns. If elected, Kotek would be the first out lesbian elected governor in the United States, along with Maura Healey, who on Tuesday was elected governor of Massachusetts.
Unaffiliated candidate Betsy Johnson, a former Democratic lawmaker, conceded Tuesday night, telling supporters her “winning record is now broken.”
The three women, all former legislators, were the top candidates in the race to become the next governor of the state.