Oregon primary election 2024 live results: See winners, runoffs and races too close to call

Oregon’s primary election wrapped up Tuesday, and election officials across the state have reported preliminary results. The Oregonian/OregonLive declared winners or runoffs in races in which a candidate, pair of candidates or a measure holds a lead that is insurmountable.

Shortly after 4 p.m. Wednesday, The Oregonian/OregonLive called the Multnomah County District Attorney’s race for longtime prosecutor Nathan Vasquez, who defeated progressive incumbent District Attorney Mike Schmidt.

An unprecedented flood of last-minute ballots in Multnomah County had increased uncertainty about the outcomes in close races, since voters who cast their ballots at different points in an election tend to break differently for candidates. That was the case in the Multnomah County district attorney’s election, with Schmidt racking up a larger share of votes cast close to the Tuesday deadline. But Vasquez had already captured a sizable enough lead that The Oregonian/OregonLive determined Schmidt did not have a statistical path to victory, despite narrowing Vasquez’ lead. Schmidt acknowledged the results and pledged to ensure a smooth transition in the office.

On Thursday afternoon, The Oregonian/OregonLive reported that nonprofit policy director Meghan Moyer and administrative law judge Vadim Mozyrsky will compete in a runoff this fall to represent Portland’s west side. And former Portland Mayor Sam Adams will face off against longtime homelessness advocate Shannon Singleton in a runoff to represent North and Northeast Portland.

Gresham City Councilor Vince Jones-Dixon also appears to have won a seat on the Multnomah County Commission, averting a runoff with Corbett small business owner Brian Knotts by about 16 votes out of more than 27,000 cast.

1:02 p.m. Wednesday update

The outcomes in some races still remained too uncertain to call as of midday Wednesday. In the Portland area, longtime prosecutor Nathan Vasquez was leading incumbent Multnomah County District Attorney Mike Schmidt in the race for that seat. And the makeup of the Multnomah County Commission, where four out of five seats were up for grabs, also was unclear because three of those races remained competitive and two appeared likely to result in runoffs in November, The Oregonian/OregonLive reported.

In rural eastern Lane County, Republican voters ousted incumbent state Rep. Charlie Conrad of Dexter in the party primary, in favor of business owner and former McKenzie School Board Member Darin Harbick. Harbick won with a whopping 82% of the vote to Conrad’s 18%, The Oregonian/OregonLive reported. In 2023, Conrad was the only Republican to join Democrats in supporting House Bill 2002 which expanded protections and access to both abortions and gender-affirming care in Oregon. After Conrad’s vote, anti-abortion group Oregon Right to Life, the Oregon Firearms Federation and other conservative organizations coordinated a campaign to vote Conrad out of office.

In southern Oregon, Noah Robinson, son of state Sen. Art Robinson, has won the contentious Republican primary to replace his father in representing the 2nd District in the Oregon Senate. Robinson is the vice president and a researcher at the Oregon Institute of Science and Medicine founded by his father, which is known for its urine bank used for research.

10:41 p.m. update

In a highly watched race in Multnomah County, between progressive incumbent District Attorney Mike Schmidt and longtime prosecutor Nathan Vasquez, voters were on track to fire Schmidt, with Vasquez up 56% to 44% in results reported just before midnight. But The Oregonian/OregonLive had not called the race as of 7 a.m. Wednesday, given that tens of thousands of Multnomah ballots remain uncounted.

In Oregon’s swing 5th Congressional District, Democratic state Rep. Janelle Bynum won the primary nomination and will go on to challenge Republican U.S. Rep. Lori Chavez-DeRemer in what will be a nationally watched race this fall.

Early in the evening, The Oregonian/OregonLive reported that Democratic state Rep. Maxine Dexter won the primary for Oregon’s 3rd Congressional District. Her campaign was heavily supported by out-of-state donors who had also contributed to the powerful pro-Israel organization American Israel Public Affairs Committee, or AIPAC. And a mystery donor or donors spent $3.25 million against former Multnomah County Commissioner Susheela Jayapal, who cast herself as the most progressive candidate in the race and was endorsed by former presidential candidate Bernie Sanders.

The pro-Israel group congratulated Dexter on her win Tuesday night, writing on the social media platform X, formerly known as Twitter, “AIPAC members were proud to support Maxine Dexter in her race against an anti-Israel opponent endorsed by @BernieSanders, @AOC, and @jstreetdotorg. Being pro-Israel is good policy and good politics!”

In an interview with The Oregonian/OregonLive Tuesday night, Dexter said, “I did not for one second compromise my integrity or my values. I said what I mean and I said what I said, and when people chose to support me, I’m grateful for that.”

“There’s nothing that I did to pander,” Dexter said. “I stuck to a positive race and talking about my own qualifications and what I’ll do for this district.”

Meanwhile, the results so far in Oregon reflect that a higher percentage of voters than in previous elections cast “protest votes” against the two major parties’ presumptive nominees, President Joe Biden and former President Donald Trump.

In state legislative primaries, 2022 Republican gubernatorial candidate and former House Republican leader Christine Drazan won her primary to return to the Oregon House representing District 51. Healthcare clinic CEO Shannon Jones Isadore won the Democratic primary to represent House District 33 and public defender Willy Chotzen defeated longtime public health administrator Mary Lou Hennrich Tuesday in the Democratic primary for House District 46.

9:33 p.m. update

Among the races called so far, voters have renewed a Portland Public Schools levy that pays for approximately 660 educators and Portland voters extended a gas tax to pay for road repairs.

Multnomah County voters approved a property tax hike to pay for fixes to an aging flood protection system, while residents in North Plains rejected the city’s plan to double in size. State lawmakers had passed a law earlier this year to prevent residents from holding the vote on the city’s expansion but a Washington County judge blocked the new law.

The future makeup of the Multnomah County Commission remained unclear. Although Commissioner Julia Brim-Edwards won reelection Tuesday night, the outcome races other commission seats remained unclear.

Former homeless services official Shannon Singleton appearing headed to a runoff for one seat in November, with either former Portland Mayor Sam Adams or Old Town Neighborhood Association leader Jessie Burke as her opponent.

Yet another Multnomah County commission race also appears on track to require a fall runoff: one pitting Vadim Mozyrsky, a judge with the Social Security Administration, against Meghan Moyer, a policy director at Disability Rights Oregon and former lobbyist for Service Employees International Union Local 503. In east Multnomah County, Gresham City Councilor Vince Jones-Dixon and IT consultant Brian Knotts also appear headed to a runoff, although Jones-Dixon appeared to have a chance to reach 50% and win the seat outright.

Voters in the Banks School District approved a new high school and pay for other facility improvements, but voters in the Estacada School District rejected a bond measure that was largely intended to replace the local high school.

The Oregonian/OregonLive has declared Dan Rayfield the winner in the Democratic primary for attorney general and Will Lathrop the winner in the Republican primary.

Oregon’s current state Treasurer Tobias Read won the Democratic primary for secretary of state and state Sen. Dennis Linthicum, who was barred from reelection to the Legislature due to his participation in a Republican-led walkout of the Senate in 2023, won the Republican primary.

OREGON ELECTION 2024: Live Results Page

The Oregonian’s politics account on x, formerly twitter, is also announcing the news organization’s race calls:

8:40 p.m. update

So far, The Oregonian/OregonLive has called the Democratic primary for state treasurer in favor of state Sen. Elizabeth Steiner and the competitive Democratic primary for Oregon’s 3rd Congressional District in favor of Democratic state Rep. Maxine Dexter. At Dexter’s results watching party at Polaris Hall in North Portland, about 70 people were gathered and the crowd erupted into applause as the the screen at the front shifted to display the poll, where Dexter has 52% of the vote. Dexter was not yet at the event.

In the 5th Congressional District, Bynum, a four-term Democratic state lawmaker, won her party’s nomination and will go on to challenge Chavez-DeRemer, a first-term Republican member of Congress, in the fall. At Bynum’s Election Night party at Portland Cider Company in unincorporated Clackamas County, the crowd of about 50 cheered loudly as they found out The Oregonian/OregonLive called the race for Bynum.

Speaking briefly at the podium before delivering her official remarks, Bynum harkened back to a common theme of her campaign: her children and their future. ”I do this work as a love letter to my children and Oregon’s children,” Bynum said. “And I truly believe when you bridge the gap between opportunity and talent, then America is a much better place. ... I’m ready to make sure that Oregon’s fifth (Congressional District) has the representation it deserves.

In a local race that has attracted national attention, Multnomah County prosecutor Nathan Vasquez was leading progressive incumbent District Attorney Mike Schmidt.

7:56 p.m. update

In Multnomah County, turnout stood at 19.1% as of Monday evening, according to the Secretary of State’s office. Washington County was at 18.9% and Clackamas County was at 20.4%.

Journalists at The Oregonian/OregonLive have dined on election night pizza and are awaiting early partial returns which will begin to be reported after 8 p.m. The news organization’s politics editor and longtime race caller Betsy Hammond just concluded her traditional election night speech and charge to fellow journalists to be accurate — and have fun.

6:38 p.m. update

Oregon is one of four states with primary contests today, along with Georgia, Kentucky and Idaho.

It’s past 8 p.m. on the East Coast and some races have already been called.

The Associated Press is reporting that President Joe Biden and his Republican rival, Donald Trump, racked up more convention delegates Tuesday as both presumptive nominees won primaries in Kentucky.

Even after their rivals dropped out, Biden and Trump have continued to face dissent from within their own parties. Biden has encountered protest votes over his handling of the Israel-Hamas war. And in Republican primaries, thousands of voters are still casting ballots for long-vanquished rival Nikki Haley over Trump.

That trend continued Tuesday in Kentucky with about 18% of the Democratic vote going to “uncommitted” with roughly 80% of the vote counted, the Associated Press reported. In the GOP race, Haley was winning about 6%.

In Georgia, the prosecutor who brought a sprawling racketeering case against former President Donald Trump and others has won the Democratic primary in her bid for reelection. Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis faced a challenge from progressive attorney Christian Wise Smith.

Fulton County Superior Court Judge Scott McAfee, the judge who was randomly assigned to preside over the election interference case, also fended off a challenger and won the nonpartisan election to keep his seat, the Associated Press reported.

4:22 p.m. update

Oregon’s voter turnout has remained low in recent days, on track to come in under 40% as is common in years without more than one well-known contender for either major party’s presidential nomination. Politics editor Betsy Hammond reported that at the close of business Monday, turnout was slightly down compared with two years ago. By Tuesday morning, state elections officials reported that turnout stood at 21.8%.

For a list of places to drop ballots, check the county pages: Multnomah County, Clackamas County and Washington County. Portland area voters also can track their ballot after it’s submitted.

For outside the metro area, here’s a list of all ballot drop-off sites across the state.

More Portland metro area info:

Multnomah County elections office: 1040 S.E. Morrison St., 503-988-8683

Washington County elections office: 2925 N.E. Aloclek Drive, Hillsboro, 503-846-5800

Clackamas County elections office: 1710 Red Soils Court, Oregon City, 503-655-8510

Our politics team will begin calling winners and losers just after 8 p.m. Stay with us into the evening to get up-to-date voting tallies and Oregon’s most comprehensive election results and coverage.

OREGON ELECTION 2024: Live Results Page

While we’re waiting for last-minute voters to finish casting ballots and elections officials to begin tabulating the results, here are the most consequential races that will likely be decided Tuesday evening.

In Congressional District 5, four-term state House member and small business owner Janelle Bynum and longtime civil servant Jamie McLeod-Skinner are vying for the Democratic nomination to challenge Republican U.S. Rep. Lori Chavez-DeRemer in the fall.

In Congressional District 3 representing the Portland area, four Democratic candidates are running to replace longtime U.S. Rep. Earl Blumenauer, also a Democrat. State Rep. Maxine Dexter, former Multnomah County Commissioner Susheela Jayapal, Gresham City Councilor Eddy Morales and attorney Michael Jonas are all seeking the seat.

Oregon voters this year will pick a new secretary of state, attorney general and treasurer. Primary voters registered with a political party will select nominees for the November general election. Oregon is a closed primary state, so nonaffiliated voters only get to weigh in on non-partisan races and ballot measures.

Among the biggest contests that Multnomah County voters will weigh in on this May is the race for district attorney. Multnomah County District Attorney Mike Schmidt is facing challenger Nathan Vasquez, who works in Schmidt’s office as a senior deputy district attorney.

Portland voters will also decide whether to renew a long-standing property tax levy for schools.

The composition of the Multnomah County Commission is also going to change, with four of the five seats up for election this year.

And stick around into the night to see whether Clackamas County Commission Chair Tootie Smith and controversial Commissioner Mark Shull hold onto their seats or are ousted by voters in favor of challengers.

Reporters Riya Sharma and Andrew Miller contributed to this report.

Correction: This story has been updated to reflect that it was state Rep. Charlie Conrad of Dexter who, in 2023, was the only Republican to join Democrats in supporting House Bill 2002 which expanded protections and access to both abortions and gender-affirming care in Oregon.

—Hillary Borrud is an investigative reporter. Reach her at 503-294 4034, hborrud@oregonian.com or @hborrud.

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