Update, 3PM — BREAKING — DRAZAN CONCEDES TO KOTEK.

GOP governor nominee Christine Drazan concedes race to Democrat Tina Kotek.

“The math for a comeback just did not add up,” Drazan said in a statement.

The Republican said she has called to congratulate Democrat Tina Kotek, but noted in statement that “a majority of Oregonians voted for a candidate who did not win” – setting the stage for likely 2023 political battles with Oregon legislature, where Democrats have smaller majorities than in 2022.

She also thanked supporters, saying that though the campaign has “come to a end,” “ I am immensely grateful for all the Oregonians who joined our movement to take our state in a new direction.”

Drazan said “this is a unique moment in Oregon’s history and an extraordinary opportunity for leadership that recognizes the dynamics of this race that call for moderation and inclusivity moving forward. I have spoken with Tina Kotek and hope for the best for our state as she steps into this role.”

Update 11/11, noon: The Oregonian has called the 5th Congressional District race for Republican Lori Chavez-DeRemer of Happy Valley. She won a back-and-forth vote county with the Democrat, Terrebonne attorney Jamie McLeod-Skinner, who had defeated incumbent U.S. Rep. Kurt Schrader, D-Canby, in the May primary. A win in the 5th would flip a seat to Republicans to add to their narrow majority in the U.S. House.

Update 11/10, 9 p.m. – Kotek was named the winner of the race for governor by the Associated Press, which applied a longer timeline than the Oregonian and Oregon Public Broadcasting in making the final call.

Labor Commissioner Val Hoyle, a Democrats, was also named by AP as the winner in the 4th Congressional District, holding the seat of retiring U.S. Rep. Peter DeFazio, D-Springfield. She defeated Republican Alek Skarlatos of Roseburg.

Results in the 5th district and 6th district races were too close to call.

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Democrat Tina Kotek late Wednesday endorsed the decision by two media organizations to declare her the winner of the tight race for governor against Republican Christine Drazan.

“I am honored and humbled by this opportunity to serve Oregon, and I will strive every day to be a force for positive change in our state,” Kotek said in her statement.

Kotek said she would comment further at a press conference in Portland at 10 a.m. on Thursday.

While the statement did not make an outright claim of victory, it was headlined “Kotek projected to win Oregon governor’s race.” It cited the decision by Oregon Public Broadcasting and the Oregonian newspaper to call the race in her favor.

Drazan has not conceded and issued a statement Wednesday that her campaign was awaiting results of ballots yet to be counted.

“We continue to monitor returns with the expectation that this race will tighten,” Drazan’s campaign said in a statement earlier Wednesday. The campaign said at 5 p.m. Wednesday that it would have no further statement at the time.

As of late Wednesday evening, Kotek was leading Drazan by 46.7% to 43.8%, with over 1.59 million ballots cast.

OPB and the Oregonian called the governor’s race for Kotek at mid-day Wednesday.

Both media outlets said the bulk of the ballots remaining to be counted were coming from heavily-Democratic Multnomah County, which includes Portland. Kotek was winning an overwhelming majority of the vote in the county.

The second largest amount is in neighboring Clackamas County, where Drazan was winning by a relatively narrow margin.

Kotek, the former House speaker, represented a Portland district before stepping down to run for governor. Drazan, the former House minority leader, represented a Clackamas County district in the House and lives in Canby.

Other races, including two of three open congressional seats and races that will determine the make-up of the Legislature, were still too close to call.

Clackamas County remained a problem for determining winners, as the state’s third largest county was once again bringing up the rear of vote counts. Clackamas County caused long delays during the May 2022 primaries due to smeared bar codes on ballots.

No specific reason has been given for the delays in the general election, but Secretary of State Shemia Fagan has twice interceded to push longtime Clackamas County Clerk Sherry Hall to move up plans for when ballot reports would be released. Hall lost her bid for re-election on Tuesday by a 2-to-1 count.

Key races decided

Tuesday’s election stretched well into the night as votes were counted. U.S. Sen. Ron Wyden, D-Oregon, won a new six-year term to the seat he has held since 1996. Portland labor attorney Christina Stephenson defeated former Rep. Cheri Helt, R-Bend, for the non-partisan office of Commissioner of the Bureau of Labor and Industries. 

Voters approved Measure 113, which creates a law to penalize lawmakers for unexcused absences during legislative sessions. It was a Democratic-authored initiative designed to stop Republican walk-outs that have hamstrung legislative sessions in recent years. 

Measure 114, a major gun control initiative, was narrowly passing. 

Governor

The three-way governor’s race narrowed to a choice between Kotek and Drazan late in the campaign. Unaffiliated candidate Betsy Johnson received just 9% of the final vote. Johnson, a former Democratic state senator from Columbia County, resigned from the Senate to run without the backing of a party. Her campaign drew early support from Nike founder Phil Knight, who contributed $3.75 million. Knight switched his allegiance and money to Drazan last month, giving the Republican $1 million.

Drazan emerged victorious from a 19-candidate pack in the May Republican primary and attracted heavy investment from Oregon business and conservative political interests, as well as national Republican groups. Kotek kept pace with major contributions from labor, progressive and Democratic PACs.

The final total of contributions is expected to top $70 million, shattering the $40 million mark set in the 2018 race won by Gov. Kate Brown over former Rep. Knute Buehler, R-Bend.

Congress

Four of the six congressional races have had winners called, with two Democrats and one Republican incumbent coasting to new terms in their heavily partisan districts. Of the three open seats, Labor Commissioner Val Hoyle of Springfield, a Democrat, won the 4th district seat over Republican Alek Skarlatos, 51% to 43%.

Maps approved in September 2021 for redistricting included seats that drew significant numbers of voters from Clackamas County for the 5th and 6th congressional districts. The delay in the county’s ballot reporting — at just 42% late Wednesday afternoon — meant the final call of the winner in the races was on hold.

In the 5th Congressional District, Republican Lori Chavez-DeRemer of Happy Valley saw her lead over Democrat Jamie McLeod-Skinner of Terrebonne shrink late Wednesday to less than 7,000 votes out of nearly 269,000 cast. Chavez-DeRemer was leading 51% to 49%, with ballots still to be counted in the Democratic stronghold of Multnomah County.

The district runs from south Portland, across the Cascades, to the Bend area. McLeod-Skinner, the Democrat, defeated incumbent U.S. Rep. Kurt Schrader, D-Canby, in the May primary. Republicans responded with a major financial push for Chavez-DeRemer, while the biggest Democratic source of campaign funds — the House Majority PAC linked to House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., and other top congressional leaders — snubbed McLeod-Skinner.

Clackamas County votes could also determine the outcome of the new 6th district centered on Salem, where Democrat Andrea Salinas had a 50% to 48% lead over Republican Mike Erickson. Both candidates are from Clackamas County. 

U.S. Rep. Suzanne Bonamici, D-Beaverton won re-election in the 1st district in northwest Oregon. U.S. Rep. Cliff Bentz, R-Ontario, won his first bid for re-election in the the sprawling 2nd district, which includes most of eastern, central and a portion of southwestern Oregon. U.S. Rep. Earl Blumenauer, D-Portland, won the urban 3rd district centered in the state’s largest city.

The two undecided open congressional races could play key roles in determining the size of the expected Republican majority in the U.S. House. Democrats had a 220-212 majority with three vacancies in the current U.S. House. But election results indicate Republicans will likely recapture the majority they lost in 2018. However, the hoped for “red wave” didn’t materialize and at best Republicans will have a small margin over Democrats.

Legislature

Democrats appeared to hold onto majorities in the Oregon House and Senate, while likely losing their three-fifths supermajorities of the 2021 session that allowed them to pass financial legislation, including taxes, without Republican help. Democrats had held a 37-23 majority in the House and held 18 of 30 seats in the Senate.

In House District 53, which includes northern Bend and parts of Redmond, Democrat Emerson Levy was holding onto a 286-vote lead over Republican Michael Sipe late Wednesday. If Levy holds on, it would flip the seat held by Rep. Jack Zika, R-Redmond, who opted not to seek re-election.

A major push by the GOP to flip seats in the Senate appeared to fall short of the goal of attaining at least a 15-15 tie in the chamber. But Democrats are unlikely to hold onto the supermajority, giving Senate Minority Leader Tim Knopp, R-Bend, greater leverage in dealing with Democrats. 

“Election results show that our candidates have held the Democratic Majority in the Oregon Senate,” said Senate Majority Leader Rob Wagner, D-Lake Oswego, in a statement Wednesday.

How big of a majority was still up in the air with late returns, the Senate Democrats’ campaign office said.

Rep. Suzanne Weber, R-Tillamook, flipped the 16th district seat long held by Johnson, who resigned for her unsuccessful bid for governor. Sen. Kim Thatcher, R-Keizer, who lost her base in redistricting, was winning Senate District 11, held by Senate President Peter Courtney, D-Salem, who is retiring.

But Democrats have put up a strong fight to flip Weber’s former House District 32 seat. At of late Wednesday afternoon, Republican Cyrus Javadi was leading Democrat Logan Laity 50.6% to 49.3%. Republicans flipped neighboring House District 31, with Republican Brian Stout winning 59% to 41% over Democrat Anthony Sorace.

Other targeted Democrats — including Jeff Golden of Ashland, Deb Patterson of Salem, and Janeen Sollman of Hillsboro — appeared to be retaining their seats.

In a key race that could stifle the GOP push, Democratic Rep. Mark Meek, D-Oregon City, was narrowly leading in his bid to unseat Sen. Bill Kennemer, R-Canby, in Senate District 20.