Delays in reporting of votes in Clackamas County added an air of uncertainty to early returns in two key congressional races on Tuesday.

An attempt to topple U.S. Rep. Kurt Schrader in the Democratic primary for the 5th Congressional District appeared to be succeeding.

Terrebonne attorney Jamie McLeod-Skinner was leading the one-on-one primary with Schrader with just over 60% of the vote.

But by 11 p.m., vote totals did not include Clackamas County, home to 45% of Democrats in the district. 

Defective ballots that can’t be read by computer must be duplicated by hand, with a Democrat and a Republican involved in the process and checking each others’ work. 

McLeod-Skinner said Democratic officials told her staff on Tuesday that the delay could push final vote tallies into late this week or even next week. She expressed confidence in a fair outcome.

“The bottom line is it’s important that every vote is counted,” she said. “I have confidence of folks in Clackamas County. We have people there making sure it is a fair count.”

On the Republican side, former Happy Valley Mayor Lori Chavez-DeRemer was leading with 42% of the vote. Bend businessman Jimmy Crumpacker was second with 31%. 

The lack of votes from Clackamas County also put in question the early lead of Rep. Andrea Salinas, D-Lake Oswego, atop the returns of the crowded Democratic primary for the new 6th Congressional District.

Salinas, a leader in the 2022 redistricting approved by the Legislature last year, had just over 38% of the vote.  

Mike Erickson of Lake Oswego, who won Republican nominations for Congress in 2006 and 2008 in the 5th Congressional District, was leading in 6th district voting with 34%. Rep. Ron Noble of McMinnville was second.

Bureau of Labor and Industries Commissioner Val Hoyle of Springfield was handily winning the Democratic primary for the 4th Congressional District with 66% of the vote. She led in all seven of the counties in the district.

Alek Skarlatos of Roseburg ran unopposed in the Republican primary.

U.S. Sen. Ron Wyden, D-Oregon, easily won the Democratic primary for the seat he has held since 1996.

“I’m looking forward to running hard through November on a proven record of fighting for Oregonians’ interests — and against powerful special interests obsessed only with yanking our state and country backward,” Wyden said in an early evening statement.

Joe Rae Perkins of Albany was leading the GOP primary with 32% of the vote. She was the Republican nominee for the Senate seat held by Sen. Jeff Merkley, a Democrat. Merkley was easily re-elected. 

Primary races for three incumbent members of Congress were also over early.

U.S. Rep. Suzanne Bonamici, D-Beaverton, U.S. Rep Earl Blumenauer, D-Portland, and U.S. Rep. Cliff Bentz, R-Ontario, all won lopsided primary victories. 

The outcomes were question marks for one of two open congressional seats and a bitter primary challenge in a third that drew national attention.

The marquee race is the 5th Congressional District where McLeod-Skinner has mobilized progressive Democrats to eject Schrader from Congress.

The 5th District has the smallest Democratic majority of registered voters of the six congressional seats. Republicans see an opportunity to flip the seat, sparking a tight Republican primary, also yet to be decided.

The unwieldy ballot in two other races makes an election night victory call difficult.

The new 6th Congressional District seat centered around Salem has drawn 16 candidates.

In the 4th Congressional District that includes Eugene and Corvallis, the decision by U.S. Rep. Peter DeFazio, D-Springfield, to retire after his current term set off an eight-way race among Democrats. Skarlatos of Roseburg is the only Republican in the 4th District and goes on to the general election.

In contrast, a U.S. Senate race and the three other U.S. House seats saw incumbents rack up easy wins in their primaries. 

Democrats have a razor-thin 221-208 majority over Republicans in the U.S. House, with eight vacant seats.  All 435 seats are up for election in 2022.

Republicans are betting on history to take back control of the House. The party of the president has lost seats in the first midterm in all but two elections in 100 years. 

The Senate is split 50-50, with 35 seats up for election in 2022. Republicans hold 21 of the seats, with Democrats holding 14.