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Oregon added tidal power to a national blue wave tonight, as Democrats appear poised to retain five of six seats in the U.S. House of Representatives and U.S. Sen. Jeff Merkley (D-Ore.) is on track to secure a fourth term.
In this election, Merkley, Oregon’s junior senator, faced his most serious challenge since unseating U.S. Sen. Gordon Smith (R-Ore.) in 2008. But in early returns, Merkley holds a solid lead against state Sen. David Brock Smith (R-Port Orford), 59% to 38%.
In House races, U.S. Rep. Janelle Bynum (D-Ore.) is holding off a challenge by Patti Adair, a Deschutes County commissioner, in Oregon’s 5th District. That district, stretching from South Portland to Bend, has the narrowest split in voter registration—Bynum flipped it blue two years ago by unseating U.S. Rep. Lori Chavez-DeRemer. In recent weeks, the campaign between Bynum and Adair revolved around the aftermath of the school shooting at Silver Rail Elementary in Bend, where a teenage shooter killed two small children and a teacher before a parent shot him to death.
Bynum leads Adair 59% to 38%.
U.S. Rep. Suzanne Bonamici (D-Ore.) leads political newcomer Barbara Kahl, 73% to 26% in the 1st District, while 6th District incumbent U.S. Rep. Andrea Salinas (D-Ore.) leads Republican challenger David Russ, 57% to 42%. Other races are only nominally contested. In the 3rd District—one of the bluest congressional districts in the nation—U.S. Rep. Maxine Dexter (D-Ore.) ran virtually unopposed.
