RESULTS UPDATES

Andrew Simon here, with more updates...

11:15 UPDATE

I'm calling it a night. Here are some questions to consider: What was the "theme" of the evening? What's the most important factor in interpreting tonight's results? (Establishment status, geography, experience, ideology, money?) What were the surprises of the night? Will Novick's supporters get behind Merkley? Will Mannix's supporters get behind Erickson? Is Mannix done running for office? And what does "Mayor Sam Adams" mean for Portland?

Also what happened to the Secretary of State's unofficial election results page? It was up for about an hour or two but now "election results are not available at this time."

10:55 UPDATE

OregonLive has the best, easiest to read results. Also they have great maps for statewide races.

It looks like Jeff Merkley won every county except Multnomah, Clatsop and Benton. (Gilliam and Wheeler have not counted yet.) How did he win? It looks like he took the Portland suburbs, won big margins in counties like Lane and Douglas and did well enough throughout the rest of the state to make up for Novick's win in Portland.

The Oregonian has been calling winners. Here are the winners in the races not declared below.

State Rep. (Democrats): Michael Dembrow beat Cyreena Boston and Jon Coney in HD 45. Nick Kahl beat Barbara Kyle in HD 49.

State Rep. (Republicans): Matt Lindland beat Phyllis Thiemann in HD 52.

10:30 UPDATE

Check out CNN.com's Oregon election map. Scroll over each county for the vote totals.

No big surprises.

Obama is winning Multnomah County by 28 percent, Washington County by 18 percent, Clackamas County by 6 percent, Marion County by 6 percent, Benton County by 40 percent, Lane County by 24 percent, Deschutes County by 20 percent and Jackson County by 20 percent.

Clinton is winning Douglas County by 2 percent, Linn County by 4 percent and Coos County by 10 percent.

What does this mean in terms of delegates? We will have to wait until the votes can be counted by precinct. Should take a few days. But it looks like Obama will take at least 8 or 9 more delegates than Clinton.

10:15 UPDATE

Here's a list of winners... all called by KGW.

President (D): Barack Obama (now approx. 58%)

US Senate (D): Jeff Merkley

Attorney General (D): John Kroger

Secretary of State (D): Kate Brown

CD 5 (D): Kurt Schrader

CD 5 (R): Mike Erickson

Portland Mayor: Sam Adams

Portland City Commissioner #2: Nick Fish

Beaverton Mayor: Denny Doyle

Other races to watch: Eugene Mayor: Torrey is up 400 votes. Portland City Commissioner #1: Who will run against Fritz in the general? The five other candidates all have between 9-13 percent.

Will continue to update on legislative races. Just received word (from another anonymous tipster) that Linda Brown conceded to Chris Garrett in HD 38 (Lake Oswego). Jules Kopel-Bailey, Michael Dembrow and Nick Kahl are all leading in their respective races.

9:55 UPDATE

KOIN called it for Jeff Merkley.

Steve Novick just called Jeff Merkley to concede... (from an anonymous tipster)

9:50 UPDATE

Jeff Merkley: 124,309 votes, 46%
Steve Novick: 118,650 votes, 43%

41% precincts reporting

9:40 UPDATE

Obama is up 60-40. Let's see if these numbers move. Kari noted earlier that if Obama gets about 63 (ish) in a few CDs, that will mean more delegates.

CD 5 Democratic... Nancy Moran (?) has more votes than Steve Marks. That's a surprise. Both are far behind Kurt Schrader, who will face off against Mike Erickson in November.

Beaverton Mayor... KGW called it for Denny Doyle. This is big. Incumbent Rob Drake (a "Democrat" for Gordon Smith) served as mayor for 4 terms...

9:25 UPDATE

MultCo will update again at 9:45. WashCo and LaneCo will update again at 10:00.

US Senate race... neck and neck. Waiting for more numbers from the around the state.

AG race... Macpherson just called Kroger to concede.

Eugene Mayor race... VERY CLOSE. Torrey up by less than 100 votes out of over 30,000 counted.

Beaverton Mayor race... Doyle up by about 1,000 votes over incumbent Drake.

8:55 UPDATE

Merkley: 117,289 votes - 45.16%
Novick: 112,345 votes - 43.25%

Merkley is winning Deschutes, Jackson, Lane, Marion and Washington counties. Novick is winning Benton, Clatsop and Multnomah counties.

KGW called it for.. OBAMA for President, KROGER for AG, BROWN for SoS, SCHRADER for CD 5 DEM, ERICKSON for CD 5 GOP

Multnomah, Washington, Lane and Clatsop counties were quick to put up numbers. Nothing from other counties yet.

Here's what's going on in legislative and local races. Again, remember that these are EARLY numbers.

This time I'm using the SoS unofficial results and I'll continue to use these throughout the night. It gives county-by-county breakdown. But it's damn slow.

State Representive District 38 - Democratic Primary

Linda Brown: 1,122 votes - 36.38%
Chris Garrett: 1,955 votes - 63.39%

State Represenative District 42 - Democratic Primary

Teddy Keizer: 2,901 votes - 27.08%
Jules Kopel-Bailey: 4,402 votes - 41.09%
Regan Gray: 3,145 votes - 29.35%

State Representative District 45 - Democratic Primary

Cyreena Boston: 3,366 votes - 34.81%
Jon Coney: 2,357 votes - 24.37%
Michael Dembrow: 3,932 votes - 40.66%

State Representative District 49 - Democratic Primary

Nick Kahl: 2,300 votes - 52.74%
Barbara Kyle: 2,044 votes - 46.87%

State Representative District 52 - Republican Primary

Matt Lindland: 230 votes - 50.11%
Phyllis Thiemann: 227 votes - 49.46%

For the following local races I'm using KGW's numbers.

Portland Mayor

Sam Adams: 67,410 votes - 52%
Sho Dozono: 40,031 votes -34%

Portland City Commissioner District 1

Jeff Bissonette: 11,233 votes - 12%
John Branam: 10,487 votes - 11%
Mike Fahey: 10,487 votes - 11%
Amanda Fritz: 42,122 votes - 42%
Charles Lewis: 12,197 votes - 13%
Chris Smith: 9,280 votes - 10%

Portland City Commissioner District 2

Nick Fish: 61,029 votes - 63%
Jim Middaugh: 20,916 votes - 21%

Eugene Mayor

Jim Torrey: 12,227 - 49%
Kitty Piercy: 11,984 - 48%

  • Stefan (unverified)
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    Aww, looks like we won't have Mannix to kick around in OR-05. Oh well.

    Any hard numbers on the Novick-Merkley-fest yet?

  • Former bus (unverified)
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    Jen Yocum rocks my world!

  • James X. (unverified)
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    I don't even have words to describe what supporters of the Senate candidates must be going through tonight. "Nervous," "anxious" and "excited" just don't cut it. They may need some pharmaceutical aid to get any sleep tonight.

    Like a tranquilizer dart.

  • James X. (unverified)
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    KATU.com @ 9:27

    Jeff Merkley 170,798 46% Steve Novick 155,476 42%

  • James X. (unverified)
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    And if anyone missed it, KGW's still live online.

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    Oregonlive.com has slightly more updated figures

    Merkley 175,500 45% Novick 159,660 41%

  • James X. (unverified)
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    How much is left in MultCo? The percent reporting per county would be very interesting.

  • NEPDXGal (unverified)
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    Will we know about the measures tonight?

  • James X. (unverified)
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    Olive @ 9:35

    Merk / 176,377 / 45 Nov / 160,298 / 41

  • James X. (unverified)
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    KATU.com @ 9:42

    Merk / 177,142 / 47 Nov / 160,044 / 41

  • James X. (unverified)
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    Olive: 73% of MultCo in. Look at all the counties here.

  • stan (unverified)
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    I hope Piercy pulls it out. Eugene can't afford 4 years of Torrey.

  • Marychris Mass (unverified)
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    Well - not happy with results so far....Sam Adams and Vera ruined this town and I can't think of anyone more out of touch with what the "real" people really want and is continually wasting time and money on photo ops and big pictures that have nothing to do with common sense. If he wasn't a political wonk, what exactly would the guy do for a living?

  • James X. (unverified)
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    Man, what the heck did Novick ever do to LakeCo?

    75% reported:

    Merkley 57% Novick 4%

    No typo, that's four percent. 266 votes to 19. No other county looks anything like that. Not even close. Very few votes, though, so it didn't sway anything. It's just very weird. They might want to double-check their equipment.

    Just in from KGW: Novick will concede. Wow.

  • James X. (unverified)
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    That should probably be a separate comment, in case anyone misses it: Novick will concede, according to KGW. I'm weirdly sad to see it end. After wanting it to be over for weeks.

  • James X. (unverified)
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    A lot of undervoting, according to KGW. 52,000 people voted for prez but not for Senate. If Novick could have just captured a few more of those undecideds, things would be completely different. Even more undervotes in SOS (80,000-something, I believe was said) and down ballot, it's even more significant.

  • James X. (unverified)
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    Also, team Novick, that was an amazing campaign you ran. My hat is off to you. No more argument from me. We're all Democrats.

    And don't be too down. You've helped make our party stronger, our nominee stronger, and come November, together ...

  • James X. (unverified)
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    ... WE'RE GOING TO BEAT THE PANTS OFF GORDON SMITH!!!

  • Rose Wilde (unverified)
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    Hey Statewide progressives -- if Piercy doesn't win the Eugene mayor election outright, I hope you'll make your first check out to "Re-elect Kitty Piercy"

    We really don't want Jim Torrey to be encouraged - he'll be after something bigger next -- he out fundraised Piercy 2 to 1 and the race is still neck in neck.

    Please. have sympathy for use poor Lane County residents -- help us keep our excellent mayor!

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    To extend something I said in a different thread before it got sidetracked, even if Steve Novick does lose this race, I do not want him to disappear from the political landscape.

    I don't know what can be done. It's certainly too early to make any real decisions. But I think the moral imperative is there. I know I've been very partisan in this race, but Steve is simply too great of a political talent to let go to waste.

  • James X. (unverified)
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    Novick's speech:

    "The man stuck it to us." "Look at what they had to throw at us." "Our opponent mortgaged one of his houses." "The national powers that be spent hundreds of thousands of dollars." "This reminds me of the end of Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid."

    "We need to get behind Jeff Merkley for the United States Senate." (Whew, I was getting nervous for a minute!)

    "Jeff ... will be a great United States Senator, and we're going to help him."

    "I hope you'll all be proud of being part of this campaign." (Crowd: "NO-VICK! NO-VICK! NO-VICK! NO-VICK!")

    "I look into this crowd and I don't see a coward or traitress among you."

    At this point, KGW switched to Merkley's room.

  • Ed Bickford (unverified)
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    No disagreement, Steve M. I'll gladly support Rep. Merkley for US Senate in the campaign ahead. I hope this contest has engergized our candidate for the big fight ahead. Time to knock Smith off his high horse.

  • James X. (unverified)
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    Merkley's speech:

    "Tonight belongs to all Americans and all Oregonians." "Tonight we have put Oregon on the path to change!" "Tonight we have put America on the path to Gordon Smith's retirement!" (Retirement? Does he know something we don't?)

    "The choice in this election is crystal clear: If you want change and a new direction, then join our team!"

    (KGW interrupted with weather mid-speech. Boo.)

    I've had to clip some things out of these recaps, I don't type as fast as they speak, but I think you get the tone of each.

  • James X. (unverified)
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    Merkley is back:

    "...always, always protect a woman's right to choose." "Together we can build a path for every single American to thrive." "This has been an amazing primary election with an incredible number of people..."

    Switch to Novick, again.

    "A year ago, my family lost their baby brother." "I don't know if my family could have made it through the last year if it weren't for you, so I thank you."

    And KGW switches back to the studio.

  • Bridget (unverified)
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    I'm sad to see Novick lose, but I'm thrilled about the rest of the results (esp. seeing Kevin Mannix lose, that's always a treat!).

    The fact that 50,000 voters didn't even bother to weigh in on down-ballot races has got to sting for everyone who lost tonight. I wonder if Novick could have won the election if he'd just tried to hold on a little tighter to Obama's coattails...

  • Larry M (unverified)
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    Lane County just updated at 10:45pm:

    Jim Torrey 19,340 48.70% Kitty Piercy 18,851 47.47%

  • James X. (unverified)
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    I hope BlueO puts a LOT of attention on the Eugene mayor's race.

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    Wow, Mannix lost to a known liar and serial con artist just burned at the stake by every editorial board in the state. I guess the Republican voters realize just how sleazy Mannix is and chose the lesser of two weasels...er, evils!

    Let me be the first to call it in November for Schrader in 5th by 20 points! Sign me up to phone bank.

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    Theme: Obama won everything, including all white demographics. "Can't win whites" meme is dead. Merkley won all but two counties (in a third, Clatsop, Novick leads Merkley by 19 votes with 62% counted). Clearly he's the guy who can run a stronger statewide election against Smith. Dozono won the yard-sign battle, but got killed in the actual race. Hard to say Sam doesn't have a mandate. Nick Fish? Third time's a charm.

    Random observation: at the Merkley campaign party, he had Terminal Gravity IPA on tap (the only beer), which I regard as evidence of exceptional taste and insight.

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    Jeff I guess Merkley learned from the last event.

    I don't the "can't win white working class" meme is yet gone. Clinton did win Kentucky by 30+ points. Obama has a lot of work to do.

    James X - I don't think it's right to call those roll-offs "undecided". They were more likely uninterested. All these new registrants registered for one reason--to vote in the Democratic presidential primary. They has little interest in and little information about down ballot races.

  • James X. (unverified)
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    Paul: That might be a concern in the fall, too. Can we make sure new voters for Obama will fill in other bubbles next to D's?

  • Ed Bickford (unverified)
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    JX,

    We'll be counting on the nominee to call attention to the importance of voting in the down-ballot help he will need to be an effective executive. He can't do it alone.

  • Katy (unverified)
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    Our very own Sam Adams was highlighted on Perezhilton.com this morning. Very cool!

    http://perezhilton.com/2008-05-21-congratulations-5

  • Peng (unverified)
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    long-time lurker...I'm very happy with Tuesday's results up and down the D ticket. It's time we circle around and back the D primary winners in Oregon.

    So...Gov. Kulongoski, remember that we stood by you for your election. Now the people have chosen Obama...so will you switch your superdelegate vote?

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    James,

    i think the work on that end will come down to the party and to other candidates.

    i don't expect the same level of roll off because it will be the general, where voters are a lot more informed and interested. Also, it's possible to vote "D" or "R" in the general, and that's not possible in a primary.

    Like it or not, a lot of people use "D" and "R" to figure out who to vote for when lacking other information.

  • Jimmy (unverified)
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    It's so great that Merkley won this thing! I mean, Novick IS change. Novick is dynamic and interesting and everything that the crazies will be voting for in 2008, but not here. Now they have to choose between the right choice and a groomed suit challenger who doesn't have anything to stand on except "Gordon Smith = George Bush". How tired can you be? I'm so glad to see Novick out because he was a threat. Merkley is a tool in every sense of the word.

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