Republicans on Pace to Gain Seats in Legislature but Democrats Likely to Retain Majorities in Both Chambers

Going into the tally, Democrats held majorities of 37-23 in the House and 18-11 in the Senate.

Hoa Nguyen goes door-to-door in House District 48. (Tim Saputo)
By Nigel Jaquiss

Although the governor’s race is still too close to call, Democrats appeared to be on track to maintain control of both the Oregon House and Senate on election night.

Going into the tally, Democrats held majorities of 37-23 in the House and 18-11 in the Senate, with one senator, Brian Boquist of Dallas, independent. All of the 60 House seats are on the ballot because House members serve two-year terms. Just half of the 30 Senate seats are up for grabs because senators serve four-year terms.

Three House races in Clackamas, Hood River and Multnomah counties remained too close to call. Republican Brian Stout from Columbia City is on track to win what had been a Democratic seat in House District 31 in Columbia County.

At 10:20 pm, House Speaker Dan Rayfield (D-Corvallis) took the stage at the Hyatt Regency and announced he was confident Democrats would keep control of his chamber. He noted that Democrats led in 36 races, although in five the lead was in the range of 500 votes.

“We will bring back a majority in the Oregon House,” Rayfield said.

Meanwhile, in the Senate, Democrats appear poised to hold on to closely contested seats in Ashland, Hillsboro and Salem. A fourth swing seat in Clackamas features a very tight race between incumbent Sen. Bill Kennemer (R-Oregon City) and state Rep. Mark Meek (D-Gladstone). With 30% of ballots counted, Meek led Kennemer by 1 percentage point. Republicans scored one pickup of a Democratic seat: State Rep. Suzanne Weber (R-Tillamook) claimed the seat former state Sen. Betsy Johnson (D-Scappose) used to hold.

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