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State Rep. Andrea Salinas (D-Lake Oswego), who vanquished cryptocurrency-backed rookie Carrick Flynn in the Democratic primary, narrowly leads Republican Mike Erickson in the race to fill the seat in Oregon’s new 6th Congressional District.
Salinas led Erickson 49% to 47% with 186,115 votes counted.
The new district covers Polk, Yamhill and parts of Clackamas, Marion and Washington counties. It’s fairly balanced between Democrats and Republicans, with Dems holding about a 5-point voter registration advantage.
Salinas was a staffer for three members of Congress—U.S. Sen. Harry Reid (D-Nev.), Rep. Pete Stark (D-Calif.), and Rep. Darlene Hooley (D-Ore.). She spent years lobbying in Salem before her five years in the Oregon House.
In the GOP primary, Erickson, a Lake Oswego logistics company owner, topped state Rep. Ron Noble (R-McMinnville).
Erickson has been a successful businessman: He reported annual income of more than $3 million on his congressional disclosure forms. He’s been less successful in politics, losing two legislative races, in 1988 and 1992, and two 5th Congressional District races, in 2006 and 2008.
In the latter race, an ex-girlfriend said the pro-life Erickson paid for her abortion, an allegation he denied. In the current race, in which Erickson is running as the law-and-order candidate, the Oregon Capital Chronicle reported he’d been arrested for DUII in Hood River County in 2016 (he successfully completed a diversion program).