More than 24 hours after the first results were published, the political future of Oregon is still undecided. Eugene is without a mayor, Lane County is without a north county commissioner, and statewide no one has been selected to fill the position of secretary of state.
In Lane County, as of press time, only 67 percent of the votes have been counted and incumbent Lane County Commissioner Bobby Green is only trailing by 79 votes. After the first results showed Green lagging behind Tuesday night, he said that during the last week of the election his campaign made up a lot of ground, which he expected would be reflected in the votes as the tallying continued.
“We are still really hopeful,” Green said. “What we are seeing now is the early votes; there was a lot of stuff that happened in the last week of the campaign, and we think it will show.”
Rob Handy’s supporters were hoping their early lead would hold and even grow as more votes came in.
“If we can get anywhere from 40 percent to 50 percent with a five-point lead it will be hard for Green’s campaign to overcome,” Handy’s campaign manager, Phyllis Barkhurst, said Tuesday night.
In the mayoral race, the margin has remained steady but small. With the difference now growing to 1,194 votes in favor of incumbent Kitty Piercy, she is not comfortable claiming victory, and Jim Torrey is not giving up.
“It’s been a very tough, hard campaign and the results so far reflect that,” Piercy said Tuesday night.
No matter who wins the mayoral race, Torrey said he won’t let the race’s outcome spoil his love of the city and its people.
“I wish I had more votes, but I don’t and my life in Eugene goes on,” he said.
Statewide, Rick Dancer is only trailing Kate Brown by about 3,000 votes for secretary of state. However, his campaign expects more votes will be coming in and is not yet ready to concede.
“We are sleep-deprived, but anxious. The numbers as they are a testament to our success in getting our message across; it shows people want the power to go back to the people of Oregon, “said Dancer’s campaign manager, Aaron Larsen.
State law requires the results to be finalized by Nov. 24, but Lane County Elections expects the race will be finalized tomorrow afternoon. That should give Oregon’s political hopefuls an answer, for better or worse.
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