1 AM UPDATE: Micro-Margins and Deadlocks Shape the Future of Washington County Leadership
As the midnight dust settles over the Washington County Elections office, local political landscapes are fracturing into historically tight battles. From the highly influential Board of Commissioners down to pivotal local legislative primaries, the initial returns have delivered a stark reality: the political direction of our communities is balanced on a knife’s edge.
With the initial massive batch of returns accounted for, several high-stakes races have practically ground to a standstill. Longtime incumbents are finding themselves locked in statistical dead heats, while highly competitive multi-candidate fields have split the local electorate so cleanly that high-stakes November runoffs are now a virtual certainty. These early margins don’t just represent individual political futures—they will fundamentally dictate Washington County’s approach to growth, industrial infrastructure, and community representation for years to come.
⏳ THE COUNT CONTINUES: Expect a Multi-Day Horizon
Our team is actively monitoring the updates and awaiting the next official drop of counts. However, local voters must prepare for an extended timeline. Under Oregon’s postmark law, mail-in ballots stamped by Election Day continue to legally arrive and stream into processing centers over the next several days. Because local margins are currently separated by as few as dozens of votes, we may incredibly not know the definitive outcome of these crucial races for another two to three days as the final ballots trickle in.
Below is where the battlefield stands right now. Keep this page bookmarked as we continue to track incoming data drops to see which candidates are building late-night momentum and which are facing the reality of a grueling autumn campaign. At this hour, some of the Campaigns are telling us that the Elections Office will likely release more numbers by Friday. You can not write this, truly incredible what is happening with the voters. A moderate pro-business County has flexed its progressive muscles. No doubt that #DataCenters and the growing majority disdain for them is a major touch point.
📊 Washington County Election Night Brief
Primary Election Summary — Unofficial Returns
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📈 Overall Turnout: 25.82% (104,432 Ballots)
| Race & Candidate | Vote % | Total Votes | Rank | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 🟥 WASHINGTON COUNTY BOARD CHAIR | ||||
| Pam Treece | 35.94% | 30,090 | #1 | Runoff Expected |
| Nafisa Fai | 35.79% | 29,962 | #2 | |
| Jenny Kamprath | 27.76% | 23,242 | #3 | |
| 🟦 COUNTY COMMISSIONER — DISTRICT 4 | ||||
| Steve Callaway | 34.57% | 7,010 | #1 | Runoff Highly Probable |
| Kipperlyn Sinclair | 19.25% | 3,903 | #2 | |
| Ayla Hofler | 18.48% | 3,747 | #3 | |
| Anthony Martin | 12.09% | 2,452 | #4 | |
| Paul Schaefer | 9.41% | 1,909 | #5 | |
| Kimberly Culbertson | 5.70% | 1,156 | #6 | |
| 🟩 STATE SENATE — DISTRICT 15 (DEM) | ||||
| Janeen Sollman | 49.82% | 4,397 | #1 | Too Close to Call |
| Myrna A. Muñoz | 47.51% | 4,193 | #2 | |
| Nelly A. Donis-Purcell | 2.28% | 201 | #3 | |
| 🟨 STATE REP — DISTRICT 27 (DEM) | ||||
| Ashley Hartmeier-Prigg | 50.26% | 3,596 | #1 | Too Close to Call |
| Tammy Carpenter | 49.46% | 3,539 | #2 | |
| 🟧 STATE REP — DISTRICT 29 (DEM) | ||||
| Susan McLain | 75.97% | 3,186 | #1 | Projected Winner |
| Mark Watson | 23.63% | 991 | #2 | |
| 🟪 COUNTY COMMISSIONER — DISTRICT 2 | ||||
| Felicita Monteblanco | 51.72% | 10,263 | #1 | On 50% Outright Win Line |
| Blayne Soleymani-Pearson | 24.18% | 4,798 | #2 (tie) | |
| Stevan C. Kirkpatrick | 23.81% | 4,726 | #3 (tie) | |
🔍 Live Reporting Brief & Key Observations
⚖️ The Board Chair Deadlock
This race is an absolute squeaker. Pam Treece holds a microscopic 128-vote lead over Nafisa Fai out of more than 83,000 votes cast. They are structurally tied at roughly 36% each, ensuring a fierce November runoff where Jenny Kamprath’s 23,242 voters will become the ultimate kingmakers.
🏛️ The District 4 Runoff Chase
Former Hillsboro Mayor Steve Callaway has secured a safe ticket to November with a clear 34.57% plurality. However, the battle for who joins him is razor-thin: Kipperlyn Sinclair currently holds the second runoff slot by just 156 votes over Ayla Hofler.
⚡ Senate 15 & House 27 Coin-Flips
Two legislative primaries are separated by paper-thin margins. In Senate District 15, Janeen Sollman has a modest 204-vote lead over Myrna Muñoz. Meanwhile, House District 27 is even tighter: Ashley Hartmeier Prigg leads Tammy Carpenter by a minuscule 57 votes. Future drops will determine whether the challengers can leapfrog the frontrunners here.
✅ The House 29 Call
Rep. Susan McLain has cleanly put her race away, running a dominant campaign to lead Mark Watson by a massive 3-to-1 margin (75.97% to 23.63%). This race is safely checked as a victory for the incumbent.
🔮 The Dist. 2 Outright Win Cliff
Felicita Monteblanco is currently positioned to win her seat outright at 51.72%. However, if late-week mail processing drags her down by just 1.73%, she will drop below the 50% + 1 threshold, forcing her into a November runoff. If that happens, Blayne Soleymani-Pearson and Stevan Kirkpatrick are locked in a separate 72-vote dogfight just to determine who would face her.
To the voters who picked Denis-Purcell or wrote-in whoever, it turns out your cynical vote/non-vote might actually matter this time. Congrats? I mean, I’m all for writing-in Dirty Skunk when it’s clearly going to be a landslide or when it’s only one candidate on the ballot, but this one?
Anyway, whatever the result, big message sent to that preening popinjay and glass-gazing pandar Sollman and the rakehell bounders who support her.
Munoz did exceptionally well considering she was relatively unknown only a few months ago, had only a few months to campaign, and was at a financial disadvantage vs barely literate corporate sock puppet Janeen, who, looking at it this way, dramatically under-performed. It also shows what’s possible when people pay attention to real stuff and actually give a sh*t.
And if it’s Janeen again, she will be in Salem on the thinnest of margins, representing a clearly divided town and district – although I think a lot of her voters represent more of a dull inertia rather than enthusiasm – with several unions that now hate her. She will also be expected to deliver results to her corporate and landowning backers. So profite de la vie to that counter-hon hole in the air.
Elections tend to make me think of my favorite quotes.
Paraphrasing:
“Democracy is when people think they know what they want, and then get it good and hard.” – Mencken (probably)
“People dream of running the world, then grow up and realize it’s not as easy as gangster movies and novels make it seem, so they do the next best thing and join the cruelest party.” – Camus
“Writers who can’t write, interviewing people who can’t talk, for people who can’t read.”
I’m happy that third one doesn’t apply to anyone here at the Herald.
Cheers!