Oregon Gov. Tina Kotek has won a second term, CBS News projects, as reported by KOIN 6. The Democrat defeated Republican challenger Christine Drazan in their second contest for the governor’s office. The projection came Tuesday night as counties continued reporting results from the November 3 election.
For a running count, our live Oregon governor election results page has statewide totals and a searchable table covering all 36 counties. That page continues checking for new returns. The numbers in this story are a timestamped snapshot of the unofficial count.
Kotek declares victory in Portland
Kotek addressed supporters at an election-night gathering in downtown Portland shortly after 9:20 p.m., OPB reported. “I am proud to stand here as your next governor of the beautiful state of Oregon,” she said. Earlier, shortly after 9 p.m., state Rep. Shelly Boshart Davis had told supporters at Drazan’s gathering in Hillsboro that the campaign was not giving up.
The CBS projection followed Decision Desk HQ’s earlier call for Kotek. DDHQ listed its decision at 8:08 p.m. Pacific, eight minutes after Oregon’s ballot drop box deadline. These projections identify the expected winner while election officials continue the count.
The latest reported statewide votes
The Oregon Secretary of State’s results page showed Kotek with 674,509 votes in its 9:30 p.m. Pacific update, compared with 584,253 for Drazan. Kotek had 52.16% of the votes reported in the governor’s race, while Drazan had 45.18%. Pacific Green candidate Brett Smith had 32,852 votes, or 2.54%, and aggregate write-in votes totaled 1,553.
| Candidate | Votes | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Tina Kotek | 674,509 | 52.16% |
| Christine Drazan | 584,253 | 45.18% |
| Brett Smith | 32,852 | 2.54% |
| Write-in votes | 1,553 | 0.12% |
That put Kotek ahead by 90,256 votes out of 1,293,167 reported in the contest. The percentages above describe each candidate’s share of those reported votes. They are not a measure of how much of the eventual statewide count is complete, and the margin can change as more ballots are added.
A second contest between Kotek and Drazan
The two candidates also faced one another in 2022, when Kotek won her first term. That election included nonaffiliated candidate Betsy Johnson, who received about 8.6% of the vote. This year’s ballot included Smith alongside the Democratic and Republican nominees.
Oregon’s official count continues
A network projection does not end the work at county elections offices. The Secretary of State says eligible mailed ballots postmarked by Election Day can arrive up to seven days later and still be counted. Oregon’s calendar lists December 10 for certification and final statewide results.
Readers can keep following the statewide margin and their county’s returns on our live election results tracker. Oregon voters can also use the state’s My Vote service to check their ballot status.
