Republican Lori-Chavez DeRemer is claiming victory in the race for Oregon’s 5th Congressional District, making the announcement shortly after the state’s largest newspaper declared her the winner over Democrat Jamie McLeod-Skinner. But that race is yet to be called the Associated Press and major news outlets that track elections — and it comes with tens of thousands of ballots still to be counted.
According to unofficial results from the Oregon Secretary of State’s Office, Chavez-Deremer had 6,095 vote lead over McLeod-Skinner. But their office tells Central Oregon Daily News that Clackamas County — which makes up a big portion of the 5th District — has about 65,000 ballots left to be counted.
Clackamas is expected to give another set of results on Saturday, the Secretary of State’s Office said.
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The 5th District also includes parts of Deschutes County this year. Another batch of results there won’t be released until Wednesday, Nov. 16.
The Oregonian on Friday called the race for the Republican.
“I am humbled and grateful for the outpouring of support we received throughout this campaign,” Chavez-DeRemer wrote in a statement. “From the suburbs of Clackamas, down to rural Linn and Marion counties, and over to the Cascades to Central Oregon, one thing was clear to me: Oregonians wanted common-sense solutions to their everyday problems. Families needed a Congresswoman to tackle inflation, keep us safe, and focus on what’s best for Oregon families.”
McLeod-Skinner, in a statement, indicated such an announcement was premature.
“Most media outlets have not called this race. There are thousands of ballots still to be counted, including at least 65,000 ballots in Clackamas County alone, along with additional ballots that are contested or challenged. It’s still too soon to make any declaration on this race. We’re going to continue to monitor the process to ensure every vote is counted,” the statement read.
