Election 2022: Wyden wins while some US House seats remain too close to call

Bill Poehler, Salem Statesman Journal
·3 min read
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Control of Congress hangs in the balance of November’s general election, and Oregon has seats that could swing it either way. According to early results, many Democrats running for Oregon seats in the U.S. House and U.S. Senate were leading.

More:Oregon election: Voters decide on governor, Senate, more

There were no incumbents running in the state’s fourth, fifth and sixth districts in the U.S. House of Representatives, and each race — including ones drawn to favor the Democratic candidates — was a virtual toss-up going into Election Day.

U.S. Sen. Ron Wyden speaks during a democratic election night party on Nov. 8. Wyden won a sixth term, defeating Republican Jo Rae Perkins.
U.S. Sen. Ron Wyden speaks during a democratic election night party on Nov. 8. Wyden won a sixth term, defeating Republican Jo Rae Perkins.

Senate

U.S. Sen. Ron Wyden, a Democrat, won his race for a sixth term as a U.S. senator, defeating Republican Jo Rae Perkins.

Pacific Green candidate Dan Pulju and Progressive candidate Chris Henry came in a distant third and fourth places.

Wyden has been in Congress for more than 40 years, since being elected to the House in 1980. The 73-year-old has been in the U.S. Senate since 1996.

He sits on committees for energy and natural resources, finance, budget, taxation and intelligence.

4th District

Oregon Labor Commissioner Val Hoyle speaks during a demonstration for International Women's Day at the Oregon State Capitol in Salem on Friday, March 8, 2019. Many during the rally voiced their support for a state-run family and medical leave insurance program in Oregon. "If we really do value life, and if we really do value families, then we really need paid family leave," Hoyle said.

Democrat Val Hoyle took a commanding lead against Republican Alek Skarlatos in the race for Oregon’s fourth district seat in the U.S. House of Representatives.

The district has been a stronghold of the Democratic Party with Rep. Peter DeFazio holding the House seat since 1987. But the state’s longest-tenured representative did not runfor reelection.

In this May 15, 2018 file photo, Alek Skarlatos, right, speaks at the Douglas County Republican Party headquarters in Roseburg.
In this May 15, 2018 file photo, Alek Skarlatos, right, speaks at the Douglas County Republican Party headquarters in Roseburg.

The redrawn 4th District includes Eugene, Corvallis, Coos Bay and much of the central coast, including Lincoln County, Lane County and Coos County.

Hoyle is the most experienced politically among the candidates. She has been Oregon’s labor commissioner since 2018 and served in the state Legislature from 2009 to 2015.

Skarlatos is the most well-known of the candidates. He rose to prominence as one of the Marines who stopped a terrorist attack on a train in France in 2015. He unsuccessfully ran for the seat in 2020.

5th District

Republican Lori Chavez-DeRemer was leading Democrat Jamie McLeod-Skinner in the race to represent Oregon’s fifth district in the U.S. House of Representatives.

The district was redrawn to include Willamette Valley locales such as Silverton, Stayton, Detroit and Linn County; part of the metro area including Portland, Lake Oswego and Oregon City; and central Oregon cities such as Bend, Redmond and Sisters.

It formerly was looked at as a Democratic stronghold.

Chavez-DeRemer, co-owner of Anesthesia Associates Northwest, formerly served as mayor and city councilor of Happy Valley.

McLeod-Skinner, an attorney and emergency manager for the state, upset seven-term incumbent Kurt Schrader in May’s primary election.

6th District

Democrat Andrea Salinas held a lead against Republican Mike Erickson in the race to represent Oregon’s new sixth district in the U.S. House of Representatives.

The district was drawn with a strong advantage for Democrats.

It includes Salem, Woodburn and Polk County cities including Dallas, Monmouth and Independence, Yamhill County cities including McMinnville and Newberg as well as Tigard, Tualatin and Wilsonville.

Salinas, a state representative since 2017, won a heavily contested primary, including defeating more well-funded candidates Carrick Flynn and Steven Cody Reynolds.

Erickson, owner of AFMS Logistics Management Group in Tigard, unsuccessfully ran for Congress in 2006 and 2008.

Bill Poehler covers Marion County for the Statesman Journal. Contact him at bpoehler@StatesmanJournal.com

This article originally appeared on Salem Statesman Journal: Election 2022: Wyden wins; some congressional races too close to call