MARION COUNTY, Ore — Democrat Lesly Muñoz will win the race for Oregon House District 22 in Marion County, The Oregonian projected Wednesday morning, defeating incumbent Republican Tracy Cramer. That gives Oregon House Democrats a pivotal supermajority.
The latest tally Tuesday night shows Muñoz led Cramer by 161 votes, with 100% of the votes counted. Muñoz has a 50.3% vote to Cramer's 49.53%.
An automatic recount would only happen if around 40 votes or fewer separates the two candidates after all additional ballots are counted. A candidate can request a recount if there are more than 40 votes, but the campaign would have to pay for it. The deadline for certifying results is Dec. 2.
Voters had until Tuesday evening to cure their ballots. On Monday, the Marion County Clerk told KGW that there had been a concerted effort, by both the campaigns and the parties, to cure as many ballots as possible due to a supermajority on the line.
A supermajority means that three-fifths of the seats lean in one political direction, which is a key threshold in Oregon because any new taxes or hikes of existing taxes require the support of three-fifths of each chamber to pass. Hitting that mark will allow Democrats to take action without having to cross the aisle and pick up any votes from the other side — as long as they can keep their own caucus united.
Jim Moore, politics professor at Pacific University, told KGW that the supermajority requirement has been in place to pass specialized taxes since 2005. That includes taxes for transportation funding, which is expected to be a major focus in the 2025 legislative session.
Muñoz's seat gives House Democrats a 36-to-24 supermajority, adding to their supermajority in the state Senate: 18 to 12. However, a supermajority is not enough to neutralize legislative walkouts.
Alma McCarty contributed to the reporting of this story.
