PORTLAND, Ore. — State Rep. Maxine Dexter is the projected winner of the Democratic primary for Oregon's 3rd Congressional District, according to The Oregonian and the Associated Press. Early results Tuesday night showed Dexter in the lead, with former Multnomah County Commissioner Susheela Jayapal in second and Gresham City Councilor Eddy Morales in third. Business owner and attorney Joanna Harbour is the projected winner in the Republican primary, according to the Associated Press.
The Democratic primary is one of the hottest races on the May ballot due to the pending retirement of longtime Rep. Earl Blumenauer. The winner is all but certain to become Blumenauer's successor; the deep blue district includes most of Portland and has reelected Blumenauer and previous officeholder Ron Wyden by large margins in every election since 1980.
"Tonight we stand united, united in our belief that this is a make-or-break moment to protect our democracy," Dexter said, speaking to supporters Tuesday night. "To build safe and secure communities that treat everyone with respect. We have to tackle our climate crisis, restore access to abortion care, and build an economy that truly works for everyone."
“I want to congratulate Rep. Maxine Dexter for winning the Democratic primary for Oregon's Third Congressional District," wrote Blumenauer in a Tuesday evening statement. "Maxine has proven herself to be a serious and effective legislator; I am confident she'll take this success with her to Washington, D.C. I look forward to partnering with her to ensure our district is well-served when she is elected in November. There is a lot of work to do on behalf of our community.”
Blumenauer announced in October that he wouldn't seek another term in 2024, and Jayapal announced two days later that she would resign her seat as a county commissioner to jump into the congressional race. Morales followed suit later that same day, and Dexter joined the race in December.
Four other candidates also joined the Democratic primary race, but Jayapal, Morales and Dexter have widely been seen as the frontrunners, facing off in candidate forums and TV appearances over the past month.
The contest became more heated in recent weeks when Jayapal and Morales teamed up to call out what they described as a late infusion of $1.6 million in "dark money" from a group called 314 Action to benefit Dexter.
Jayapal conceded late Tuesday night, announcing in a news release that she had called congratulate Dexter on her win — but she also reiterated her comments about outside money in the race.
"This race showed so clearly why we need to have real campaign finance reform that allows for public financing," she wrote. "Outside super PACs came in and spent an unprecedented $6 million, even timing their contributions so that they wouldn’t have to show who was trying to buy this election until well after the votes were cast. While we weren’t able to change that fact this time around, I remain committed to working to make our elections truly democratic."
The smaller Republican primary field consisted of Harbour, engineer Gary Dye and nurse Teresa Orwig.