Drazan Leads with 44.5% in Lane County Election Results — Lane County Election Results

Christine Drazan led Republicans in the lane county election results on Tuesday night, taking 44.5% of early unofficial votes in Oregon's Republican primary for governor. Oregon counties began releasing preliminary election results at 8 p.m., and the winner will face Gov. Tina Kotek in November.

Drazan, Diehl and Dudley

State Rep. Ed Diehl was second with nearly 31% of the vote, while Chris Dudley had about 16%. The Republican primary field included 14 candidates, giving Drazan an early edge over the other two candidates at the top of the race.

Drazan and Kotek faced each other in 2022, when Drazan lost by about four percentage points. Kotek had 85% of the vote in the Democratic primary ticket this year, setting up a rematch if Drazan holds her lead.

Oregon's governor's race

Republican voters interviewed by KATU said they would support whoever wins Tuesday's primary, and they pointed to education, affordability and taxes as the issues driving their vote. Linda Neace, a precinct committee person for the Clackamas County Republican Party, said, "I've got two grandsons that work for different companies. And they are outsourcing. And one of them will be losing his job at the end of the summer,"

That field also included Danielle Bethell, the Marion County commissioner, who was still in the race but had not come close to the fundraising level of the three candidates at the top. Oregon has not elected a Republican governor since Vic Atiyeh in the 1980s, so the nominee will enter a race with a long stretch of Democratic wins behind it.

Tuesday night's count

Dudley also brought past statewide experience into the race, having lost to former Gov. John Kitzhaber in 2010. The early count left Drazan ahead, but the final nominee still depends on how the remaining votes sort out across the 14-candidate field.