Two Democrats are in position to win seats for the Deschutes County Board of County Commissioners after an initial tally of ballots Tuesday evening, while two other races appear to be headed to the general election in November.
Should those results hold, it could mark the dismantling of the board’s longtime Republican majority as it expands from three members to five in November.
That includes the likely upset of incumbent Deschutes County Commissioner Tony DeBone, who trailed Tuesday in the race for Position 1 with 38.3% of the vote compared to 54.5% for challenger Jamie Collins, a U.S. Coast Guard veteran and disaster responder.
“If these results hold, I will be profoundly grateful to the voters of Deschutes County for placing their trust in me to serve on the county commission,” Collins told the Source by phone Tuesday evening, following the first round of results. He cited his top issues of housing affordability, insurance and electricity. “Whether you voted to put your trust in me tonight or not, I’m looking forward to hammering on all those issues.”
DeBone and Patti Adair, who opted to run for Congress — and took a large lead Tuesday evening in the Republican primary for Oregon’s 5th Congressional District — currently hold the majority on the commission and often outvote Commissioner Phil Chang, the lone Democrat.
Deschutes County switched to nonpartisan primary elections in 2022, although candidates still seek endorsements and support from local parties. Any candidate who receives more than 50% of the vote automatically wins the seat and foregoes the general election before taking office in January. If not, the top two vote-getters advance to November’s election.
DeBone told the Source he was still holding out hope the results would turn, but acknowledged “the spread is pretty big.”
Debone was first elected in 2010 and won reelection in 2014, 2018 and 2022.
“I’ve gone for office a few times and I’ve never been behind before, so this is a new experience for me,” DeBone told the Source.
Nearly 50,000 ballots were counted in an initial round of results released shortly after 8 pm Tuesday, and another round of approximately 5,000 were added later that night. Deschutes County received about 68,200 ballots total, according to the Oregon Secretary of State’s unofficial ballot return numbers. That’s about 40.5% of eligible ballots in Deschutes County.
As it grows, Deschutes County’s voter base has shifted leftward. Registered Republicans outnumbered Democrats as recently as 2019, but Democrats now outnumber Republicans by about 4,000. Non-affiliated voters are the largest registration category in Deschutes County, however.
Tuesday’s primary election was the first since voters approved a 2024 ballot measure expanding the Deschutes County Commission from three to five members, which was mostly supported by Democrats and opposed by Republicans. The two new seats will serve two-year terms before going back to voters in 2028 for four-year terms.
Another wrinkle is that voters this November might be faced with a choice to approve a new map splitting the county into five representational districts, a process led by the board’s current Republican majority and opposed by Democrats. If that passes, some incumbent candidates might be forced either to move or leave their seats and run for another.
On Tuesday evening, Rick Russell, a Democrat and homeless housing nonprofit leader, appeared to be on track to win Position 4, one of the new seats created by the ballot measure. He gained 57.1% of the vote in the initial results compared to 42.6% for Republican Chet Wamboldt, a risk analyst and former volunteer firefighter.
“I think tonight is a bit of a referendum from the voters on wanting a different kind of future for Deschutes County, a place where everybody can afford to thrive, and the sort of county commission that’s going to reflect our shared values and put people front and center over partisanship and personal gain.”
Despite the gap, Wamboldt called the race “still totally winnable.”
Rob Imhoff, a Republican running for Position 5, said he’s hoping more conservative votes will come in later ballot counts, which is sometimes a trend, he said. Either way, it appears he’s on track to advance to the November election with 38.3% of the vote so far, along with American Red Cross Director Morgan Schmidt, a Democrat, who leads the race with 44.8% of the vote while Sisters Mayor Jennifer Letz appears to have fallen short with 14.8%.
“Of course we hoped to win tonight, but I’m really proud of our results, really proud to be leading the race,” Schmidt told the Source.
The race for Position 3 — a six-way contest — remains the closest of the four after Tuesday’s initial results, although Republican Lauren Connally, a U.S. Marine Corps veteran, and former civics teacher Amy Sabbadini, a Democrat, are on track to face off in the November election. They gained 38% and 31.5% of the vote, respectively.
“I’m thankful for those that are voting for me and putting their trust in me, I really am,” Connally said.
Sabbadini didn’t immediately respond to a phone call Tuesday evening.
Redmond School Board member Amanda Page trails with 19.7% of the vote. Page, a Democrat, narrowly lost the party’s endorsement vote to Sabbadini after refusing to sign a pledge to only support other endorsed candidates, but matched Sabbadini’s campaign in fundraising. Page didn’t immediately return a phone call Tuesday evening.
Local congressional, state house races
Adair, the current Deschutes County Commissioner running for Oregon’s 5th Congressional District, had about 60% of the vote Tuesday night, leading Jonathan Lockwood, a former legislative spokesperson. That means she’ll likely face U.S. Rep. Janelle Bynum, who had a large lead over challenger Zeva Rosenbaum, in the November election.
Rep. Jason Kropf appears to have defended his seat in the legislature representing House District 54, which covers most of Bend. He gained 89.7% of the vote against challenger Andrew Caruana, a disability rights advocate.
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