All the parties, all the results, and all the election night DRAMAZ! by The Mercury Election Strike Force [EDITOR'S NOTE: Good evening, fellow fingernail chewers! It's ELECTION NIGHT in America and here in Portland, and as always the Mercury Election Strike Force is on the job and ready to give you the information you crave! Stick with us this evening as we report the local/national results you want, while also visiting various candidate parties around town to get a vibe and snack check. That said, here's an important thing to remember: Ballots that are mailed and postmarked by 8 pm tonight will still need to be counted, and it may take days for the final results to be tallied in certain races. However, we should have a pretty good idea where most races stand after the first ballot drop at 8 pm, and many races could be decided as soon as tomorrow. Yours truly (Wm. Steven Humphrey) will be joined by fan favorite Elinor Jones to provide election results and (often sassy-ass) analysis, while Mercurians Courtney Vaughn, Taylor Griggs, Suzette Smith, and freelance photog Sean Bascom will be traversing the town, interviewing candidates while also reviewing and scarfing down various party snacks. In short: IT. WILL. BE. FUN. AND. OCCASIONALLY. NERVE. WRACKING. Scroll down to read our latest dispatches, and LET'S MAKE SOME DEMOCRACY, PORTLAND!] UPDATE: 9 PM Just arrived at the Mercury’s election party at Mississippi Studios. I wouldn’t say the mood is somber, necessarily, but it’s also not exactly celebratory. Many people’s eyes are on screens—their phones and the big one playing MSNBC loudly for all the hear. With so many races and states that are too close to call, will we remain in a state of limbo all night? Only time will tell.—TG Let the nail-biting commence. taylor griggs taylor griggs UPDATE 8:55 PM At the District 1 candidate party at CORE food carts on 82nd Ave, candidate Steph Routh has been buzzing around the party of about 50-75 people. "I'm just glad people are here!" says Routh. Sean Bascom City Council candidates Candace Avalos, Timur Ender, David Linn, Joe Allen, Metro Councilor Duncan Hwang, and their teams all chatting and in good spirits. Former city commissioner Jo Ann Hardesty arrived with former Oregon BOLI commissioner Dan Gardner in support of Avalos. Winner of the "Cutest Picture EVER" award. Sean bascom   A documentary film crew—focused on the 2024 elections—was covering the event as well, as community organizers Donavan Scribes and Zoe Pilafas chatted with Routh, Avalos, Hardesty, and others. Pilafas says, "East county matters the most to us. It's the strongest place Portland can focus on equity. It's where you should be if you give a shit." Candidate Timur Ender remains upbeat: "We ran a great campaign, hustled hard, and the rest is up to the voters."—SEAN BASCOM UPDATE 8:50 PM Oregon is voting on a handful of state measure as well, and I’m surprised to see that voters have rejected Measure 117, which would have made ranked choice voting an option statewide. I personally enjoyed ranking my choices when I filled out my ballot, even though the sheer amount of bubbles was initially very overwhelming. People could have gotten used to the bubbles. Babies don’t like bubble baths at first, but they come around. Alas, Oregon voters will never know the bubble lyfe. Voters also rejected Measure 118, which would have granted a universal basic income of $1,600 to every Oregonian, an idea which sounds kinda fun but like... why? However, Measure 115 did pass, which means lawmakers can now impeach other lawmakers. Yay! I love an impeachment. So chic. Very West Wing-esque.—EJ UPDATE 8:30 PM There are two Multnomah County Commissioner seats up for grabs, and here are the latest preliminary numbers: For the District 1 seat, Meghan Moyer has a substantial lead (57% so far) over perennial candidate Vadim Mozyrsky (at 42%)—but who knows? Maybe for Vadim, the 37th time running for office will be the charm. Meanwhile in the District 2 race, Shannon Singleton holds a hilarious lead (53%) over former mayor Sam Adams, who I'm surprised was likable enough to garner 46%. Yes, I'm a bitch, deal with it.—WSH It appears Portland is on the verge of electing its third consecutive guy who looks like Charlie Hales as its next mayor. (Charlie Hales began the streak in 2012). https://t.co/eM79arkSmH — Señor Eder Campuzano 🇲🇽 (@edercampuzano) November 6, 2024 UPDATE 8:26 PM In District 4, early results show Olivia Clark in the lead, followed by close races among Mitch Green, Eric Zimmerman, and Eli Arnold. Back on scene at the Portland For All/Working Families Party gathering, candidates have disappeared, at least for now. Supporters and campaign volunteers are loading up to-go boxes of food. Some are nervously hovered around a TV showing presidential race results.—CV UPDATE 8:23 PM Meanwhile in national news: I got a little gloomy in my last post, but now that polls have closed on the west coast, those blue and red maps are looking a lot less terrifying. Oregon is called for Harris, as is California. Phew. In other races, Democrat Sarah McBride is projected to win an open seat in Delaware to become the first trans person in Congress, and Democrat Andy Kim won the New Jersey senate seat vacated by the slick-palmed Bob Menendez, which makes Kim the first Korean-American in the Senate. Here in Oregon, Janelle Bynum is leading incumbent Republican Lori Chavez-DeReremer by a paltry 2%, but that race is nowhere near called yet. It’s a real mixed bag tonight, folks. My cat Sprinkles seems to have picked up on my anxiety and is sitting in his emotional support slipper. —EJ "I'm staying right here until inauguration day." elinor jones  UPDATE 8:20 PM Early results are rolling in. In District 1, Candace Avalos is gaining notable momentum as the top vote getter. In District 3, Tiffany Koyama Lane, Angelita Morillo and Steve Novick appear to be leading. Raucous applause and cheering rang out at The Get Down when the early results for District 3 were announced.—CV UPDATE 8:15 PM Eric Zimmerman (D4) and Sam Adams (MultCo D2) arew looking over preliminary results at T.C. O’Leary’s on Alberta. No definitive mood shift as the results roll in. People struggling to read the ranked choice results. Taylor Griggs I would also like to note that there’s a six-piece Irish band playing at T.C. O’Leary’s, seemingly unaffiliated with the campaigns hosting parties here. Hearing them play has been helpful to my nervous system, but makes it hard for the campaigns to follow results on TV. The Adams and Zimmerman campaigns have moved into another room in the bar to watch the TVs.  Taylor Griggs Seems like I should’ve stayed at the Wilson campaign party! Early results show him with a major lead. Unclear how things will shift, but I bet the mood is even better over there now than it was a half hour ago. —TG UPDATE 8:10 PM Okay, the first results of the evening are in, and as a reminder, THESE ARE VERY PRELIMINARY, so chill out y’all! Let’s start with the mayoral race. So far mayoral candidate KEITH WILSON has a commanding lead (63%) over the rest of the pack with CARMEN RUBIO coming in second with 37%. Rene Gonzalez is not even on the board.  And here are the preliminary 8 pm results for the City Council races (reminder that each district is electing three people): DISTRICT 1: Candace Avalos is currently tied at 25% with Loretta Smith, and Jamie Dunphy pulling up the rear in third with 21%. DISTRICT 2: It’s currently a three-way tie in District 2 between current commissioner Dan Ryan, Elana Pirtle-Guiney, and Sameer Kanal. DISTRICT 3: Another three-way tie in D3 between Angelita Morillo, Tiffany Koyama Lane, and Steve Novick.  DISTRICT 4: Olivia Clark, Mitch Green, and Eric Zimmerman have 25% each in their battle to represent the West Hills, downtown, and Sellwood. Stand by for state results next!—WSH UPDATE 7:53 PM I keep feeling all sorts of hope for this country, but Texas was AWFULLY QUICK to determine that Ted Cruz won his reelection to the US Senate. Florida handily approved a statewide ban on abortion after six weeks (which, as a reminder, is not six weeks of being aware of a pregnancy, but six weeks after the first day of a person’s last period, which is often before they even know they are pregnant, and is functionally a total ban on abortion). And Iowa, which gave all of us libs a jolt of unexpected happiness when pollster Ann Selzer said it suddenly leaned Harris, has gone to Trump. Polls are still open on the West Coast, but I am prematurely not okay. Perhaps another vodka tonic will fix things? I’m gonna try. —ELINOR JONES UPDATE 7:50 PM There are plenty of election night parties this evening, and while it's equally exciting and nerve wracking, it's important to remember that the local City Council and mayoral race results tonight will be VERY preliminary. Stay patient! A large group is partying at The Get Down, where Portland For All and Oregon Working Families Party are co-hosting an event for several progressive candidates. It's a lively scene. District 3 City Council candidate Angelita Morillo is mingling. Khanh Pham is making her way around the room. District 2 candidate Michelle DePass is also here. A few speakers from each org are talking about the importance of what Portland is doing to transform the city's local government. The bar is open and the excitement is palpable.—COURTNEY VAUGHN Getting down at The Get Down. COURTNEY VAUGHN UPDATE 7:45 PM Hey everybody! Your old pal Steve Humphrey here, holding down mission control in the Mercury’s election night live blog. THINGS TO LOOK OUT FOR TONIGHT: Ranked choice voting is taking center stage in this year’s election, particularly in the races for City Council, mayor, and city auditor. (Simone Rede was the only person running for auditor this time around, so I guess she’s RANKED #1!! 🎉) Thanks to a rather lackluster lineup of mayoral candidates (I’m sorry, but it’s true), I bet it was difficult for people to rank more than three—but at least we all know who we shouldn’t have ranked, right? Stay tuned for the first ballot results drop of the night, coming up in under 15 minutes.—WM. STEVEN HUMPHREY UPDATE: 7:40 PM The party for mayoral candidate Liv Østhus, AKA Viva Las Vegas, is at Bunk Bar in Southeast Industrial. We’re here just as it’s opening, but both Østhus and her campaign manager try to give me snacks and drinks. The cocktails are pretty enticing, but we have much left to do.The Mercury described Østhus as a political newcomer that nevertheless ran a serious campaign. We ask her if this run signals her intention to join politics permanently—regardless of tonight’s results. She describes the campaign as another step in her arts career and practice, which has felt like a series of vocations, as much as she moved between different facets of her life—stripping, musicianship, writing, and even being a mother. “I felt called to it,” Østhus says, of local politics. “People are craving new types of leaders, visionary ones. Look at this campaign, run with entirely volunteer support until a few weeks ago. I ran against three sitting commissioners! Ultimately, it’s harder to resist a calling than to follow it.” At this point, a crew of supporters from Mary’s—the downtown strip club where Østhus works—arrives, and the room’s energy skyrockets. We part ways with Østhus, and she tries to feed us once more before we leave.—SUZETTE SMITH Liv Østhus says "cheers" to the democratic process. Suzette smith UPDATE: 7:30 PM Mayoral candidate Keith Wilson is having his election party upstairs at Old Town Brewing. Wilson has run a very competitive campaign against some big names and the crowd here has a lot of energy. He told me part of the fun is that we don’t know what we’ll find out tonight. “We’re just here to celebrate. We ran a great campaign with a lot of great people,” Wilson said. —TAYLOR GRIGGS Rustic, log cabin vibes at Keith Wilson’s party. taylor griggs UPDATE: 7:20 PM A couple dozen people are currently at Old Town Brewing on NE MLK for District 2 city council candidate Nat West’s party. People are eating pizza and drinking beer, as to be expected at this establishment. Overheard West make a crack to former Mercury/current OPB reporter Alex Zielinski about the infamous “bowls of popcorn” from Knute Buehler’s election party when he ran for governor. We’ve got a Mercury liveblog reader, folks! West’s energy is upbeat. “I did what I wanted to do,” he says. “I got at least two first-place votes.” (He pointed to himself and his wife.) Everyone is seemingly avoiding paying too much attention to the multiple TV screens in the building, broadcasting presidential race results. —TAYLOR GRIGGS Taylor Griggs UPDATE: 7:15 PM Hey, everybody! I’m Elinor Jones. Usually they keep me over in the humor area, away from real news, so my inclusion in tonight’s lineup of writers really underscores the YIKES! of it all. Some results for the Presidential election are already up, and it looks scary, because the red states seem to count the fastest; it will be a while before we have good information on that front, and if you ask if that will stop me from refreshing every news site every minute, the answer is no!  I’ll mostly be keeping eyes on the results coming out of Oregon’s 5th Congressional District (which encompasses the area directly to the southeast of Portland, including parts of Clackamas, Multnomah, Linn, and Marion counties) where Democrat Janelle Bynum is hoping to unseat Republican Lori Chavez-DeRemer. Chavez-DeRemer is a mega MAGA Republican. Bynum is a sitting state Representative, having beat this very same Chavez-DeRemer twice for that seat.  I was first introduced to Bynum when she was a guest on my favorite podcast Lovett or Leave It and she was delightful AND hilarious—a winning combo if you ask me! If you need 14 minutes of entertainment to kill time before the big results start pouring in, here's a video I highly recommend.—ELINOR JONES