Here are the top stories from Oregon’s primary election

In Oregon’s primary election, voters picked their Republican candidate for governor, opposed new transportation taxes and passed a slew of local levies.

More than one in three of Oregon’s 3 million registered voters cast ballots in Tuesday’s election. As Oregonians face the rising cost of housing, healthcare and gas, many voters told OPB at the ballot box that they voted this year with their pocketbooks on their mind.

The May primary helps set up races for November. Political parties ask voters to name candidates to run for governor and other offices.

At the county level, some races were decided Tuesday night for commissioner seats. However, many races in Washington and Clackamas counties appear to be headed for run-offs in November.

Plenty is also decided in the primary, despite historically garnering fewer voters than the fall election. This year, voters rejected a statewide measure to hike up the tax on gasoline. They also granted Christina Stephenson a second term as head of Oregon’s Bureau of Labor and Industries in the nonpartisan labor commissioner race.

Here are some of the top stories from Tuesday’s election:

1. Republican Christine Drazan will face incumbent Democratic Gov. Tina Kotek in November’s general election.

The top two names on Oregonians’ November ballot will look familiar to those who voted for governor in 2022. That year, Kotek defeated Drazan by 3.4%.

Drazan is a lifelong Oregonian currently serving as the state senator for Oregon’s 26th District, which includes Hood River County and parts of Clackamas, Multnomah and Wasco counties.

Like her challengers, Drazan ran her primary election with a focus on lowering taxes and cutting regulations for businesses. She also talked to voters about increasing funding for public safety, in part to lower the state’s stubbornly high rate of people experiencing homelessness.

The first time Drazan and Kotek went head-to-head, Drazan lost by 67,000 votes. However, the 2022 election included a third-party candidate — Betsy Johnson — who likely drew votes away from Drazan. No such candidate is in the race this time around.

2. Voters soundly rejected raising gasoline tax and car registration fees to pay for updates to roads, bridges and public transit.

Many of Oregon’s roads and bridges are aging and in desperate need of money for maintenance and updates. But those funds won’t come from an increased tax on gasoline, which on average is costing drivers more than $5.30 per gallon in Oregon, according to AAA.

The current high gas prices are mostly due to the U.S. and Israel’s war against Iran threatening the stability of the world’s crude oil supply. But Oregonians also already pay the 12th-highest state gas tax in the nation, at 40 cents per gallon, according to the Energy Information Administration.

Measure 120 would have increased the state’s gas tax by 6 cents, doubled registration and titling fees and temporarily raised payroll taxes to fund public transit. As of Thursday night, 83% of those who cast a ballot voted no. In historically liberal Multnomah County, 74% of voters rejected the measure.

Still, transportation officials have continually warned state lawmakers that if some source of funding doesn’t come through, Oregon will lack the resources needed to maintain and update roads and bridges.

3. Clackamas County voters said no to increasing funding to maintain current sheriff’s staff and jail beds.

The sheriff’s office in Clackamas County is facing a funding gap that puts 36 jail deputies, five detectives, 84 jail beds and body cameras at risk, as well as internal affairs investigators meant to hold personnel accountable.

Measure 3-633 would have increased the current levy by 45%, working out to about $60 per year for the average Clackamas County homeowner.

But in a year when voters are feeling strapped for cash due to the rising cost of groceries, fuel and regular household items, 62% of voters had voted against the levy measure as of Thursday evening

4. A Wasco County commissioner died on Election Day.

On Election Day, Phil Brady, a 70-year-old Wasco County commissioner who was up for reelection, went for a bike ride. Then, he suffered chest pains. He was taken to a nearby hospital, where he died of heart complications.

Brady was remembered by his family and friends as a dedicated public servant who taught at local schools and the Northern Oregon Regional Corrections juvenile facility.

“Wasco County was a better place because he was a commissioner,” said Jeff Justesen, a fellow commissioner.

5. Salem elected a new mayor.

Oregon’s second-largest city has a new mayor.

Vanessa Nordyke, a current city councilor and former lawyer at the Oregon Department of Justice, defeated incumbent Julie Hoy, a restaurant owner and former city councilor.

“Democracy and community are not things we inherit passively,” Hoy said. “They are built by people willing to engage, listen, participate, and stay involved, even when it is difficult or disappointing. So while I am certainly saddened by the outcome, I remain hopeful about Salem’s future.”

6. Pendleton City Council got a shakeup.

Several challengers ousted members of the Pendleton City Council in an election heavily focused on homelessness.

The winning candidates were backed by Neighbors for a Better Pendleton, a community group pushing for more aggressive local rules aimed at unhoused people in the Eastern Oregon city.

“They need compassion and they need resources to help them get stable and get on their feet,” said Cody Jones, a winning candidate. “But there’s a difference between that and incentivizing bad behavior.”

7.) Not all taxes failed.

Affordability remains a top political issue, prompting most Oregon voters to reject the proposal to raise taxes and fees to shore up transportation funding.

But when it came to local road funding measures, voters passed every single one. In addition, voters passed or renewed more than 40 taxes for libraries, local schools and in some cases fire and emergency services. There were 66 local tax measures in the election.

More: Oregon primary analysis and results

OPB reporters Holly Bartholomew, Lauren Dake and Elizabeth Miller contributed to this story.