Republicans Kevin Cameron and Colm Willis retake leads in Marion County commission races (Nov. 5)
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Republican Commissioner Kevin Cameron now leads Democrat Sara Duncan by 422 votes, and Republican Commissioner Colm Willis leads Democrat Maria Hinojos Pressey by 181, in Marion County's unofficial count posted Wednesday evening.
Both Democrats had led early Wednesday, so the latest batch of 9,627 ballots flipped both races back to the incumbents.
The county had counted 84,532 ballots but had accepted 137,690 as of Wednesday afternoon, leaving roughly 53,000 still to be tallied.
Marion County's next scheduled update is by 5 p.m. Thursday, Nov. 5, and results must be certified by Nov. 30.
SALEM, Ore. - The two Republicans on the Marion County Board of Commissioners are back on top in their reelection bids, though by margins thin enough that either race could flip again.
Commissioner Kevin Cameron had 41,428 votes, or 50.22%, to Democrat Sara Duncan's 41,006, or 49.71%, for Position 1, according to Marion County's unofficial cumulative results run at 5:24 p.m. Wednesday. For Position 2, Commissioner Colm Willis had 41,153 votes, or 50.06%, to Democrat Maria Hinojos Pressey's 40,972, or 49.84%.
That reverses the picture from early Wednesday. In the county's 1:16 a.m. count, Duncan led Cameron by 542 votes and Hinojos Pressey led Willis by 765, as Willamette News reported. The 9,627 ballots added to the count since then broke toward the incumbents: Cameron gained 5,159 votes to Duncan's 4,195, and Willis gained 5,120 to Hinojos Pressey's 4,174, based on a comparison of the two county reports.
A Democrat has not won an election for Marion County commissioner since 1976, the Statesman Journal reported. Salem Reporter reported Wednesday that either challenger would be the first Democrat elected to the board since then if she held her lead.
Tens of thousands of ballots still to count
The 5:24 p.m. report counted 84,532 ballots, or 36.6% of the county's 230,941 registered voters. The county's ballot return report, run at 4:48 p.m. Wednesday, showed 144,209 ballots received and 137,690 accepted. That leaves roughly 53,000 accepted ballots that were not yet in the count, more than 100 times the current margin in either commission race.
Under the Marion County Clerk's schedule for posting results, the next update is due by 5 p.m. Thursday, followed by updates by 5 p.m. on Wednesdays Nov. 11, 18 and 25, and final results by 5 p.m. Monday, Nov. 30. The schedule notes that additional updates may be posted when feasible. The Statesman Journal also reported Thursday's scheduled release.
Voters whose ballot signatures are challenged have until Nov. 24 to fix them, and the county must certify the election by Nov. 30, according to the Marion County elections page.
Willamette News found no public statement from Cameron, Duncan, Willis or Hinojos Pressey about the updated results as of Thursday morning.
Keizer council race flips too
In Keizer, the City Council Position 4 race also changed hands. Maralee Fletchall now leads Chelsea Alionar 2,971 to 2,908, a 63-vote margin, with Tammy Kunz at 2,219, according to the county's 5:24 p.m. report. Alionar had led by 11 votes in the 1:16 a.m. count.
For Keizer Position 6, Colleen Busch leads Daniel Kohler 4,046 to 3,997, a 49-vote margin. Keizer Mayor Cathy Clark has 6,072 votes, or 67.51%, to Amy Ryan Courser's 2,861, or 31.81%.
Other Salem-area races
Democrats kept their leads in the closest local legislative races in the latest Marion County count:
House District 21 (north Salem, Keizer): Democrat Michael Welsh 8,203 (53.83%), Republican Rep. Kevin Mannix 7,015 (46.04%).
Senate District 11 (north Salem, Keizer, Woodburn): Democrat Virginia Stapleton 14,474 (54.70%), Republican Tracy Cramer 11,931 (45.09%).
House District 20 (West Salem, Monmouth, Independence): Democratic Rep. Paul Evans leads Republican Andrew Fudge 3,801 to 2,361 in Marion County and 10,552 to 8,678 in Polk County's Wednesday update.
In West Salem's Ward 8, Salem City Councilor Micki Varney leads Chris Cummings 4,586 to 4,188, a 398-vote margin, according to Polk County's Nov. 4 update, which the county marks as not final. Polk County's fairgrounds and event center tax, Measure 27-149, is passing 18,944 to 16,605.
Republican Christine Drazan widened her edge in Marion County in the governor's race, with 50.21% to Gov. Tina Kotek's 47.23% in the 5:24 p.m. count, up from 49.55% to 47.89% early Wednesday. Kotek won a second term statewide. Statewide results are at results.oregonvotes.gov.
Sources
Marion County Clerk: Cumulative Results Report, Gubernatorial General Election, unofficial (run 5:24 p.m. Nov. 4, 2026)
Marion County Clerk: Cumulative Results Report, unofficial (run 1:16 a.m. Nov. 4, 2026)
Marion County Clerk: Real Time Ballot Return Report BP-015 (4:48 p.m. Nov. 4, 2026)
Marion County Clerk: Schedule for Posting Election Results
Marion County Clerk: November 3, 2026 Gubernatorial General Election (dates and results)
Polk County: Election Results Summary Report, 11/4/2026 Update (not final)
Polk County: November 3, 2026 General Election
Salem Reporter: Democrats lead in both Marion County Commissioner races, margins remain narrow (Nov. 4, 2026)
Statesman Journal: When you can expect to see more Marion, Polk County election results (Nov. 4, 2026)
Statesman Journal: Kevin Cameron, Sara Duncan vie for Marion County Commissioner (Nov. 3, 2026)
Cover photo: Marion County Courthouse, Salem, by Gary Halvorson, Oregon State Archives, via Wikimedia Commons, CC BY 4.0 (creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0)
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