Gambee, Grant advance to runoff in November; State Gas tax crushed

The Dalles, Ore., May 20, 2026 — Wasco County voters delivered decisive results Tuesday night in two closely watched county commissioner races while also mirroring statewide trends in rejecting Oregon’s controversial transportation funding measure.

With 7,717 ballots cast and turnout reaching 40.6%, Lisa Gambee led the four-person race for Wasco County Commissioner Position 1, while the late Phil Brady narrowly led the Position 3 contest on the same day county leaders publicly announced his death.

Under Oregon’s nonpartisan county commissioner system, candidates must receive more than 50% of the vote in the May primary to win outright. If no candidate reaches a majority, the top two finishers advance to the November general election runoff.

John Grant pulled in 2,331 votes for 33.41 percent in his bid for Wasco County Commissioner. He faces Lisa Gambee in a runoff in the November general elecion.

Gambee received 2,883 votes, or 41.33%, followed by John Grant with 2,331 votes, or 33.41%. Robb E. Van Cleave received 873 votes, or 12.51%, while Nichole Biechler finished with 858 votes, or 12.3%. Because no candidate crossed the 50% threshold, Gambee and Grant advanced to the November election.

In the Position 3 race, Brady received 2,571 votes, or 35.84%, narrowly ahead of Mike Urness with 2,474 votes, or 34.49%. Dick Schaffeld received 2,111 votes, or 29.43%. Because no candidate received more than 50% of the vote, Brady and Urness would normally advance to a November runoff. However, Brady’s death creates a unique situation that county and state election officials will likely need to address under Oregon election law governing candidate vacancies. Wasco County Clerk Chrissy Zaugg said she is “waiting for official guidance from the Oregon Secretary of State’s Office” on how that election process will move forward.

Wasco County Commissioner Phil Brady

Brady’s advancement came  on the day he passed. Wasco County commissioners Scott Hege and Jeff Justesen emotionally announced during a regular board meeting that Brady had died Tuesday, May 19. Brady had served on numerous regional nonprofit and public service boards and was seeking reelection at the time of his death.

State Measure 120, which would have increased Oregon fuel taxes and vehicle registration and title fees for roads, was overwhelmingly rejected by Wasco County voters. Local voters opposed the measure 6,648 to 885, with nearly 88.3% voting “no.”

Statewide, voters also rejected Measure 120, with 780,591 voting no and 155,927 voting yes, according to results posted by the Oregon Secretary of State’s Office Wednesday afternoon.

Wasco County Republicans overwhelmingly supported Scott Hege in House District 52 with 1,521 votes.

In legislative races affecting Wasco County, Republicans overwhelmingly supported Scott Hege in House District 52 with 1,521 votes, or 79.34% of the vote, while Democratic voters in the district favored Hank Sanders with 826 votes, or 42.47%.

In House District 57, Republican voters in Wasco County narrowly favored Jim Doherty over longtime incumbent Greg Smith, 509 votes to 468 votes, or 51.89% to 47.71%.

Governor Primary

In statewide races, Wasco County Republicans favored Christine Drazan for governor with 1,293 votes, or 41.84% support, followed by Ed Diehl with 937 votes, or 30.32%, and former Trail Blazers Center Chris Dudley with 593 votes, or 19.19%.

Statewide, Drazan led the Republican field with 142,769 votes, followed by Diehl with 111,641 and Dudley with 55,355.

Among Democrats in Wasco County, Gov. Tina Kotek dominated the governor’s primary with 1,798 votes, or 78.11% of the vote.

Statewide, Kotek led the Democratic field with 293,863 votes out of 349,293 total votes in the race.

Cliff Bentz

2nd Congressional District

In Oregon’s 2nd Congressional District races, Wasco County Republicans heavily backed incumbent Cliff Bentz with 2,207 votes, or 77.28% support, while Democrats favored Dawn Rasmussen with 878 votes, or 38.24%.

Districtwide, Bentz led the Republican field with 75,726 votes, followed by Peter J. Larson with 13,742 and Andrea Carr with 5,007. On the Democratic side, Chris Beck led districtwide with 15,269 votes, followed by Mary Doyle with 8,607, Rebecca Mueller with 7,994 and Rasmussen with 6,597.

For Oregon labor commissioner, Wasco County voters favored incumbent Christina Stephenson with 3,250 votes, or 55.32% support over challenger Chris Lynch.

Statewide, Stephenson led Lynch 452,847 votes to 270,606.

Unofficial election results were released by the Wasco County Clerk’s Office shortly after 1 a.m. Wednesday morning.