Incumbent Jefferson County Commissioners Mark Wunsch and Kelly Simmelink each held strong leads in their respective primary races Tuesday night, according to initial results released shortly after 8 p.m.
In Position 1, Wunsch led challenger George Curtiss by a wide margin — 59.43% to 39.64% — in results reflecting ballots counted as of Tuesday evening. Curtiss, who grew up on Crooked River Ranch, had sought to unseat the commission chair on a platform focused on bringing fresh voices to county government.
Wunsch, who has chaired the Jefferson County Board of Commissioners, emphasized public safety and transportation as his top priorities throughout the campaign.
"We've been able to add five officers to his team in the last 3½ years and I want that to improve," Wunsch said at a candidate forum earlier this spring. "We have a lot of nasty crime going on across the county — domestic violence, child sex crimes, some of the most horrific crimes. We need to be able to be proactive and have a team that can address those in a timely manner regardless of where they're at."
Position 2: Simmelink Leads Four-Way Field
The Position 2 race was more crowded, with four candidates vying for the seat held by Simmelink since 2017. Early returns showed Simmelink with 54.92% of the vote — a majority that, if it holds, would secure her another term outright without advancing to a runoff.
Challenger Ara Erdekian was running second at 23.65%, followed by Greg Mead at 13.85% and Bill Atherton at 7.06%.
Simmelink focused her campaign on public safety and economic development, pointing to momentum she said has been building in Jefferson County.
"Things are really steaming along on the economic side of things and I want to continue that momentum," Simmelink said at one of the candidate forums held this spring.
What Comes Next
Oregon uses a mail-in ballot system, and additional ballots postmarked by Election Day will continue to be counted in the coming days. Results are considered unofficial until certified by the Jefferson County Clerk's Office.
If no candidate in a multi-person nonpartisan race receives a majority, the top two vote-getters advance to the November 3 general election. Based on early returns, Simmelink appears on track to avoid a runoff entirely.
The County Sheriff, County Treasurer, and County Clerk races did not appear on the May primary ballot — each had two or fewer candidates and will appear on the November ballot automatically. Updated results are posted at jeffco.net.