Democratic Sen. Jeff Merkley won a fourth term in the U.S. Senate on Tuesday, Nov. 3, defeating Republican state Sen. David Brock Smith, the Associated Press reported.

The AP declared Merkley the winner at 11 p.m. Eastern time.

In Washington County, where Tigard and Tualatin voters cast their ballots, turnout stood at 45.84% as of Nov. 3, according to the county elections office.

That was 188,102 ballots returned out of more than 410,000 registered voters. Statewide, unofficial turnout reached 41.84% as of 9 p.m. on Nov. 3, with 1,300,876 ballots counted out of 3,109,081 active registered voters, according to the Oregon Secretary of State's results page.

Initial results

Statewide totals from all 36 counties showed Merkley at 57.06% with 731,076 votes and Brock Smith at 40.24% with 515,659 votes, according to the Banks Post. Chris Henry, the Progressive and Pacific Green Party nominee, drew 1.76% with 22,494 votes. Libertarian Gary Lyndon Dye received 0.87% with 11,167 votes.

The race carried national weight. Control of the U.S. Senate could hinge on a handful of seats, according to NBC News, and Oregon was one of dozens of states deciding its direction.

The candidates

Merkley was first elected to the Senate in 2008 after serving in the Oregon House of Representatives, including two years as House speaker, the Statesman Journal reported. He said his decision to run again came down to three concerns: economic pressures on families, corruption in the federal government and what he described as the erosion of the Constitution under President Donald Trump.

"The thing that really tipped me over to saying yes, hell yes, I'm going to run again was Trump shredding our Constitution," Merkley said, according to the Statesman Journal.

Brock Smith, a state senator from Port Orford, is a third-generation southwest Oregonian and former restaurant owner. He has served in local government and the Oregon Legislature, first as a state representative and then as a state senator. He said he has disagreements with Trump but argued voters should evaluate his candidacy independently of their feelings about the president.

Oregon has not elected a Republican to the U.S. Senate since 2002. 270toWin had described Merkley as "heavily favored" heading into the election.

Counting continues

Oregon is a vote-by-mail state. Election night tallies are not final. Vote counts will continue to be updated in the following days as more ballots are processed.

Washington County plans to post updated results on Nov. 4, Nov. 6, Nov. 13, Nov. 20 and Nov. 27, with certified final results due Nov. 30 at 4 p.m., according to the county elections office. The secretary of state is scheduled to certify statewide results Dec. 10.