Kipperlyn Sinclair leads Steve Callaway by 377 votes in the race for Washington County Commissioner District 4, according to unofficial results from the Oregon Secretary of State.
Sinclair, a Hillsboro city councilor, had 17,067 votes to Callaway's 16,690 as of 6:45 a.m. Thursday, Nov. 5. Write-in candidates collected 274 votes out of 34,031 total cast in the race.
The race remains too close to call. The Oregonian/OregonLive reported that Callaway would need to capture about 51% of remaining ballots to overtake Sinclair.
The lead has shifted since election night. Callaway held a 38-vote advantage in the initial 8 p.m. results on Tuesday, Nov. 3, according to the Banks Post. By Wednesday afternoon, Sinclair had pulled ahead.
Oregon's vote-by-mail system means ballots postmarked by Election Day can still arrive and be counted. Washington County plans to release updated results at 4 p.m. Friday, Nov. 6, according to the Banks Post. The county will not certify final results until Nov. 30.
Countywide, 177,556 ballots had been counted out of 409,853 active registered voters, a 43.32% turnout, according to the Secretary of State's results page.
The candidates
Callaway, a former Hillsboro mayor, advanced from a six-candidate May 19 primary with 32.85% of the vote, according to the Banks Post. Sinclair finished second with 21.40%. Neither won the majority needed to avoid a runoff.
Sinclair was elected to the Hillsboro City Council in 2022 and chose not to seek reelection, according to the Beaverton Valley Times. Her council term expires in January. She also founded the nonprofit Eat Drink Washington County.
The nonpartisan seat is open because Commissioner Jerry Willey is retiring. District 4 covers western Washington County, including most of Hillsboro, North Plains, Cornelius, Forest Grove, Banks and Gaston. The winner will take office Jan. 4, 2027, and serve a four-year term on the five-member board.
