Alek Skarlatos conceded his race for Oregon’s 4th Congressional District Thursday evening. The Roseburg Republican made his announcement shortly after the Associated Press called the race in favor of Val Hoyle, a Democrat from Springfield.
Early returns on Election Night showed the two neck-and-neck, but that was in many rural counties, an early sign of trouble for Skarlatos. When Lane and Lincoln counties’ ballots were added, Hoyle’s lead grew by 10 percentage points. The Oregonian shortly called the race for Hoyle, but a Skarlatos campaign coordinator told KLCC that they knew the race would be close, and did not concede, adding there were "a lot of votes to count still."
Hoyle herself declared victory on Election Night. The latest results posted on the Oregon Secretary of State’s website shows Hoyle received 50.91% of the vote, compared to Skarlatos who had 42.90%.
The race was a lively and contentious one, with the candidates seeking to replace long-time Congressman Peter DeFazio, who is retiring after 18 terms. Opensecrets.org showed Skarlatos had nearly twice as much money as Hoyle in his campaign war chest, or $3.9 million contrasted to $2.2 million. But the district leaned Democratic, giving Hoyle an immediate advantage.
Three other candidates were on the ballot for the 4th Congressional District race: Mike Beilstein (Pacific Green/Progressive), Levi Leatherberry (Independent/Libertarian), and Jim Howard (Constitution).
At a recent Springfield event in his honor, DeFazio told KLCC that after he retires from Congress, he’ll teach himself to fly-fish again, then continued advocating for issues he believes in, including labor issues, transit, and working on a new trade policy for the U.S.
“It’s a good combination,” said DeFazio. “With a little beer thrown in.”
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