PORTLAND, Ore. (KOIN) — Although votes still need to be counted, Tina Kotek on Thursday declared herself Oregon’s governor elect following projections showing her victory.
Just before 6:30 p.m. Thursday, the Associated Press projected Kotek as the winner of the race with 47% of the vote while Drazan, who has not yet conceded, had 43% with 85% of votes counted.
During Thursday morning’s press conference, when asked why she’s declared a win before the Associated Press projected final results, Kotek pointed to projections made by The Oregonian/OregonLive and Oregon Public Broadcasting.
Kotek noted that Oregon is facing major challenges and said she will be focused on issues that Oregonians, no matter what their party affiliation, appear to be concerned with.
“I will start by focusing on issues of shared concern,” said Kotek. “If people can see that we’re working on the things we care about together — housing and homelessness, mental health and addiction treatment, good schools — and engaging in authentic dialogue we’re gonna all figure out how to work together to solve problems. And my goal will be to set up a framework where we can make that happen to make sure all perspectives are at the table.”
Kotek said upon taking office she would immediately declare a homeless emergency, expand mental health and addiction services, along with bridging differences between Oregonians.
When asked about crime by KOIN 6 News’ Lisa Balick, Kotek said she believes ensuring people have access to housing, along with mental health and addiction treatment will help alleviate some of the problems. She added that she plans to uphold laws currently in place to battle the ongoing crime that is largely concentrated in and around Portland.
In a statement on Wednesday, Kotek said “Oregon faces major challenges, and I look forward to getting to work to solve them. I promise to be a Governor for all of Oregon. I will start by working tirelessly to deliver results on issues of shared concern across our state: housing and homelessness, access to mental health and addiction treatment, helping our students succeed, and supporting small businesses.”
“I ask Oregonians – no matter who you voted for in this election – to believe in our state, to stay engaged, and to help figure out solutions together,” Kotek added. “I am honored and humbled by this opportunity to serve Oregon, and I will strive every day to be a force for positive change in our state.”
As the Associated Press project’s Kotek’s win, she now joins Massachusetts’ Maura Healy as the first openly gay women elected for governor.
Drazan has not yet made a public comment on her opponent’s apparent win, however, Kotek claims she spoke with Drazan and Betsy Johnson on Thursday prior to the press conference. KOIN 6 News reached out to Drazan for a statement on Wednesday but has not received a response.
Prior to Kotek’s campaign’s projections, Drazan’s office released the following statement: “We are grateful to the many thousands of Oregonians who made their voices heard in this historic election. We continue to monitor returns with the expectation that this race will tighten. We hope to release an additional statement later today.”
Watch Kotek’s full speech below: