Former Ashland mayor Alan DeBoer has won a slim victory over Rogue Valley Transit District chair Tonia Moro. Republican Deboer held on to a 50-49 percent lead -- just over 500 votes -- over his Democratic rival in the race for Oregon's 3rd Senate seat.
In a statement released late Wednesday morning, Moro conceded the race.
"I called Alan this morning to congratulate him on his victory in this race for Senate District 3. We both have a desire to find ways to do great things together for our community. There are still some ballots being counted that were not signed or had other problems but it is unclear as to how many of those will affect this race."
This seat has been pivotal in the Democrats' control of the Oregon legislature. Dr. Alan Bates held the seat from 2005 till his unexpected death from a heart attack in August. Bates' hold on the seat when he was re-elected in 2014 gave Senate Democrats an 18-to-12 super majority. That's allowed the Dems to move revenue-related bills without having to get any Republican support. A Deboer win gives beleaguered Republicans more leverage in pushing back against the Democrats' legislative agenda.
