2020 United States Senate election in Oregon facts for kids
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County results
Merkley: 40-50% 50-60% 60-70% 70-80% Perkins: 40-50% 50-60% 60-70% 70-80% |
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On November 3, 2020, people in Oregon voted for a new Senator to represent their state. A Senator is a person who helps make laws for the whole country. This election was to choose who would be Oregon's Senator.
There were four main candidates running. They were Jeff Merkley from the Democratic Party, Jo Rae Perkins from the Republican Party, Gary Dye from the Libertarian Party, and Ibrahim Taher from the Pacific Green Party of Oregon. Even though the Democrats were expected to win easily, the election got a lot of attention. This was because Jo Rae Perkins shared some views that were part of a group known for unusual ideas. In the end, Jeff Merkley won the election. This was his third time being elected as a Senator.
Contents
Choosing Candidates: Primary Elections
Before the main election, political parties hold "primary elections." These are like tryouts to decide which person from their party will run in the big election.
Democratic Party Primary
The Democratic Party in Oregon had a primary election. Only one person ran for the Democrats: Jeff Merkley. This meant he automatically became the Democratic candidate for the main election. He received over 564,000 votes.
Republican Party Primary
The Republican Party primary election had more candidates. Four people wanted to be the Republican choice for Senator. Jo Rae Perkins won this primary election. She received about 178,000 votes, which was almost half of all the votes in the Republican primary. The other candidates were Paul J. Romero, Jr., Robert Schwartz, and John Verbeek.
Final Election Results
The main election took place on November 3, 2020. People across Oregon voted for their chosen Senator.
Here's how the votes turned out:
- Jeff Merkley (Democratic Party) won with 1,321,047 votes. This was about 56.9% of all the votes.
- Jo Rae Perkins (Republican Party) came in second with 912,814 votes. This was about 39.3% of the votes.
- Gary Dye (Libertarian Party) received 42,747 votes, which was about 1.8% of the votes.
- Ibrahim Taher (Pacific Green Party) received 42,239 votes, also about 1.8% of the votes.
In total, over 2.3 million people voted in this election. Because Jeff Merkley won, the Democratic Party kept the Senate seat for Oregon.
Images for kids
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Jeff Merkley, the winning candidate.
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Jo Rae Perkins, the Republican candidate.
See also
