Republican Jack Tibbetts was ahead in the race for Oregon’s Senate District 6 as initial returns came in Tuesday.
He had received 60.6% of the vote as of 9:45 p.m. on election night. That outpaced Democrat Sierrah Williams, who had 37.64%, and libertarian Caleb Ticer, who had 1.77%.
Tibbetts is a farmer and rancher from Cottage Grove who owns Saginaw Vineyard and serves on the Lane County Planning Commission.
Before that, he was a city councilor in Santa Rosa, California, and the director of that county’s St. Vincent de Paul.
He won the Republican primary for this seat over current state House Rep. Jami Cate. Tibbetts told KLCC if he’s elected, he would advocate for more timber harvesting and reforms to Oregon’s homeless laws.
SD 6 includes east Lane County, most of Linn County and a small piece of Marion County.
A Tibbetts victory would let Republicans hold onto a seat after the current senator, Cedric Hayden, leaves office. Hayden was barred from running for reelection after participating in a lengthy legislative walkout three years ago.
