QuickTake:

Jake Pelroy and Lane County Commissioner Heather Buch appear poised for a runoff election, as Pelroy’s lead stays under 50% in the three-way race. 

Jake Pelroy is still leading in a three-way race for the East Lane county commissioner seat, but not with the majority needed to declare victory.

Instead, it’s more likely that Pelroy will face off with incumbent Commissioner Heather Buch in a two-way runoff election in November, based on the latest preliminary results of the election released Thursday, May 21. Runoff elections are required by state law when the leading candidate in a race does not have more than 50% of all votes cast. 

Pelroy has 48.4% of the overall vote, a nearly 2 percentage point lead over Buch, who has 46.7% of the vote in her bid for a third four-year term, according to preliminary unofficial results. The third candidate in the race, Bob Zybach, garnered 4.7% of the vote. 

As of the Thursday results, released at about 4 p.m., Pelroy is leading by 387 votes: He has 10,896 votes, while Buch has 10,509 votes. Zybach has 1,063 votes.

The final outcome can change and the figures are not yet finalized. 

There are still at least 3,023 ballots to process: The county’s election dashboard shows 28,728 ballots have been returned from that district. That’s 3,023 ballots more than the 25,705 ballots processed and counted so far. 

Further, that figure doesn’t reflect how many ballots could still show up in the mail in the days ahead.

In an interview Thursday, Pelroy said he’s happy with the results. Pelroy said he believes the proposed gas tax increase in the gas tax to pay for transportation infrastructure — which Oregon voters defeated — played a role in driving up overall turnout.

“I think that there’s a lot of people that felt like the cost of living was really high, and they weren’t super-supportive of new tax measures,” Pelroy said.  

Buch hasn’t commented yet on the new Thursday results, but said in a Wednesday statement she is waiting for the results and will accept the will of voters. 

The election was among the most expensive of the three Lane County commissioner races this election cycle. Both candidates have spent more than $200,000 to get elected, each depleting most of their donations.

Pelroy has received $257,515 in campaign contributions so far this year. He carried over $29,504 in contributions he received in 2025, giving him a war chest of $287,109.

Pelroy has spent $251,707 of his donations, and is heading into a potential runoff with a cash balance of $35,402, campaign filings show. 

Pelroy’s overall donations, spending and remaining balance is outpacing Buch, who reported a cash balance of $10,746. 

In 2026, Buch received $142,982 in contributions. Buch carried over a balance of $72,274 in unspent donations from 2025. So she started her campaign with $215,256 and has gone through $204,510, campaign filings show.

If a runoff is necessary, it will be the first one since Ryan Ceniga’s first successful runoff election for county commissioner in 2022 against Dawn Lesley. 

This year, Ceniga won’t need a runoff election after winning a two-way race against Thomas Hiura with 61% of the vote. Hiura garnered nearly 39% of the vote. 

VanGordon keeps lead over Loveall

Springfield Mayor Sean VanGordon kept his lead over Lane County Commissioner David Loveall, who ran for a second term. 

Loveall has 40.5% and VanGordon has nearly 52% – an 11-point lead. 

So far, the county has received 22,541 votes from voters in that district. The results so far reflect 19,629 ballots from the district. That leaves another 2,912 left to count, plus any others that still arrive in the mail. 

VanGordon has 8,895 votes, while Loveall has 6,943 votes. VanGordon leads Loveall by 1,952 votes. 

William Monsoor, a former mental health worker, has 7.3% of the vote.

Ben Botkin covers politics and policy in Lane County. He has worked as a journalist since 2003, most recently at the Oregon Capital Chronicle, where he covered justice, health and human services and documented regional efforts to combat fentanyl addiction. Botkin has worked in statehouses in Idaho, Nevada, Oklahoma and, of course, Oregon. When he's not working, you'll find him road tripping across the West, hiking or surfing along the Oregon Coast.