Incumbent Rep. Walters comfortably defeats primary challenger in HD 37

This story had been updated from its original version.

Incumbent Rep. Jules Walters will go on to face Republican challenger Ben Edtl in November’s general election after defeating Brian Maguire in the Democratic primary for Oregon House District 37, which covers West Linn, Tualatin, Stafford and Durham.

In the latest returns, Walters held 90% of the vote to Maguire's 10%.

“I’m grateful to the voters of House District 37, all of the supporters, volunteers, my amazing campaign team, and my friends and family for helping me get here," Walters said in a statement to the Tidings on election night. "I could not have done this without them. This win is a testament to the spirit of democracy, and I’m glad the voters understood that. I am looking forward to being in the Capitol next week for Legislative Days so I can continue to work hard for this community and all of Oregon.”

Walters was first elected to the seat in 2022 after she served two years as mayor of West Linn and two years as a West Linn city councilor.

Though he was a relative newcomer to the local and state political scene this year, Maguire, a CEO in the tech industry, made headlines earlier this spring for his previous donations to Republican candidates and causes.

This was Oregon’s second election affected by the new postmark rule. Ballots dropped off by 8 p.m. Tuesday or postmarked by then will count. In 2022, county election offices received a large amount of ballots at the last minute, delaying the final results in some races.