Oregon: Matt Wingard

Republicans staved off an even bigger Democratic majority in the Oregon State House by pulling out three of the closest victories in the state, according to official election results released by the Secretary of State’s office.

However, Democrats pulled out two close wins in House Districts 51 and 52, which had been Republican seats during the last cycle.

The following are the five closest State House Races in campaigns containing two major-party candidates:

Jessica Adamson (D-Sherwood) just might be a microcosm of the party identity crisis many HD-26 voters are dealing with.

“I joined the party of Tom McCall; people willing to think big,” Adamson said of being a former member of the Republican Party. “That party left me, and eventually I had to leave it. I became frustrated with an increasingly divided party that became a narrow tent. There was no final straw for me in leaving the party, but I found I was able to me more myself as a Democrat than as a Republican.”

The Oregonian endorsed U.S. Rep. David Wu (D-Portland), state Rep. Larry Galizio (D-Tigard), and state House candidate Jessica Adamson (D-Sherwood) Wednesday.

A spokesman for House Republican leader Bruce Hanna is accusing House District 26 candidate Jessica Adamson (D-Sherwood) of trying to distract voters from important issues by calling attention to Rep. Matt Wingard’s (D-Wilsonville) 2002 misdemeanor assault conviction for hitting his son over the head with a screwdriver.

The misdemeanor was brought to light in a mailing that was sent out to HD-26 voters on Monday.