Read will become the head of a statewide office that has faced high turnover and increased scrutiny in recent years.

In the race for Oregon’s top election official, voters appear to have overwhelmingly favored a longtime public servant over a Republican state senator who trumpeted false claims about stolen elections.

Tobias Read had a sizable lead in early election returns Tuesday night against Dennis Linthicum and Nathalie Paravicini for Oregon secretary of state.

In the race for Oregon's Secretary of State, Democrat Tobias Read is currently leading against Republican Dennis Linthicum as of Wednesday afternoon.

Tobias Read and Dennis Linthicum are running for Oregon's next Secretary of State after former Secretary Shemia Fagan was ousted from office in 2023 due to a scandal.

Tobias Read appears poised to become Oregon’s next secretary of state, according to partial returns. Democratic candidate Read had an overwhelming lead over Republican Dennis Linthicum with 73% of the vote counted as of 7:20 a.m. Wednesday.

Unlike some states, Oregon doesn’t have a lieutenant governor. 2nd in line to the governor is Oregon’s secretary of state who also oversees the state’s elections and audits of state agencies, among other responsibilities.