It's official: King, Berschauer headed to runoff

Rachel Thompson/News-Register##Yamhill County Commissioner Lindsay Berschauer (above) and challenger David “Bubba” King (below) were both part of the Carlton Fun Days parade on Saturday as their respective campaigns have been extended to the general election.

The race for Yamhill County commissioner is headed to a November runoff between incumbent Lindsay Berschauer and challenger David “Bubba” King.

Yamhill County Clerk Keri Hinton certified the May 21 primary results on June 17 and said state law mandates a runoff between the two candidates.

“If no candidates for commissioner or assessor receive a majority of the votes (50% plus one vote), the two candidates who receive the highest number of votes in the primary are nominated and moved to the general election,” Hinton said quoting state law. “King and Berschauer have both been nominated to the general election in November.”

King — a Newberg dairy farmer — had a strong lead in early returns, but the race narrowed as more ballots came in. The race currently stands at 14,433 votes for King (49.6%), 13,154 for Berschauer (45.2%) and 1,423 for David Wall (4.9%).

The runoff will be a head-to-head contest between Berschauer and King; whoever garners more votes in November is determined the winner, according to Oregon statute.

The runoff will be part of the Nov. 5 ballot.