Bylenga

UMATILLA COUNTY — Oregon House District 58 voters chose Republican Bobby Levy to replace outgoing state Rep. Greg Barreto, fulfilling the strong conservative lean of the district.

Bobby Levy, a farmer from Echo and the president of the Eastern Oregon Women’s Coalition, led Democratic candidate Nolan Bylenga of Pendleton 73%-27% with more than 33,000 votes counted Wednesday, Nov. 4.

Levy said she was humbled by the experience of running for office and was looking forward to getting to work for District 58 constituents.

While the state’s Republican minority in the Legislature could grow or shrink depending on the final results of a few close races, it looks unlikely that either house will flip.

Set to work as a freshman representative within the minority party, Levy said she would use the skills she honed with the women’s coalition to try to find common ground with Democrats to deliver for her district.

“The best thing I can do is start a conversation,” she said.

Bylenga admitted that the nature of the district was always going to make it difficult for him to win, while adding that his campaign helped energize local Democrats, who hadn’t fielded a candidate in the district since 2014.

“All you can do is shift the needle as much as you can,” he said.

Bylenga was indeed fighting strong headwinds to win the seat in 2020. There are twice as many registered Republicans as there are Democrats in District 58, which covers part of Umatilla County in addition to encompassing the entirety of Union and Wallowa counties.

Despite running for a safe Republican seat, Levy also ended up being a strong fundraiser, raising more than $122,000 over the course of her campaign. According to the Oregon Secretary of State’s Office, Bylenga only ended up raising $1,745.

Bylenga, 23, was finishing up classes at Portland State University when he entered the Democratic primary and ended up getting involved with the local Black Lives Matter movement throughout the spring and summer.

Bylenga said he didn’t know how the movement affected his race, but he said he would continue to stay involved in the community.