There are often two perspectives on election results outside of winning or losing. Data-driven analytics and subjective interpretations… also called opinions. Neither matters as much as your right to vote. Even the outcome of an election is secondary to that fundamental right.
There is a lot of noise leading up to election day. We contribute to that noise, both as a publication and as individuals. You might as well.
Hopefully, your vote cut through that noise and reflected your personal convictions, opinions, and rights.
Here are some post-election data-driven analytics tied to the City Council election and Benton County… along with a few kinda interesting election observations, some correlate, some don’t, but they all add to the noise.
Skip to “City of Corvallis Planning Commission Members” if you don’t like numbers.
Note: Some of the data will vary slightly, as a number of votes are yet to be counted.
(Photo illustration by The Corvallis Inquirer; source images: League of Women Voters of Corvallis)
Voter Turnout - City Council Wards
To compare votes cast in City Council races this year with the previous election cycle, Wards 1, 2, 6, and 7 offer the fairest comparison because they were contested in both elections. Uncontested races historically attract fewer votes, as voters may leave those contests blank or choose not to vote at all.
Ward 1 has currently recorded 3,417 votes, an increase of 0.41% when compared to 2024. That’s the only contested ward increase. Now they go down.
Ward 2 has recorded 955 votes, a decrease of 24.74%. Ward 6 recorded 2,309 votes, a decrease of 3.02%. Ward 7 recorded 2,610 votes, a decrease of 11.35%.
Combine them up, and all four of those contested wards recorded 9,291 votes, an overall decrease of 7.06%.
Not a fair comparison, but across all nine wards, the current total is 18,194 votes, compared with 20,065 in 2024, a 9.33% decrease.
Voter Turnout - Mayoral Race
Also in line with that decrease, the mayoral race has recorded 18,046 first-choice votes in the current count, compared with 20,670 in 2022, a decrease of 12.69%.
Charles Maughan so far has received 8,097 votes, an increase of 2.73%. Andrew Struthers has received 6,833 votes, a decrease of 3.95%.
Voter Turnout - Benton County
For Benton County, the 2022 general election offers a fair and comparable measure of voter turnout. Like 2026, it was an election with a race for Oregon governor. The 2024 presidential election drew broader campaign attention and higher participation.
Benton County’s preliminary ballot-return rate reached 73.84% as of November 4th. Compared to the rest of the Oregon Counties? Benton County did extremely well and came in second place among Oregon’s 36 counties, behind Wheeler County at 75.55% and ahead of Wallowa County at 73.02%.
Compared with the final voter turnout of 75.20% in the 2022 midterm election, so far, the county is a mere 1.36% lower.
Not bored yet? Let’s get into some subjective interpretations. There is some data behind them, but in no way, shape, or form should they be considered concrete. Mere observations at best. False conclusions, maybe? A blend of both, probably.
City of Corvallis Planning Commission Members
Three Corvallis Planning Commission members ran for City Council this year. This should be applauded. Win or lose. These are people putting in the work, committing to a civic duty, and learning a complicated system. The last planning commission packet was more than 1,000 pages.
Tarsa Weikert, a planning commission member, lost to incumbent Briae Lewis in Ward 2. Briae was also putting in work on the current City Council.
Brennan Colberg, a planning commission member, lost to Greg Shiffer in Ward 6.
Greg Shiffer, who ran against Brennan… won. He was also a planning commission member.
Greg wrecked that correlation of planning commission members losing, but he was also running against another planning commission member.
Corvallis Chamber of Commerce Candidates Forum
Three candidates, who ran in contested races, did not appear at the Corvallis Chamber of Commerce candidates forum.
Asa Jorg, bad attendance award, ended up receiving a paltry 4.10% of the first-choice votes in ward 7. Just 107 votes cast for Asa. It makes you want to say lesson learned, but Asa’s intimidating resume illustrates a very intelligent person. Which makes you question a desire to run? Or a desire to be elected? Both desires can be very different things. In Asa’s defense, we did see him at the AFSCME labor strike.
Kimi Gatherum, really bad attendance award, did not attend either of the two candidate forums. She received a mere 4.57% of the votes in the mayoral race.
Punching holes in this mostly poor comparison, again, Greg Shiffer. He did not attend the Chamber of Commerce candidate forum. Shiffer received 69.86% of the reported vote. His opponent, Brennan Colberg, attended both candidate forums, and served on the planning commission.
Negative Campaigning, Mudslinging, Smear Tactics
Only two candidates, that we know of, publicly took part in these titled tactics.
Kasey Haxton, who ran for mayor, consistently bashed the current mayor, his opponent, on social media, and some slights at the forums. He has since deleted all of his posts. Take what you want from that. You can still find them. Once it’s on the internet, it’s always on the internet. Voters decided. Kasey did not win.
Then there was Bre Irish and her infamous campaign mailer, which took direct shots at her opponent’s sources of donations. Partisan shots in a nonpartisan election, as specified by the city charter. Career-style politicking. Voters decided. Bre did not win.
At least Greg Shiffer didn’t wreck that correlation. He bashed no one.
Love wins? Corvallis spoke? Lessons learned? Either way, if it doesn’t have a percentage symbol next to it… it’s probably just more noise.
Data sources: Current Benton County certified election results and Oregon Secretary of State election results. Social media. Gasp. The Corvallis Advocate. Gasp. The candidates. Gasp.
Published by Jesse Grant, a contributor at The Corvallis Inquirer. Feel free to send us your stories or articles to publish at: editor@corvallisnow.com
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