Callaway leads Washington Co. District 4 race; Sinclair leapfrogs Hofler for November runoff slot

Late Tuesday update: Updated Washington County returns show Kipperlyn Sinclair has overtaken Ayla Hofler for the second November runoff slot. Sinclair now leads with 3,903 votes (19.25%) to Hofler’s 3,747 (18.48%), a 156-vote margin, after Hofler held a 1-vote lead in 10 p.m. results. Callaway holds the top spot at 34.57% (7,010 votes); more ballots remain to be counted.

10 p.m. update: Updated Washington County returns show the Hofler–Sinclair margin for the second November runoff slot had collapsed to a single vote, with Hofler at 3,377 votes (18.58%) and Sinclair at 3,376 (18.57%). Callaway, the top vote-getter, held his lead at 34.94% (6,350 votes).

Six candidates competed for the open Washington County Commission District 4 seat in Tuesday's primary, with Steve Callaway, a former Hillsboro mayor, opening up an early lead in initial results released at 8 p.m.

Initial results showed Callaway at 35.59% (5,247 votes), Ayla Hofler at 18.37% (2,709 votes), Kipperlyn Sinclair at 17.95% (2,646 votes), Anthony Martin at 11.86% (1,748 votes), Paul Schaefer at 9.67% (1,426 votes), and Kimberly Culbertson at 6.08% (896 votes). A total of 71 voters wrote in another name, 0.48% of the vote. The 63-vote margin between Hofler and Sinclair leaves the second runoff slot unsettled with more ballots still to count. Results were released by the Oregon Secretary of State's office at 8 p.m. Tuesday.

The District 4 seat covers western Washington County, including Banks, Forest Grove, Gales Creek, Cornelius, North Plains, and parts of Hillsboro. Commissioners serve four-year terms on the five-member Washington County Board of Commissioners, which sets the county budget and oversees county services including the Sheriff's Office, public health, and land use planning.

Washington County Board of Commissioners races are nonpartisan. A candidate who receives more than 50% of the vote in the May primary is elected to the seat outright. If no candidate clears that threshold, the top two finishers advance to a runoff in the November general election. With six candidates splitting the vote and no one clearing 50%, Callaway and the second-place finisher will advance to the November runoff; based on initial results, that is currently Hofler, but the margin over Sinclair is narrow enough that the order could shift as additional ballots are counted.

The six candidates on the ballot were:

• Steve Callaway , a former Hillsboro mayor who served two terms from 2017 to 2025, with prior stints as Hillsboro City Council president, League of Oregon Cities president, and on the Hillsboro Planning Commission. (interview)
• Kimberly Culbertson , an executive board member at Habitat for Humanity Portland Region and vice chair of the Hillsboro Downtown Partnership, who has lived in downtown Hillsboro for 28 years and ran on housing affordability and economic accountability. (interview)
• Ayla Hofler , a Banks-area resident who runs a 24-acre farm and said she was running not to be a politician but to solve real problems at the county. (interview)
• Anthony Martin , the Public Works Budget and Finance Manager for the city of Hillsboro, a Banks High School graduate, and a former two-term Hillsboro City Councilor and council president who ran on cost of living and housing. (interview)
• Paul Schaefer , a longtime Washington County land use planner who moved from Hillsboro to North Plains in October 2025, citing financial accountability at the county as his reason for running. (interview)
• Kipperlyn Sinclair , a Hillsboro City Councilor and founder of Eat Drink Washington County, a self-described "local food web supporting regenerative agriculture." (interview)

Washington County Elections expects the next batch of results to be released later Tuesday night. Additional ballot drops will follow as mail-in ballots postmarked by 8 p.m. Tuesday continue to arrive.

The latest Washington County results, including the schedule for additional ballot drops, are posted on the Washington County Elections Division current results page.