McCullough, Denstedt, Fain, Lopez win seats in Wasco County; 1 in 5 voters turnout

By Tom Peterson

Wasco County saw a 20 percent turnout where just one in five voters cast their ballots on Tuesday in the May 2023 Special election as many seats went uncontested. However, some major shifts were made, according to the final unofficial results. There were 3,767 ballots counted out of 18,365 Active Registered Voters.

Check out the results here:

N. Wasco Parks & Rec.,
Pos. 2
Kasey McCullough

Kasey McCullough ran away with his election to North Wasco County Parks & Rec. Position 2 in a race with Stevie Elledge.

McCullough garnered 1,232 votes to Elledge’s 619, taking the race with 66.34 percent of the vote.

Mid-Columbia Fire & Rescue, Pos. 3
Walter Denstedt

Walter Denstedt found himself in a much tighter race for Mid-Columbia Fire & Rescue Director, Pos. 3 against incumbent David Peters.

Denstedt racked up 1,131 votes to Peter’s 999, according to final unofficial results. That gave Denstedt 52.73 percent of the vote.

Dufur School Dist. Pos. 2
Tim Fane

Just 39 votes separated the candidates for Dufur School District Director, Pos. 2. Tim Fain came out on top with 288 votes and his opponent and incumbent Cynthia Kortge garnered 249. A small voter base, however, gives huge importance to a single vote. Fain took 53.53 percent of the vote.

North Wasco County School Board, Zone 1
Adrian Lopez

Adrian Lopez retained his seat on the North Wasco County School District Board, Zone 1 by capturing 366 votes or 68.41 percent. His opponent Katie Kuehnl received 169 votes.

To see the entire unofficial final results click here.

To see the entire unofficial final results for Sherman County click here.

To see the entire unofficial final results for Gilliam County click here.