Javadi, Davis locked in tight contest for state House
State Rep. Cyrus Javadi was on a path to reelection Tuesday night, maintaining a narrow lead over Astoria City Councilor Andy Davis in state House 32.
Javadi, a Republican, held a 52% to 48% advantage in the North Coast district that covers Clatsop and Tillamook counties and Clatskanie in Columbia County.
"I expect that the rest of the votes will come in along the same split, maybe slightly more in my advantage," Javadi said. "So feeling confident and good that we'll win reelection here, but I think it's still just a little too soon to call for sure."
Davis, a Democrat, had the edge at home in Clatsop County.
"I think we're pretty happy as a campaign to be this close, with the kind of disadvantage we entered the race at and the amount of spending and things like that," Davis said. "So I'm grateful for the support that's out there, but we're still waiting to see what the final count will be."
Javadi, a Tillamook dentist, narrowly defeated Logan Laity, a Tillamook small-business owner, in 2022. This year's election was set to be a rematch until Laity withdrew from the race after the May primary for work-related reasons.
Davis, an analyst for the Oregon Health Authority, stepped in to fill the Democratic nomination after Laity's departure. He earned endorsements from several unions and progressive groups such as Planned Parenthood, but raised significantly less money than the incumbent.
Javadi prioritized housing and economic concerns, riding a wave of Republican candidates nationally aiming to capitalize on inflation and the high cost of living to bolster their electoral chances.
"Whether the government does or doesn't have any control over, or how much of it they have control over, what really matters is people feel like the government can do something about it," Javadi told The Astorian in October. "And there are things we can do, and I think we need to be responsive to them — look at ways to eliminate unnecessary fees and taxes that are just adding to the cost of food and clothing."
Davis pointed to housing affordability as a key issue facing the North Coast. He advocated for increasing health care and education opportunities.
The candidates sparred over abortion. Javadi shifted his tone on abortion to be more pro-choice in recent months, but still faced criticism from Davis for voting against legislation that strengthened reproductive rights in Oregon. Davis called for expanding access to reproductive care on the North Coast.
"Clatsop County does not have a clinic for reproductive care," he said at a forum in Astoria in October. "So the state supporting the implementation and founding of a clinic here, so that those services will be available locally, is an important thing for me, to make sure that that option is available for anyone who needs it."
