Oregon and Kentucky voters picked their presidential nominees and more Tuesday. This post was updated throughout the day with news, analysis, exit polls and results. You can find all of The Oregonian/OregonLive's election results here.



Update (May 18, 7 a.m. PT): (Almost) final presidential results

The Associated Press still hasn't called the Kentucky Democratic presidential primary race, even though Kentucky's secretary of state says (unofficially) that Hillary Clinton won. Here are the results with more than 99 percent of precincts reporting:

Hillary Clinton: 212,549 votes, 46.8%, 27 delegates

Bernie Sanders: 210,626 votes, 46.3%, 27 delegates

In Oregon, on the other hand, there was no doubt: Sanders won relatively easily. Here are the results, with 75 percent of the vote reported:

Bernie Sanders: 264,151 votes, 54.5%, 28 delegates

Hillary Clinton: 220,943 votes, 45.5%, 24 delegates

Donald Trump, the lone remaining active Republican candidate, won the Oregon GOP presidential primary with 66.9 percent of the vote.

Update (May 18, 12:50 a.m. PT): Portland's gas tax



Portland voters have approved a 10-cent-a-gallon gas tax, The Oregonian/ OregonLive says. The measure, which sunsets after four years, passed 51.6 percent to 48.4 percent, according to partial returns Tuesday. Proponents, who built a broad coalition of supporters and endorsements, maintained a lead seen in polling early in the campaign.

Update (May 17, 9:25 p.m. PT): Oregon results continue to roll in

Out in Washington County, voters overwhelmingly favored incumbent county commissioner Roy Rogers, returning the one-time Tualatin mayor for another four years in his seat in District 3, according to early returns.





Decorated cakes greet Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump supporters at the Lane County for Trump headquarters in Eugene, Ore., Tuesday, May 17, 2016.

In Clackamas County, Jim Bernard and John Ludlow are headed for a runoff for Clackamas County chairman, partial returns from Tuesday's vote show. Tootie Smith, his 2012 running mate, appears to be fending off challenger Ken Humberston, a relative newcomer to Clackamas County politics. And Martha Schrader is leading her race with Steve Bates by nearly 20 percentage points. Smith now appears to be headed for a runoff. Schrader has won.

In Multnomah County, voters picked a new commissioner, with two more to be chosen in an expected runoff election this fall. Rep. Jessica Vega Pederson, D-Portland, who ran unopposed, will take Judy Shiprack's District 3 seat. Gresham city councilor Lori Stegmann and Veterans Administration union leader Amanda Schroeder are headed to a November runoff for outgoing Diane McKeel's District 4 seat, according to partial returns Tuesday. And in the contested race for Jules Bailey's District 1 seat, Sharon Meieran, an emergency room doctor, and Eric Zimmerman, chief of staff for McKeel, are also in a runoff.

For Metro Council, voters re-elected two incumbents, and a third held a comfortable margin over his opponent, according to partial returns Tuesday. Incumbent Craig Dirksen was defeating Gerritt Rosenthal. Incumbent Sam Chase has won with 62 percent of the vote against Colby Clipston. And Bob Stacey was unopposed in his race for another term



Update (May 17, 8 p.m. PT): First Oregon vote totals

Supporters celebrate as Bernie Sanders cruises past Hillary Clinton in the Oregon primary on May 17, 2016.

Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders won Oregon's primary Tuesday night after fending off a late charge by Democratic rival Hillary Clinton.

Sanders locked up the win by establishing insurmountable leads in Democratic strongholds, including Multnomah and Lane counties. The win continued the Sanders campaign's momentum, offsetting an apparent Clinton win earlier in the night in Kentucky's Democratic primary.

As 8 p.m. neared at the Bernie Sanders campaign headquarters in Northeast Portland, David Bowie and Freddy Mercury crooned "Under Pressure" from a pair of speakers as supporters jostled to find a place in a background shot of the KPTV broadcast.



Sanders supporter Nate Kaleel dressed his black lab, Gordon, in a pair of glasses and a white wig for the occasion. Kaleel says that Sanders "embodies what we believe," lamenting his pup's inability to cast a ballot.

One last shot from #HillaryClinton's campaign headquarters in Portland, after all the supporters have gone. pic.twitter.com/ZocrELaD0a — Anna Marum (@annamarum) May 18, 2016

Ted Wheeler and supporters celebrate at his campaign party in Southeast Portland as he was elected mayor of Portland.

Ted Wheeler has been elected mayor of Portland. Earlier in the evening at his election watch party, Wheeler was the most nervous guy in the room. He retreated to a back room at Blitz Ladd just before 8 p.m. but didn't have to wait long to breathe a sigh of relief. Cheers erupted at his campaign party as results came back in his favor.

At the Falcon Building, where Jules Bailey was having his watch party, Bailey brought his wife, Jessica, and 8-month-old son to the makeshift stage for his closing remarks. He'd just gotten off the phone with Wheeler, who was incredibly "gracious."



"I love this city," he said. "I'm here to stay, and I'm here to give back."

The Oregonian/Oregonlive has called its first race: Amanda Fritz has won re-election to the Portland City Commission.

Fritz's colleague, Steve Novick appears to be headed to a runoff this fall. Novick held a significant lead over architect Stuart Emmons, with 43 percent to 15 percent in partial returns, but he fell short of securing the majority needed to avoid a runoff this fall. Chloe Eudaly, a Portland bookstore owner, drew 12.6 percent of the vote in partial returns.

As of 10:20 p.m., Emmons said he was cautiously optimistic he would be the candidate to face Novick in November, but he was still watching election results come in.

He noted voters seemed to respond to he and Eudaly. "People are just very disappointed in him," Emmons said of Novick. "People had high hopes for Steve Novick and that's just what I'm hearing form the community. There's a level of disappointment."

Allen Alley receives condolences from supporters. And with that, the election watch party ends.

Rod Underhill, who ran unopposed, has won his second four-year term as Multnomah County district attorney.

The Oregonian/ OregonLive has called the Republican race for governor. Salem oncologist Bud Pierce defeated Allen Alley and will face Democratic Gov. Kate Brown in November.

At his watch party, Alley told his supporters he wants to give his help to Pierce and help move Oregon toward the vision he thinks everyone holds, regardless of party affiliation.

"We're going to be able to change the course of this state," he said.

Democrat Ellen Rosenblum and Republican Daniel Zene Crowe will vie for Oregon attorney general in November.

Oregon Republican Secretary of State candidate Dennis Richardson, left, and his wife Cathy Richardson, right, smile during an election night gathering for supporters in Portland, Ore., Tuesday, May 17, 2015.

For Oregon secretary of state, Dennis Richardson, a Republican, will face the winner of the Democrats. In early results, Brad Avakian is leading state Rep. Val Hoyle and state Sen. Richard Devlin. Later results show Avakian winning.

In the state treasurer's race, three candidates will compete in the fall:

Rep. Tobias Read, D-Beaverton, who's raised the most money of any candidate for the job, declared soon after the 2015 legislative session wrapped last summer. Read will face Lake Oswego City Councilor Jeff Gudman, a Republican, and Chris Telfer, a Bend accountant and former Republican state senator who filed with the Independent Party of Oregon.

Rep. Suzanne Bonamici will continue her bid for another term in Congress. She will now take on the candidates who win the Republican and Independent party primaries for the 1st District Congressional seat. Dundee sales representative Brian Heinrich is leading the Republican race to take on Bonamici in partial returns. Bonamici will indeed face Heinrich.

In the 2nd Congressional District race, Greg Walden won his party's nomination and will face Democrat Jim Crary for the congressional seat in November. Walden has held that seat since 1998.

Democratic candidate for Oregon's Secretary of State Brad Avakian poses with supporter Linda Campbell at a gathering at the Waypost on Tuesday, May 17, 2016, in Portland, Ore.

In the race for the 3rd Congressional District, Earl Blumenauer and David Walker advance to the general election in November.

Rep. Peter DeFazio, the longest-serving member of the Oregon House delegation, is on course for November's general election. DeFazio will face the Republican Party's pick. The first wave of results Tuesday showed Cave Junction chemist Art Robinson leading former Linn County Republican party chairwoman Jo Rae Perkins 67 percent to 33 percent.

Four-term incumbent Rep. Kurt Schrader is winning the Democratic primary to retain his seat in Oregon's 5th Congressional District. Four Republicans are vying to challenge him in November's general election. Initial returns show Colm Willis, a Stayton attorney, in first place with 57 percent of the votes.

Incumbent Sen. Ron Wyden has won the Democrat nomination for U.S. Senate and will seek his fifth consecutive term in November. Wyden appears set to face Salem information technology consultant Mark Callahan, the winner of a four-way race for the Republican nomination. Wyden will indeed face Callahan.

In ballot measures:

In Washington County,

In Clackamas County

Mount Hood Community College's $125 million bond

Corbett, Centennial, Molalla River school bonds

Multnomah County voters have agreed to

In Portland,

In Kentucky, Clinton declared victory:

We just won Kentucky! Thanks to everyone who turned out. We’re always stronger united. https://t.co/8qYPHIje8I pic.twitter.com/elNUP4nFoO — Hillary Clinton (@HillaryClinton) May 18, 2016

Update (May 17, 7:20 p.m. PT): More from Kentucky

CNN is reporting that with 99 percent of the votes counted, former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton is ahead of Sen. Bernie Sanders with 46.7 percent of the vote to 46.3 percent.

Entering Tuesday's contests, Clinton needed to win the support of 140 delegates to reach the number needed to clinch the nomination. That number is 2,383. Alison Lundergan, Kentucky's secretary of state, told CNN that "I do believe ... that based on what we are seeing coming in, that Kentucky will remain in a win column for the Clintons."

According to NBC, Clinton didn't plan to make a speech. Her campaign manager tweeted this message:

Bourbon. Neat. — Brian Fallon (@brianefallon) May 18, 2016

At Clinton's Oregon campaign headquarters, the general sentiment seems to be that Sanders will win the Oregon primary, Anna Marum of The Oregonian/OregonLive reports.

Update (May 17, 6:54 p.m. PT): Oregon ballot deadline is in one hour, 8 p.m.

We are experimenting with Facebook Live throughout the evening both in the office and at the candidate watch parties. Follow us here.

The Oregonian/OregonLive has reporters at the locations of some of the candidate election watch parties.

It's early, but the TV crews have arrived at Blitz Ladd in Southeast Portland for the Ted Wheeler election watch party.

At the watch party for Ted Wheeler, who is running for Portland mayor, the TV crews have arrived. Ted Wheeler has arrived in Southeast Portland for his watch party. He says, "Let's head in and have a party."

Update (May 17, 6:25 p.m. PT): Clinton 'apparent winner' in Kentucky

Former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton leads Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders by just over 1,000 votes in the Kentucky Democratic primary, with 99 percent of the vote counted. NBC News labels her the "apparent winner." The Associated Press is sticking with too close to call, with nearly all of the votes counted. NPR is reporting Clinton with a slim lead of about 1,800 votes.

If Clinton has indeed eked out the win, it will be an important, if symbolic, victory for her. The delegate allocation in the state will be a wash, but she needed to arrest Sanders' momentum after his victories in Indiana and West Virginia the past two weeks. And she will have done it in a state -- white, working-class, rural -- that has good demographics for Sanders.

Sanders is expected to win in Oregon, where results are expected sometime after 8 p.m.

Update (May 17, 5 p.m. PT): 'Bernie or Bust' in Portland



The Oregonian's Anna Marum reports:

Throughout Tuesday afternoon, voters walked into the Sellwood library to drop off their ballots.

"Bernie or bust!" exclaimed Sellwood acupuncturist Amanda Real. That seemed to be the prevailing feeling at the Portland neighborhood drop-off site, with overwhelming support for Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders and, in some cases, extreme distrust of former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton.

For Real, her dislike of Clinton -- whom she called a "crook" and a "criminal" -- was such that she vowed not to vote for her if she wins the Democratic presidential nomination. In fact, she said she'd rather see presumptive Republican nominee Donald Trump in office, because she thinks the New York businessman is less likely to be able to turn his plans into reality.

Mary Hill, a 62-year-old retired pharmacist from Southwest Portland, also voted for Sanders.

"I've been voting since I was 18, and Bernie's the candidate I've been waiting for my entire life," she said.

She's been contributing $27 to Sanders' campaign every couple of weeks, she said.

Clinton did get some support in Sellwood today. Glen Zimmermann, a PSU instructor, voted for her. He said he liked Sanders' platform but felt Clinton's was more realistic.

"I felt like his plans wouldn't work out, or they weren't viable in a certain way," he said.

Update (May 17, 4:20 p.m. PT): Kentucky race is very close



With just over 30 percent of the vote counted, the Democratic presidential primary in Kentucky is too close to call. Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders led early on, but former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton has pulled even as more ballots have come in. A winner is expected to be called in the next hour or so.

Clinton put a lot of resources and time into Kentucky in hopes of ending Sanders' two-week winning streak. Though one poll last week showed Clinton ahead in Oregon, the other state voting today, Sanders is widely expected to end up the winner in the Pacific Northwest.

Update (May 17, 3:20 p.m. PT): Ballots keep coming in

The Oregonian's Luke Hammill reports:

A steady stream of voters arrived at Pioneer Square on foot, on bikes and by MAX to drop off their ballots Tuesday afternoon. Other residents encouraged passersby to sign petitions dealing with raising the gross receipts tax on large corporations and protecting endangered animals.

Oregon voter Matt Hisel dropped off his ballot around 2 p.m. and said he was voting for Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders in the Democratic primary for president because of Sanders' focus on income inequality. He said the effects of inequality can be seen in Portland's homeless population and lack of affordable housing.

Hisel said he would vote for the Democratic nominee in November, whether it is Sanders or former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton.

Update (May 17, 2:50 p.m. PT): Kentucky election-fraud hotline

Thomas F. Loftus, who covers politics for the Louisville Courier-Journal, reports that Kentucky's election fraud hotline received 11 calls by 10 a.m. this morning. They included allegations of electioneering within 100 feet of the polls and an allegation of vote buying. Follow Loftus' coverage on Twitter.

Update (May 17, 1:45 p.m. PT): Nevada convention chaos

Nevada's Democratic state convention in Las Vegas devolved into chaos on Saturday night, with Bernie Sanders supporters aggressively protesting convention rules. "The gathering closed with some Sanders supporters throwing chairs; later, some made death threats against state party chairwoman Roberta Lange," The Associated Press reported. California Sen. Barbara Boxer was at the convention and said she feared for her safety. Stephanie Schriock, president of the liberal political-action committee Emily's List, said the "disgraceful attacks are straight out of the Donald Trump playbook."

Sanders on Tuesday put out a statement that wasn't exactly conciliatory. "Our campaign of course believes in non-violent change, and it goes without saying that I condemn any and all forms of violence, including the personal harassment of individuals," Sanders said in a statement. With that out of the way, he then backed the convention protesters, insisting their anger was justified. "The Democratic leadership used its power to prevent a fair and transparent process from taking place," he said.

This response from Sanders shouldn't really come as a surprise. He has been calling for a "political revolution" for months. Revolutionaries rarely accept the rules as they are.

* Read a lengthy Rolling Stone explanation of what the convention dispute was all about.

Update to the update: A reader made us aware of a Facebook video from the Nevada convention that shows one of the reasons Sanders supporters were upset. Watch below:

When and how the Democratic Party got dirty in Nevada I don't want to hear ANYTHING about how Bernie's delegates were yelling this weekend unless you start RIGHT HERE. The Democratic Party is shady. Period. Point Blank. Dot com. Let me give you the TRUTH about what happened in Nevada this weekend. The mainstream media has lied over and over again, and made it out that Bernie's supporters were "unruly," "disrespectful," and "uncontrollable." LIES. LIES. LIES. This right here is what sent the Democratic Convention in Nevada down a disastrous path. Early in the AM, a woman, off camera, is giving basic remarks. Run of the mill type of stuff. Then, it gets VERY DIRTY. At 0:58 in the video, a man comes and whispers into the ear of the moderator. Unbeknownst to the crowd, behind closed doors, they've passed something they are calling "temporary rules," but for them to become official, it must pass before the audience with a "CLEAR MAJORITY." Watch what happens. With no real explanation, she presents it before the crowd and they go CRAZY. She then says it passed, when it sure as hell didn't, and that it can't be changed. FROM THAT POINT ON, Bernie's supporters knew the fix was in, and they were pissed - rightly so. I don't trust the establishment one little bit. That was a very dirty move and set the tone for a very contentious evening. They don't want to tell it like this though. They make it out like Bernie's people just showed up like a bunch of damn angry warriors. That's just not how it went down. Posted by Shaun King on Sunday, May 15, 2016

Update (May 17, 1 p.m. PT): Meanwhile, in Kentucky...

Hillary Clinton needs a win in Kentucky, and she knows it. She made a dozen stops around the Bluegrass State in the past couple of weeks, revving up supporters and encouraging "Get Out the Vote" efforts.

"Hillary Clinton has come a lot to Northern Kentucky," prominent state Democrat Nathan Smith told the Cincinnati Enquirer. "She's invested time and energy here."

Will it be enough to hold off another Bernie Sanders surge? We'll soon find out. And yes, in case you were wondering, Clinton did play the woman's card in the state (see below).

Update (May 17, 12:30 PT): Oregon ballot box vandalized

A ballot drop-off box in Klamath Falls, Oregon, was "broken into over the weekend and ballots were found in a nearby dumpster," local CBS News affiliate KTVL reports.

The box was at the Klamath Basin Senior Center. A majority of older Democrats have voted for Clinton during this primary season, while younger Democrats have overwhelmingly voted for Bernie Sanders.

Update (May 17, 12:15 p.m. PT): As California goes ...

Wins today in Oregon and Kentucky would be nice for Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders, keeping his momentum headed in the right direction. But if Sanders is going to have any chance at grabbing the Democratic presidential nomination away from former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, he must win delegate-rich California on June 7 -- and win it very, very big. That being the case, newspapers in the Golden State are beginning to weigh in. Here are a couple of early endorsers:

The Los Angeles Times editorial board tells Sanders supporters that it's time to put away the rose-colored glasses. "[E]ven though he has proved a far more formidable challenger than we -- or Clinton -- expected, Sanders lacks the experience and broad understanding of domestic and (especially) foreign policy that the former secretary of state would bring to the presidency. Although Sanders has tapped into very real and widespread anxieties about economic inequality, deindustrialization and stagnant economic growth, his prescriptions are too often simplistic, more costly than he would have us believe and unlikely to come to pass."

* Read the editorial.

In San Francisco, the non-profit, recently relaunched alternative-news site the Bay Guardian is all-in for Sanders. "[H]e's the only major candidate for president in decades who has made income and wealth inequality and the failure of our political system the centerpiece of his campaign. He is talking about single-payer health care. He's talking about raising taxes on the highest earners (even Obama didn't go that far). He's talking about breaking up the big banks and cracking down on Wall Street. He's both inspiring and refreshing -- and the popularity of his message has put the notion of class conflict, of the 1 percent, of the collapse of the middle class, on the national agenda in a way we haven't seen since the heyday of Occupy."

* Read the editorial.

Update (May 17, 11:26 a.m. PT): Last-minute voter for Sanders

The Oregonian's Kristi Turnquist reports from Portland:

On Tuesday morning, a steady stream of cars pulled up to the drive-through Multnomah County ballot drop-off site located next to the McDonald's drive-through in Northeast Portland's Hollywood District. As the motorists deposited their ballots, a few pedestrians waited their turn. Cindy Dreher was one of them.

Dreher "kind of waited 'til the last minute" before deciding how to vote in the Oregon primary election," she said. Dreher voted for Democratic presidential candidate Bernie Sanders, though she added she thinks fellow Democrat Hillary Clinton "is a better candidate" when considering who's best to actually run the country. She agrees with Sanders' stands on social justice, Dreher said, so she considers her choice a protest vote, a signal to the powers that be that "we need a change."

Update (May 17, 11 a.m. PT): Medford voters sending message with vote

The Oregonian's Janet Eastman reports from Medford:

Eager voters in cars, trucks, bicycles -- even a guy on a purple scooter -- rolled up to the official ballot drop box in Medford Tuesday morning to make their vote count.



Republicans Mike and Cindi Hickey of Medford voted for Ohio Gov. John Kasich, even though he suspended his campaign, "to send a message," said Cindi.



Kasich also received the vote of Medford's Cynthia Van Blaricom, who went inside the Jackson County Elections Office on Main Street to drop off her ballot. The lifelong Republican has liked Kasich since the first debates, when "he was the only adult in the room," she said. "I like his experience, his presence and he would make a more dignified president than the other two," referring to presumptive GOP nominee Donald Trump and Democratic front-runner Hillary Clinton.

Evelyn DeMartini of Sams Valley calls herself a "proud Trump supporter." She says the businessman got her vote today because "he's not a traditional politician. He's a little scary but he's better than what the office has had in years."



Teri Smith of Central Point dropped off her ballot days ago, but she returned on the last day to the curbside box with her "procrastinating" son's ballot. She's a supporter of Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders, and so are her friends. But maybe not all of them. "Friends who want Trump are not telling me because they know my concern for social justice," she said.





Republicans Mike and Cindi Hickey

Dawn KC of Phoenix, Oregon, went inside to drop off her vote for Sanders, whom she says inspired her to apply to be a delegate and work to keep GMO foods out of school lunches. It took her to the last day to vote because she wanted to research the other races and issues. "We get fooled if we don't do our own research," she said.



First-time voter Anthony Bock of Medford cast his vote for Sanders. "He's the best candidate," he said.



James Rummel of Central Point also voted for Sanders. "We need to have compassion and help each other," he said.



Art Duszak, who recently moved to Medford from Nevada, got a little lost trying to find the ballot drop box, even with the address printed on the ballot envelope in his hand. He voted for Clinton. "I met Hillary and she's stable. We need someone who's stable and not promising everything."



One man in a F150 truck tried to push his ballot into the box but it fell to the ground instead. "It's probably full," he said. "That's a good thing."

Oregon and Kentucky primary preview (May 17, 7 a.m. PT)

Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders is not giving up. OK? He's going all the way to Democratic National Convention in Philadelphia, where he isn't ruling out a floor fight for delegates.

Former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, the front-runner for the party's presidential nomination, is fine with that. Officially. After all, she fought then-Sen. Barack Obama to the very end of the primary season in 2008. Plus, she still hopes she can bring a lot of Sanders' dedicated supporters over to her side for the general election.

There's also the fact that Clinton hasn't nailed down the nomination. Sure, Clinton's lead in pledged delegates is all but insurmountable, but that "all but" offers a lot of hope for Sanders fans in an election year when anything truly does seem possible (see Donald Trump, the presumptive GOP nominee).

Which brings us to the primaries in Oregon and Kentucky, which take place today -- usually too late to garner much attention from the candidates or the national press.

This year, both the former and the latter are paying attention.

Oregon would appear to be the perfect place for Sanders' broadsides against income inequality and the "rigged" economic system. Portland certainly is, but the whole state isn't as progressive as its most populous city. A poll released least week by DHM Research showed Clinton with a 15-point advantage in Oregon. This has led Sanders to try to pump up turnout in the state.

"If voter turnout is low, if young people and working people don't send in their ballots, we will probably lose," Sanders told The Oregonian over the weekend. "Needless to say, what I hope we'll be seeing is a very large voter turnout."

There's reason to believe the Vermont senator will get his wish. Oregon has seen a big jump in voter registrations, especially among the under-30 crowd. "[T]here's clearly a lot of interest out there," Oregon Secretary of State Jeanne P. Atkins said. "We have more registered voters than we've ever had before."

Sanders heads into the Oregon and Kentucky vote with momentum and confidence. Clinton has been trying to pivot to the general election for some weeks, and now her rival is pivoting too. Sanders, who has won primaries in Indiana and West Virginia the past two weeks, repeatedly points out that he polls very well against Trump, who is an insult-spewing bogeyman to many liberals.

"In virtually every national poll and in statewide polls we do better against Donald Trump than Secretary Clinton," Sanders said at a rally in Kentucky over the weekend. "We're seeing that all over the country. Secretary Clinton does very well with Democrats and so do I, but there are a lot of independents in the country and we do very well with independents."

This is very true -- in most polls Sanders is polling better against Trump than Clinton. But it's also not the whole story. Trump and the Republican machine have almost completely avoided attacking Sanders, aiming their fire at Clinton instead. The former secretary of state, a national figure for 25 years, can't really be defined down by the Republicans any more than she already has been. For better and worse, she's set in stone in the public consciousness. Sanders, however, is still new to the national debate. A lot of voters -- especially the independents he touts -- don't know a great deal about him and could be susceptible to general-election policy dissection and character low blows. This isn't to say Sanders couldn't outperform Clinton in a general-election match-up against Trump. It simply means that general election polls don't matter yet. (Indeed, looking back over more than half a century of sophisticated polling, early summer presidential polls have almost never come close to predicting how the actual vote ultimately pans out.)

Primary polls right before an election, however, are often spot-on. The problem is, polling on the presidential race hasn't been especially robust in Oregon and Kentucky. Some political observers are suspicious of the DHM Research survey in Oregon. And the Cincinnati Enquirer reports that the "only poll taken in Kentucky came out March 1-2 by Public Policy Polling and showed Clinton leading Sanders 43 to 38." Since then, Sanders has drawn huge crowds in Kentucky, while Clinton has had to defend comments she made about putting coal miners -- of which there are quite a few in Kentucky -- "out of business" because her administration would move toward clean-energy alternatives.

So prepare yourself for the possibility of surprises today in the Democratic presidential race. Oregon offers up 61 pledged delegates, Kentucky 55. Delegates will be awarded proportionally.

Republicans are also holding a presidential primary in Oregon, but Trump is the only candidate remaining in the field. No polls necessary to predict the outcome.

-- Douglas Perry

-- Sue Jepsen