Koppel-Bailey leads the way in 42nd House District

PORTLAND - Chants of "MVP! MVP!" filled the air at the Green Dragon in Southeast Portland. No, Brandon Roy wasn't in the room, but Jules Koppel-Bailey was. As of 10 p.m., Koppel-Bailey had 40.8 percent of the Democratic primary vote in the 42nd District race for state representative. He leads Regan Felice Gray (29.9 percent), Teddy Keizer (27.0 percent) and Gordon Hillesland (2.2 percent).

After joking that he was the shortest candidate in the race, Koppel-BaiIey stood on a table to address his supporters who were hungry for an encore speech from the leading candidate.

The first thing he said was, "I want to thank my mom."

Afterward Koppel-Bailey told PolitickerOR.com that he was proud of the show of support for his candidacy.

"I'm absolutely honored that the voters of the 42nd District have given me the chance to represent them and I understand that they voted for me based on what I will do and not on what I have done," Koppel-Bailey said. "And so now it's my job to honor that responsibility and make sure that I'm the best rep that they can have and that I earn their support.

"It was a great campaign. It was a race where you had an embarrassment of riches and the three other great candidates were campaigning hard. In my speech tonight I thanked them personally because it is tough to put yourself out there, and they were campaigning on issues that I care very deeply about, and I hope that they stay involved in the political process."