Democrat Jeff Merkley defeats GOP challenger Jo Rae Perkins in race for US Senate seat in Oregon

• Democratic incumbent Sen. Jeff Merkley won in a US Senate race against Republican Jo Rae Perkins in Oregon.
• Merkley was reelected in 2014 after defeating challenger Monica Wehby by 18.8 points.
• Oregon voted for Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton over President Donald Trump in the 2016 presidential election.
• All of Oregon's polling sites had officially closed by 8 p.m. Pacific Time and 11 p.m. Eastern Time.
• See the live coverage and full results from the U.S. Senate elections

Oregon incumbent Sen. Jeff Merkley defeated Republican challenger Jo Rae Perkins in a race to defend his US Senate race.

All of Oregon's polling sites officially closed by 8 p.m. Pacific Time and 11 p.m. Eastern Time, and Decision Desk HQ and Insider projected Merkley's win shortly thereafter.

Merkley was first elected to the US Senate in 2008 when he defeated Republican Gordon H. Smith by 3.4 percentage points. He was reelected in 2016 after besting challenger Monica Wehby by 18.8 percentage points.

In the 2016 presidential election, the state voted for Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton over President Donald Trump by 11 percentage points.

Sabato's Crystal Ball at the University of Virginia Center for Politics ranks the contest as "safe" Democratic.