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Gov. Tina Kotek endorsed state Rep. Janelle Bynum (D-Happy Valley) today in what will be a hotly contested Democratic primary in Oregon’s 5th Congressional District.
Bynum, now in her fourth term in the Oregon House, is competing with Jamie McLeod-Skinner and Metro Council President Lynn Peterson for the nomination and the opportunity to challenge incumbent U.S. Rep. Lori Chavez-DeRemer (R-Ore.)
The 5th District belonged to Democrats from 1997 to 2023. In the 2022 Democratic primary, McLeod-Skinner, a lawyer and engineer from Terrebone, knocked off incumbent U.S. Rep. Kurt Schrader (D-Ore.) before losing in the general election to Chavez-DeRemer, the former mayor of Happy Valley.
Democrats hold about a 25,000-voter registration advantage in the district (about 5% of voters) and so are eager to try to reclaim the seat next year, when national pundits expect the 5th District to be among the most closely contested in the nation.
All of that makes an early endorsement from Kotek particularly valuable to Bynum, who served with Kotek in the Oregon House—and publicly challenged the then-House speaker to create space for people of color to lead.
Kotek’s predecessor, former Gov. Kate Brown, rarely got involved in contested primaries and the state’s two U.S. senators, Ron Wyden and Jeff Merkley, both Democrats, also displayed a reluctance to endorse in such races.
The traditional explanation for such caution is the endorser will have to work with whoever wins and so doesn’t want to alienate any candidate. Kotek is signaling she will be different.
“Today, I’m excited to endorse Janelle Bynum,” Kotek said. “With a bipartisan track record in the statehouse to prove it—on everything from gun violence prevention and affordable housing initiatives to reproductive rights—Janelle is the type of change we need to see in D.C. She’ll give Oregon families the representation they deserve in the halls of Congress.”
“I’m proud to have earned Gov. Kotek’s endorsement,” Bynum said. “Our district needs a change. I’m ready to bring Oregonians’ concerns to the forefront on the federal level, focus on delivering the resources my neighbors need, and get Congress working again.”