Bynum Jumps Out to Early Lead Over Chavez-DeRemer in Race for U.S. House District 5

The race is still far from over.

Janelle Bynum. (Courtesy of the campaign)
By Lucas Manfield

Early returns show state Rep. Janelle Bynum (D-Happy Valley) with a narrow lead in her bid to unseat U.S. Rep. Lori Chavez-DeRemer in Oregon’s 5th Congressional District, one of the most hotly contested congressional contests this November. Bynum has 47% of the vote; Chavez-DeRemer has 45%.

The race is far from over. Only 110,000 votes have so far been counted.

The contest for this district, which extends south of Clackamas County all the way to Bend, was widely considered a toss-up leading into a U.S. House election in which both parties have a good chance of controlling the lower chamber.

Races in the state’s other districts are playing out as expected. Former state Rep. Maxine Dexter (D-Northwest Portland) is on track to win the seat vacated by U.S. Rep. Earl Blumenauer (D-Ore.), while incumbent U.S. Reps. Suzanne Bonamici, Val Hoyle and Andrea Salinas, all Democrats, and U.S. Rep. Cliff Bentz (R-Ore.) appear poised to win reelection in the state’s remaining four seats in the House of Representatives.

Dexter made an appearance at a Democratic Party of Oregon event at the downtown Hilton, which turned somber as presidential results arrived. “Regardless of how other races turn out in the days ahead, we need to turn up and show up for the things we believe in,” she said.

Andrew Jankowski contributed reporting to this story.

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