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Leader Hakeem Jeffries: “We viewed her as one of the strongest potential candidates in the nation to win a seat that could flip control of the United States Congress.”
As momentum continues to swing her way, Janelle Bynum spoke to the New York Times about her priorities and what drives her as she works to win Oregon’s 5th Congressional District and become the first Black person to represent Oregon in Congress.
Check out what OR-05 voters are reading about:
“Hakeem Jeffries, the House minority leader, personally spoke with her and urged her to run.
“Her résumé and background stood out to national Democrats. She is a four-term state legislator, a former electrical engineer, a business owner and a mother of four — and she has beaten Chavez-DeRemer before, twice, in tough elections for the State House.
“[Bynum] cast her campaign largely as a way to help Democrats defend little-d democracy against Trump and his allies.
“‘Everyone needs to sacrifice some level of their time, their energy, their commitment to investing in our democracy,’ she said.
“‘Let’s acknowledge that, that I’m literally one generation away from segregation,” she said. “So that’s a thing. But more importantly, if we’re looking back, I think we should also look forward.’”
DCCC Spokesperson Dan Gottlieb:
“Janelle Bynum has spent years leading the fight for Oregonians in the State House, and she’s ready to bring that same energy and vision to the halls of Congress.”
The New York Times: A Democrat who could make history — and help her party win back the House
Maggie Astor | July 12, 2024
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In 2018, when Janelle Bynum was the only Black Democrat in the Oregon House of Representatives, a voter called the police to report her as a suspicious person while she knocked on doors for her re-election campaign.
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Now, Bynum, the Democratic nominee in Oregon’s Fifth Congressional District, is trying to become the first Black person to represent her state in Congress.
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The district, which stretches from the suburbs of liberal Portland to the outdoorsy city of Bend, is exactly the kind of place Democrats think can help them win the House. It’s currently represented by a Republican, Representative Lori Chavez-DeRemer, who narrowly defeated a progressive Democrat in 2022. It’s also where Biden beat Trump by about nine points in 2020.
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To reclaim the district, Democrats in Washington set their sights on Bynum. Hakeem Jeffries, the House minority leader, personally spoke with her and urged her to run — catching her at a time when, tired of tough statehouse races in a swing district, she was considering leaving politics altogether.
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[Bynum’s] résumé and background stood out to national Democrats. She is a four-term state legislator, a former electrical engineer, a business owner and a mother of four — and she has beaten Chavez-DeRemer before, twice, in tough elections for the State House.
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“We viewed her as one of the strongest potential candidates in the nation to win a seat that could flip control of the United States Congress,” Jeffries told me.
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The race offers insight into both parties’ strategies as they battle for the nation’s few remaining swing districts.
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During the primary, Democrats worked hard to help Bynum defeat Jamie McLeod-Skinner, the progressive who had lost to Chavez-DeRemer in 2022. Bynum prevailed in a landslide, even though a super PAC that appeared to have ties to Republicans dumped $340,000 into the race to support McLeod-Skinner in its final days.
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For Republicans, the question is whether an incumbent like Chavez-DeRemer can separate herself from Trump in a district that voted against him — or if she even wants to. Chavez-DeRemer broke with her party more than almost any other House Republican last year, according to Roll Call, a fact that she says undermines Bynum’s description of her as a “rubber stamp” for the MAGA agenda. But she also backed Trump for president in March.
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In an interview with me — her first with a national publication since winning the nomination — Bynum did not dwell on the fact that she would be Oregon’s first Black member of Congress. Instead, she cast her campaign largely as a way to help Democrats defend little-d democracy against Trump and his allies.
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“Everyone needs to sacrifice some level of their time, their energy, their commitment to investing in our democracy,” she said.
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Still, she noted that her mother was part of a segregated high-school graduating class and recalled the excitement with which her children’s classmates responded to seeing her photo in a voter guide.
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“Let’s acknowledge that, that I’m literally one generation away from segregation,” she said. “So that’s a thing. But more importantly, if we’re looking back, I think we should also look forward.”
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