Six candidates are running in the general election for Oregon’s 5th Congressional District on Nov. 5, 2024. Incumbent Rep. Lori Chavez-DeRemer (R) and Janelle Bynum (D) lead in endorsements, campaign finance, and media attention.
This third rematch between Chavez-DeRemer and Bynum will take place in a district that Joe Biden (D) won by 8.8 percentage points.
Bynum defeated Chavez-DeRemer twice to represent District 51 in the Oregon House of Representatives. In 2016, Bynum defeated Chavez-DeRemer 51.% to 49%. In 2018, Bynum defeated Chavez-DeRemer 54% to 46%. OPB’s Bryce Dole wrote that those elections were in “a much smaller, suburban area around Happy Valley in Clackamas County.”
The district is one of 19 Republican-held U.S. House districts up for election in 2024 that Biden won in the 2020 presidential election. Biden won the district by 8.8 percentage points that year. Democratic lawmakers represented the district from 1997 until 2023 when Chavez-DeRemer assumed office after winning the 2022 general election by 2.1 percentage points. According to The Associated Press’ Gillian Flaccus, the 2022 general election was the first to take place since “the 5th was significantly redrawn following the 2020 U.S. Census to include parts of more conservative central Oregon, and trended slightly less blue this election.”
As of Sept. 8, The Cook Political Report, DDHQ/The Hill, Inside Elections, and Sabato’s Crystal Ball each rated the district as Toss-up.
Chavez-DeRemer served as the Mayor of Happy Valley, Oregon, from 2011 to 2018 and as a Happy Valley City Council member from 2005 to 2010. Before she ran for public office, Chavez-DeRemer owned Anesthesia Associates Northwest and Evolve Health medical clinics and served on the Happy Valley Parks Committee.
Chavez-DeRemer said she decided to run for Congress because “Oregonians were growing increasingly frustrated that politicians weren’t doing more to fix these worsening crises, and I saw the harmful impact the issues had on our homes, schools, and businesses.” She also said that she would prioritize bipartisanship because “that’s what the 5th District expects and deserves from their Representative.”
Bynum was elected to represent District 39 in the state House in 2022 after she defeated Kori Haynes (R) 55% to 45%. She previously represented District 51 from 2017 to 2023. Her professional experience includes owning a McDonald’s franchise.
On her reason for running, Bynum said, “I ran for state legislature because I wanted to level the playing field for every Oregon resident, and I am running for Congress to do the same for those in Oregon’s 5th district and for Americans in every corner of our country.” She also said that, “bipartisan and productive communications with all leaders, at all levels of government, is a crucial first step for making progress on the issues that matter most to Oregonians and the Fifth District.”
According to Lewis and Clark College Prof. Ben Gaskins, the two candidates are taking different approaches to messaging. Bynum is focusing on national issues such as abortion and Chavez-DeRemer’s endorsement of former President Donald Trump (R) in the 2024 presidential election. Chavez-DeRemer is focusing on local issues such as the economy and Bynum’s legislative record on public safety.
Based on Q2 2024 reports filed with the Federal Election Commission, Chavez-DeRemer raised $4.0 million and spent $1.7 million and Bynum raised $2.4 million and spent $1.4 million. To review campaign finance figures in full detail, click here.
Minor party and independent candidates include Brett Smith (Independent Party), Sonja Feintech (L), Andrew Aasen (No Party Affiliation), and Andrea Townsend (Oregon) (Pacific Green Party).