Press

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
July 26, 2024
CONTACT: Blakely Wall, press@janellebynum.com 

After outraising her opponent in the second fiscal quarter, Janelle Bynum speaks with the New York Times and Crooked Media about how she is poised to flip this seat

Happy Valley, OR — In case you missed it, the New York Times profiled State Representative Janelle Bynum, Democratic candidate for Oregon’s 5th Congressional District, in a recent piece highlighting how she is a “Democrat who could make history — and help her party win back the House.”

New York Times spoke with Leader Hakeem Jeffries on her electability, with the Congressman noting “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.”

Bynum recently spoke with Jon Lovett on the ‘Lovett Or Leave It’ podcast where she discussed her unique career as an electrical engineer, small business owner, and state legislator and mom. She highlighted what’s at stake this election and how she’s focusing on the issues that matter most to Oregonians including reproductive rights, lowering costs, and comprehensive solutions to climate change. “We should be looking at the issues for what they are, not accepting the screens the Republicans are putting out,” Bynum said in the podcast.

Bynum’s campaign has continued to gain momentum, building a widespread coalition of voters who believe in her vision of Oregon. She’s endorsed by In the second fiscal quarter, Bynum raised an impressive $1.5 million, outraising Lori Chavez-DeRemer by over half a million dollars. 

About Janelle Bynum:

Janelle Bynum is an accomplished Oregon state legislator with a proven track record of delivering results. As a small business owner, engineer, and mother of four, she has been a steadfast advocate for Oregon families. During her four terms in the state legislature, Janelle has worked across the aisle to protect reproductive rights, improve housing affordability, and strengthen Oregon's economy. In the 2023 legislative session, she led the push to pass the Oregon CHIPS Act, which will create thousands of good-paying jobs in the semiconductor industry, giving Oregon a competitive edge.

Janelle Bynum is running to become the first Black person to ever represent Oregon on the federal level. Her candidacy has generated excitement among Democrats and her record of achievement, extensive coalition, and clear path to flipping this Biden +10 district offer a strong foundation for victory. Having already defeated Lori Chavez-DeRemer twice in previous races for the Oregon State House, Bynum is confident in her ability to do so again in 2024.

This latest fundraising milestone underscores the robust support and enthusiasm for Janelle Bynum’s campaign. As the election approaches, her campaign remains focused on engaging with voters and building on this momentum to secure a decisive victory in November.

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New York Times: A Democrat who could make history — and help her party win back the House

Maggie Astor, July 12, 2024

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.

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.

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.

As a lawmaker, Bynum has been a vocal supporter of police reform and of liberalizing drug laws, policy positions that Republicans are attacking her for. But 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.

“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.

[...]

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.

“Everyone needs to sacrifice some level of their time, their energy, their commitment to investing in our democracy,” she said.

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.

“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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