Janelle Bynum has been projected to win a historic seat in Congress.
On Friday (Nov. 8), Bynum was declared the winner of Oregon’s highly-contested 5th Congressional District race, per Oregon Live. Vote tallies showed Bynum defeated her Republican challenger, Rep. Lori Chavez-DeRemer, 48 percent to 45 percent.
Bynum will make history as Oregon’s first Black representative.
“I am beyond honored,” Bynum said in a statement on Friday. “My work has always been a love letter to Oregon’s children. I ran for office to make their futures brighter and I’ll do just that in Washington — for their education, for their reproductive freedoms, for their job opportunities and so much more.”
Bynum’s win also marks an important victory for Democrats, who will reclaim the district after Chavez-DeRemer flipped it red in 2022. The race for Oregon’s 5th Congressional District was considered a toss-up by experts who said the results could be influential in determining which party controls the House.
Republicans have taken control of the both the presidency with Donald Trump’s election and the Senate. As of Friday, Republicans needed to win seven more seats and Democrats needed 17 to have a House majority.
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