U.S. Rep. Janelle Bynum Declares Triumph in Oregon’s Congressional District 5

By 9:45 p.m. on Tuesday night, Congresswoman Janelle Bynum declared victory in her re-election campaign for Oregon’s U.S. Congressional District 5.

U.S. Representative Janelle Bynum spoke at the opening reception of new affordable housing in Bend on Sept. 9. Three of Bynum’s housing bills were passed into law in July. Credit: Peter Madsen

By Wednesday morning, voters signaled their support for Bynum’s work “ripping up the bad” on Capitol Hill, as evinced by granting her more than 166,000 votes (54%), outpacing the 134,477 of votes (43.8%) garnered by challenger Patti Adair, an outgoing Deschutes County commissioner. Pacific Green party candidate Andrea Townsend pulled about 6,100 votes ( 2%).

“Thank you for trusting me to fight for you,” Bynum said in a statement. “Thank you for giving me your vote, knocking doors, talking to your friends, family and neighbors and supporting our campaign. Thank you, Oregon. Now let’s keep giving ’em hell!

Elected in 2024, Bynum made quick gains in her first congressional term as Oregon’s first Black member of Congress. This year, Bynum made strides when her package of affordable housing legislation was signed into law.

“Now I’m sure some people in Washington would like nothing more than for me to be quiet and go along to get along,” Bynum added. “But, they must not know me very well. The system is rigged against our families and I won’t stop fighting until we turn the whole thing on its head.”