62 Days to Go: Janelle Bynum

Who: Janelle Bynum

Where: OR-05 (stretches from southeast Portland to Bend)

Why: Janelle Bynum is rebuilding her campaign coffers after winning the June primary to face first-term incumbent Lori Chavez-DeRemer, who was an early endorser of Trump for president. All eyes are on Bynum in this ready-to-flip purple district because she has prevailed twice in state legislature races against Chavez-DeRemer. Biden won the district by nine points in 2020, and Chavez-DeRemer barely eked out a win against a different opponent in 2022.

As a state legislator, Bynum was a leading voice calling for police reform in Oregon’s 2021 legislative session, and sponsored Oregon’s own version of the CHIPS Act. An electrical engineer by training, she and her husband own and operate four McDonald’s franchises and are parents of four children. Issues of biggest concern to her include housing affordability, reproductive rights, climate solutions and protecting democratic norms.

Bynum would the first Black person to represent Oregon in Congress. Years ago, as the only Black Democrat in the Oregon House of Representatives, she was knocking on doors during her re-election campaign when a resident reported her as a suspicious person to the police, according to a recent interview Bynum did with the New York Times.

Looking Ahead: A DITB reader asked how many candidates I will profile in total, so that he could calibrate his donations accordingly. I plan to spotlight between 45 and 50 candidates between now and November 5. For these candidates, small donations by lots of individuals can boost their chances.

Day 63: Kirsten Engel | AZ-06 | Read | Donate