Bynum, a lawmaker and small business owner, will be Oregon's first Black representative in Congress.

Summary

Oregon Democrat Janelle Bynum won a seat in the U.S. House, becoming the state’s first Black representative after defeating Republican incumbent Lori Chavez-DeRemer in a closely watched race for Oregon’s 5th Congressional District.

Bynum led by a strong margin in key counties, ensuring a Democratic victory. Her campaign emphasized combatting extremism, reproductive rights, and economic growth, and she received significant support and funding from national Democrats.

While Republicans retain a narrow lead in the overall House, Bynum’s win represents a major gain for Oregon Democrats amid a competitive election cycle.

  • @[email protected]English
    8•2 months ago

    That would be intentional. They’d have to screw with the timeline for counting the EC votes if Trump kicks it between December 17th and January 6th. Otherwise, the House would be obligated to create a Harris/Vance administration.

    • morriscox
      3•2 months ago

      Having the President and the Vice-president be of different parties used to be a thing until a law passed banning that.

      • @[email protected]English
        10•2 months ago

        There’s no law “banning” that. You’re talking about the 12th amendment revising the electoral process so that the VP is elected in a separate EC election, rather than being the runner up in the presidential election.

        That same 12th amendment requires, when a presidential candidate does not have 270 votes, to select the president from the top three candidates based on number of EC votes. If Trump strokes out after they cast their votes on December 17th, no candidate will have received 270 votes. When they go to count the votes on January 6th, the only valid EC votes cast for president will have been cast for Harris, so we get a Harris/Vance ticket.

        The Republicans could spend one vote on Vance for President, allowing the House to vote for him. But then a similar situation happens in the Senate with Walz, and the Senate only gets to choose between the top two VP candidates based on EC votes. We could theoretically end up with a Vance/Walz administration.