EMILYs List Congratulates Janelle Bynum on Winning Her Primary Election for Oregon’s 5th Congressional District

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today EMILYs List, the nation’s largest resource for women in politics, congratulates Janelle Bynum on winning her primary election and advancing to the general election for Oregon’s 5th Congressional District. EMILYs List President Jessica Mackler released the following statement: 

“Oregon’s 5th Congressional District now has the opportunity to replace anti-choice Republican Rep. Lori Chavez-DeRemer with State Rep. Janelle Bynum in the U.S. House of Representatives. The stakes could not be higher as Rep. Chavez-DeRemer supports a national abortion ban. Bynum is a champion for expanding reproductive rights, addressing housing affordability, and fighting against climate change. EMILYs List is thrilled to stand with Bynum in this election and is confident she will defeat Chavez-DeRemer in the general election as she’s done it twice before.”

State Rep. Janelle Bynum is currently serving her fourth term representing Oregon’s state House District 39. She is the only Black woman in the Oregon state Legislature, where she has been instrumental in passing legislation that invests in mental health care, expands youth voter engagement, and supports women of color in the workplace. Bynum also serves as a senior member of the House Judiciary Committee and a chairwoman of the House Committee on Small Business/Economic Development, where she sponsored a new law to bring semiconductor manufacturers to the state. The daughter of teachers and the mother of four, Bynum lives with her husband in Happy Valley, Oregon, where she runs four restaurants and provides mentorship and educational scholarships to employees. If elected, Bynum would become the first Black person to represent Oregon in the U.S. House of Representatives.

Bynum was endorsed by EMILYs List in 2018 and 2020 for her state legislative races, and is ready to take her fighting spirit to Congress to deliver results for Oregonians.

EMILYs List, the nation’s largest resource for women in politics, works to elect Democratic pro-choice women up and down the ballot and across the country with a goal of fighting for our rights and our communities. Our work is centered around a fundamental vision: Run. Win. Change the World. EMILYs List has raised $850 million in service to that vision and has helped Democratic women win competitive elections by recruiting and training candidates, supporting and helping build strong campaigns, researching the issues that impact women and families, running one of the largest independent expenditure operations for Democrats, and turning out women voters to the polls. Since our founding in 1985, we have helped elect the country’s first woman as vice president, 175 women to the House, 26 to the Senate, 20 governors, and over 1,500 women to state and local office. More than 40% of the candidates EMILYs List has helped elect to Congress have been women of color. Visit www.emilyslist.org for more information.