Lori Chavez-deremer, a Republican, Defeats Democrat Jamie Mcleod-skinner in Oregon’s 5th Congressional District Election

By Jaslin On Nov 14, 2022

Chavez-DeRemer is one of a number of conservative Hispanic female candidates for election in 2022. From 2010 to 2018, she presided as mayor of Happy Valley. Kurt Schrader, a Democrat, has held the position since 2009. If elected, Chavez-DeRemer will be the first Republican to take it over.

In a five-way primary, Chavez-DeRemer outpolled her GOP rivals and won with more than 40% of the vote. Emergency response coordinator and small company entrepreneur McLeod-Skinner. She managed the restoration of hospitals and schools in Bosnia and Kosovo before entering the congressional race. Additionally, the 55-year-old candidate spent eight years on the Santa Clara, California, city council.

McLeod-Skinner would have become the first openly lesbian member of Congress from Oregon if she had won the election. There are currently 11 openly LGBTQ members of Congress, three of whom are lesbian. In the Democratic primary for Oregon’s 5th Congressional District, McLeod-Skinner upset seven-term incumbent Schrader with 56.9% of the vote to his 42.7%.

Both candidates garnered high-profile support: Sen. Elizabeth Warren endorsed McLeod-Skinner, and Joe Biden and Nancy Pelosi endorsed Schrader. Voting records for the 5th Congressional District in Oregon
The 5th Congressional District of Oregon is located in the western part of the state and includes Bend and the suburbs of Portland.

Redistricting after the 2020 Census reconfigured the district to include many conservative and liberal strongholds in Oregon, making it competitive. The newly redrawn district, which supported Biden over former President Donald Trump by about 10 percentage points under its previous boundaries in 2020, was reconfigured.

As of October 19, Chavez-DeRemer had raised $2.2 million, spent $1.9 million, and still had $317,652 in cash on hand. By October 19, her rival McLeod-Skinner had raised $3.2 million, spent $2.8 million, and had $404,404 in cash on hand.

In order to support or oppose candidates in this race, including during the primaries, super PACs, national party committees, and other non-candidate organizations have together spent over $12.9 million as of early November.

The races between McLeod-Skinner and Chavez-DeRemer are classified as “leans Republican” by Sabato’s Crystal Ball at the University of Virginia Center for Politics, “tilt Republican” by Inside Elections, and “lean Republican” by The Cook Political Report.