PORTLAND, Ore. — One of the most competitive U.S. House races in the country is playing out in Oregon, where the state’s GOP-held 5th Congressional District is among just over two dozen seats nationwide that are considered toss ups.
Two other House races in the state’s 4th and 6th districts, though less competitive, will also be closely watched as Democrats and Republicans battle for control of Congress. And in each contest, freshman female lawmakers are seeking reelection.
Here are the tightest House races in the state:
Republicans are looking to maintain a seat they flipped red during the 2022 midterms for the first time in roughly 25 years. But freshman U.S. Rep. Lori Chavez-DeRemer is facing a different Democratic opponent this November: Janelle Bynum, a state representative who has previously beat her in legislative elections in the district and is backed and funded by national Democrats.
The seat is seen as a toss up by the Cook Political Report, meaning either party has a good chance of winning. Outside groups have poured millions of dollars into the race.
Chavez-DeRemer narrowly won her seat in 2022 in the first election held in the district after its boundaries were significantly redrawn following the 2020 census. It now encompasses disparate regions spanning metro Portland and its wealthy and working-class suburbs, as well as rural agricultural and mountain communities and the fast-growing central Oregon city of Bend on the other side of the Cascade Range.
Unaffiliated voters represent the largest constituency, although registered Democratic voters outnumber Republicans by about 25,000. Both parties are hoping that the higher voter turnout typically seen during presidential election years, compared to midterm elections, will energize their base.
A small part of the district is in Multnomah County, where a ballot box just outside the county elections office in Portland was set on fire by an incendiary device about a week before the election, damaging three ballots. Authorities said that enough material from the incendiary device was recovered to show that the Portland fire was also connected to two other ballot drop box fires in neighboring Vancouver, Washington, one of which occurred on the same day and damaged hundreds of ballots.
Oregon’s newest congressional district, the 6th, is seen as a likely win for Democrats compared to the 5th, according to the Cook Political Report. This gives a slight advantage to incumbent U.S. Rep. Andrea…
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