Oregon Democrats wasted no time fundraising against Republicans who helped to unanimously elect Louisiana Rep. Mike Johnson as the 56th Speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives on Oct. 25, ending 22 days of uncertainty.
“Lori Chavez-DeRemer and Cliff Bentz have clearly stated that Mike Johnson’s anti-choice, anti-LGBT, and anti-climate science stances were okay by them when they voted for their MAGA House speaker, Mike Johnson,” wrote the Democrat Party of Oregon in a fundraising email entitled: “Help us flip CD5 and CD2” just hours after Johnson’s election.
Though Mr. Bentz is not currently seen as vulnerable in next year’s elections—he represents the solidly red 2nd Congressional District and received 67 percent of the vote in 2022—Ms. DeRemer is clearly in the crosshairs.
The first-term representative from Oregon’s 5th Congressional District supported Mr. Johnson as what she called the “consensus candidate” to lead the House.
“The American people, and our allies around the world, are relying on us to come together and demonstrate that we’re able to govern responsibly,” Ms. Chavez-DeRemer wrote in an Oct. 25 press release.
“I’m hopeful that Speaker Johnson will work effectively with all sides of the Conference to advance common sense, pragmatic legislation that is good for our state and our nation.”
Before throwing her support behind Johnson, she voted against Ohio Congressman Jim Jordan in his bid for speaker and opposed Rep. Kevin McCarthy’s removal as speaker.
Her opponents pounced.
Democrats Eye District
Democrats, both statewide and nationally, consider defeating Ms. Chavez-DeRemer a top priority. They see her as vulnerable and the race as a critical opportunity to flip the U.S. House blue in 2024.
The Congresswoman is one of a dozen Republicans elected last year in districts that were won by President Joe Biden in 2020. Oregon’s District 5 went for Mr. Biden by nine points.
Democrats outnumber Republicans in the district, which stretches from the central Oregon city of Bend to east Portland.
Voter registration in this district, anchored by Clackamas and Deschutes counties (home to about two-thirds of its voters) with portions of four others, leans Democratic by 5 percentage points.
Ms. Chavez-DeRemer is preparing for her 2024 reelection campaign and has already raised $636,051.
She faces a crowded field of Democrat primary candidates who are working vigorously to tie her to the far right wing of her party.
Primary Candidates Speak Out
State Rep. Janelle Bynum, a Democrat primary candidate for CD5, issued a statement shortly after Oct. 25’s speaker vote.
She described Mr. Johnson as a “MAGA extremist” and noted that he supported a national abortion ban, argued for same-sex marriage bans, and “tried to overturn the 2020 election.”
Ms. Bynum claimed she is “uniquely positioned to defeat Chavez-DeRemer, having bested her” in state house races in 2016 and 2018. She also leads the primary field with the most cash on hand.
On Oct. 25, Oregon’s Democrat Gov. Tina Kotek threw her support behind Ms. Bynum.
“Who we send to Congress to represent Oregon is incredibly important, especially now when our values are under attack at the federal level,” Ms. Kotek said in a statement announcing her endorsement.
Ms. Kotek is the latest high-profile Oregon Democrat to get behind Ms. Bynum, joining U.S. Reps. Andrea Salinas and Suzanne Bonamici, state Treasurer Tobias Read, the Congressional Black Caucus PAC, the New Dem Action Fund, several state senators, and 21 Democrat state representatives.
Polling and fundraising show a close race between Ms. Bynum and progressive candidate Jamie McLeod-Skinner, the central Oregon attorney who narrowly lost to Ms. Chavez-DeRemer last year.
Ms. McLeod-Skinner also decried Ms. Chavez-DeRemer’s speaker vote.
“Lori Chavez-DeRemer is now directly tied to [Speaker Johnson’s] dangerous and extreme agenda,” she wrote in an Oct. 25 press release.
“While I’m extremely disappointed and troubled by the Congresswoman’s vote, I’m not surprised given her record.”
In the 2022 primary race, President Biden endorsed Ms. McLeod-Skinner’s opponent, incumbent Democrat Rep. Kurt Schrader, who had held the seat since 2009. Despite the support, Mr. Schrader went on to lose the primary to Ms. McLeod-Skinner.
In the general election, the Republican Party Super PAC spent $5.3 million to help Ms. Chavez-DeRemer while the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee spent just $1.85 million to boost Ms. McLeod-Skinner.
Ms. Chavez DeRemer won by just 2 percent percentage points.
Primary candidate Lynn Peterson also spoke out.
“Will Rep. Chavez-DeRemer rubber-stamp the nihilistic MAGA agenda and vote to put the extreme-right Freedom Caucus in charge?” she asked. “Her constituents will be watching.”
Attacks on Mr. Johnson’s election poured in from other leading Oregon Democrats as well.
Rep. Andrea Salinas, the first-term Democrat congresswoman representing the state’s new 6th District, referred to Mr. Johnson as an “extremist who voted to overturn the 2020 election.”
She added that she was “hopeful” that Mr. Johnson would try to work with Democrats.
“Today the House GOP caved to MAGA pressure and elected a speaker who sought to overturn the results of the 2020 election, opposes LGBT rights, would criminalize abortion, denies climate change, and worked to cut critical programs like Social Security, Medicare, and Medicaid,” state Rep. Suzanne Bonamici, said on X, the social media site formerly known as Twitter.
