Poll finds 'toss up' between Bynum, Chavez-DeRemer for Oregon's 5th District

PORTLAND, Ore. (KOIN) – With the balance of Congress on the line, a new poll found a tight race for Oregon’s Fifth congressional district.

The poll, first reported by The Oregonian/OregonLive, found Democratic challenger, state Rep. Janelle Bynum, leads incumbent Rep. Lori Chavez-DeRemer by one point, according to the poll conducted by Noble Predictive Insights for Inside Elections.

The poll surveyed 419 likely Oregon voters between Aug. 26-28 and found 43% supported Bynum and 42% supported Chavez DeRemer, with 14% unsure. Inside Elections reported a margin of error of +/- 4.8%, noting totals were rounded.

Inside Elections rates the race as a "toss-up" between the two candidates.

According to Inside Elections, the district is politically diverse with deep blue favorability around Portland, right-leaning support in rural Marion County, and a blend of the two in Clackamas and Deschutes counties.

While state Rep. Bynum had the narrow lead, Rep. Chavez-DeRemer had the higher favorability rating, according to the poll – showing 39% favorability for Chavez-DeRemer and 28% for Bynum.

Reacting to the findings, Nick Trainer, Chavez DeRemer’s campaign advisor, said, “If this race is tied, it won’t be much longer as Oregonians across the 5th District continue learning about Janelle Bynum’s troubling record in the state legislature. Bynum has had a front-row seat to the failed policies that have spelled disaster for Oregon – voting to implement Measure 110, siding with Defund the Police groups, calling for criminals to be released, and handing out taxpayer dollars to house illegal immigrants. With Janelle Bynum in the state legislature, Oregon has gotten more dangerous and families have been left behind.”

Janelle Bynum for Congress Campaign Manager Blakely Wall said “With two months until Election Day, Janelle Bynum’s momentum continues to grow as she travels the district and reaches new voters to talk about what is at stake this November.”

Wall said Bynum is "ready" for the race, pointing to state legislative races between the two candidates in 2016 and 2018 in which Bynum won.

“The path to flipping the Democratic House majority runs right through Oregon’s 5th Congressional District and Janelle Bynum is more than ready to defeat Chavez-DeRemer because she’s already done it twice before," Wall said.