Democrat Jamie McLeod-Skinner faces off against Republican Lori Chavez-DeRemer in Oregon's 5th Congressional District election
- Democrat Jamie McLeod-Skinner is running against Republican Lori Chavez-DeRemer in Oregon's 5th Congressional District.
- The 5th District covers many of the state's conservative and liberal strongholds.
Democrat Jamie McLeod-Skinner faces off against Republican Lori Chavez-DeRemer in Oregon's 5th Congressional District.
Oregon's 5th Congressional District candidates
McLeod-Skinner is a small business owner and emergency response coordinator. Prior to running for Congress, she worked in the public service sector managing the repairs of hospitals and schools in Bosnia and Kosovo. The 55-year-old candidate also served on the city council of Santa Clara, California, for eight years.
If elected, McLeod-Skinner would be the first openly lesbian person from Oregon to be a member of Congress. Currently, there are 11 LGBTQ people openly serving in Congress, and three are lesbian.
McLeod-Skinner defeated seven-term incumbent Rep. Kurt Schrader in the Democratic primary for Oregon's 5th Congressional District, securing 56.9% of the vote to his 42.7%.
Both received prominent endorsements — McLeod-Skinner from Sen. Elizabeth Warren, and Schrader from President Joe Biden and Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi.
Chavez-DeRemer, McLeod-Skinner's challenger, is one of several Hispanic conservative women running for office in 2022. She served as mayor of Happy Valley from 2010 to 2018. If elected, Chavez-DeRemer would be the first Republican to flip the seat that's been held by Democratic Rep. Schrader since 2009.
Chavez-DeRemer defeated her GOP challengers in a five-way primary, bringing in more than 40% of the total vote.
Voting history for Oregon's 5th Congressional District
Oregon's 5th Congressional District is situated to the west of the state and encompasses Bend and the Portland suburbs.
The freshly redrawn district, which backed Biden over former President Donald Trump by about 10 percentage points under its previous boundaries in 2020, was reconfigured to cover many conservative and liberal strongholds in Oregon in redistricting following the 2020 Census, making it competitive.
The money race
According to OpenSecrets, McLeod-Skinner has raised $3.2 million, spent $2.8 million, and has $404,404 of cash on hand, as of October 19. Her opponent, Chavez-DeRemer, has raised $2.2 million, spent $1.9 million, and has $317,652 of cash still left to spend, as of October 19.
As of early November, super PACs, national party committees, and other non-candidate groups have combined to spend about $12.9 million advocating for or against candidates in this race, including during the primaries.
What experts say
The race between McLeod-Skinner and Chavez-DeRemer is rated as "tilt Republican" by Inside Elections, "lean Republican" by The Cook Political Report, and a "leans Republican" by Sabato's Crystal Ball at the University of Virginia Center for Politics.