To the surprise of some observers, Rep. Janelle Bynum of Happy Valley, the only Black woman in the Oregon House and a lawmaker who’s showed significant policy prowess, is in a fight to retain the seat she’s held for six years.
There are clear indicators that her reelection battle is closer than political strategists initially expected. Two Democratic Party PACs have poured close to $500,000 into Bynum’s reelection campaign in the past three weeks, and statewide and regional labor unions and others have contributed another $120,000 in that same period to a campaign that just this summer appeared a sure thing.