Portland, Oregon: Incumbents lead in all congressional races

As of 8 p.m. Tuesday, all seven of Oregon’s incumbent members of Congress were leading their respective races. With more than one million votes counted, the state’s five Democratic representatives, one Republican representative, and Democratic U.S. Sen. Jeff Merkley all held advantages in their districts. The Associated Press has already called the races for Merkley and two of the House members.

The most closely watched contest is in the 5th Congressional District, which includes Linn County, parts of Clackamas, Deschutes, Multnomah, and Marion counties. Democratic U.S. Rep. Janelle Bynum is leading Republican challenger Patti Adair by nearly 10 points. Bynum won the seat in 2024, defeating former representative Lori Chavez-DeRemer. The district has a large nonaffiliated voter base, with 31% registered as Democrats and 27% as Republicans.

Bynum told reporters on Tuesday that she views the election as a defense of the seat to help Democrats regain control of the U.S. House. “My job was to defend this seat and make sure that Democrats could regain control of the House,” she said. “This was a hard-fought seat to begin with. It was $37.5 million the first time. We wanted to make it a non-contest this time.” Campaign finance records show Bynum raised more than $4.7 million for her second term, while Adair raised $680,000.

In the 4th Congressional District, which covers the central and southern coast plus the Eugene and Corvallis areas, Democratic U.S. Rep. Val Hoyle is leading Republican challenger Monique DeSpain by nearly 12 points. This is a rematch of their 2024 race, in which Hoyle won by about eight points. The district includes university towns and surrounding communities along the Oregon coast.

Sen. Jeff Merkley defeated three challengers: Republican state senator David Brock Smith of Port Orford, Libertarian Gary Lyndon Dye, and Progressive candidate Chris Henry. In the 1st Congressional District, which spans the North Coast to Portland, Suzanne Bonamici had captured 70% of the vote. The district has the second highest proportion of registered Democratic voters in the state.

Republican U.S. Rep. Cliff Bentz is leading his race in the 2nd Congressional District by 21 points over Democrat Chris Beck. Bentz had nearly 61% of the vote. The district borders Idaho and has the highest percentage of registered Republican voters. In the 3rd Congressional District, which is based in Portland, Maxine Dexter is reelected with more than 75% of the vote against Republican Loran Ayles. The district has the highest proportion of registered Democrats in Oregon.

In the 6th Congressional District, Democratic U.S. Rep. Andrea Salinas is leading former Dundee mayor David Russ by nearly 16 points. Salinas is running for a third term in the Willamette Valley-based district. Federal Election Commission data indicates that all candidates running for Oregon congressional seats raised at least $19.6 million and spent $13.5 million on their campaigns this election cycle.