In 2024, after a return to power in the presidency from three-time Republican nominee Donald Trump, preceded by a Republican supermajority in the Supreme Court, and a flipped Senate, eyes turned to the House of Representatives to determine if the Democrats will have any recourse against the Republican Party. With both Districts Three and Five being called on Nov. 5, here in Oregon, district races three and five both symbolize a new cultural and political future.
After the retirement of Earl Blumenauer in District Three, Democratic candidate Maxine Dexter and Republican candidate Joanna Harbour went head to head, with Dexter taking the lead and securing the position. According to Dexter’s campaign website, Maxine For Oregon, she believes that the most pressing issues are houselessness, crime, shootings, addiction, and mental health. Going into this term, Dexter will be filling the shoes of a 14-term incumbent, and many members of District Three are looking to her to differentiate herself.
Meanwhile, on the other side of the spectrum, Joanna Harbour is a third-time congressional hopeful who ran for the Republican Party. Harbour ran in a district that is typically safe for Democrats, saying, “The people have a right to a choice between candidates.” Her objective, if not only to win, was to make sure the people of District Three know their vote still matters, rather than dismissing the election as a de facto victory always in line for the Democrats.
Harbour furthered the matter by lamenting the “gerrymandered state of District Three,” expressing frustration that some citizens of District Three don’t get true representation. Gerrymandering is a term used to describe the partitioning of congressional districts along voter lines to minimize party competition in districts. This is done by rezoning voters of a certain party into one illogically shaped district to allow the surrounding districts to all go to one party or another. The practice is used by both Republicans and Democrats to secure more seats in the House and creates less competitive elections.
Kimberly Livesay, a government and economics teacher at Franklin, who paid close attention to both races, explained her position as a resident of District Three: “Maxine Dexter followed in line with Earl Blumenauer, we’re a very progressive district.” She goes on to say, “For the general vibe of District Three, she is in line. In particular, I’m thinking of LGBTQ+ rights, maintaining access to abortion, and environmental protections.” Given the past voting records which had overwhelming majorities for Blumenauer and now Dexter, it seems that the more progressive and left-leaning policies of the Democrats are favored in District Three.
Right down south of District Three is District Five, where a far closer race was held. In 2020 the district went blue, in 2022 the district went red when incumbent Lori Chavez-DeRemer was chosen. Now in 2024 after a heated race between Chavez-DeRemer, seeking re-election, and challenger Janelle Bynum, the district is returning to the Democrats. According to Livesay, with close district races, “Bipartisanship is a really important value to its residents. Bynum seems like a bipartisan candidate, and the district responded well to that.” This is backed up by Chavez-DeRemer’s campaign, which advanced bipartisanship as a major feature of her time in office. As Livesay explains, “When you have these razor-thin margins, there tends to be more bipartisanship if they want to keep their position.”
According to Livesay, “The house was a tossup,” and districts on the verge of flipping — like District Five — played a role in that. With a Republican majority in the House and Republican seats, such as Chavez-DeRemer’s, seeming to be up for grabs, the focus on close races such as Oregon’s District Five became far more important. As of Nov. 16, District Five is only one of two districts nationwide to flip to the Democrats in this election cycle. While not — as some had believed — the tiebreaker in the House, the District Five congressional race remains important in the overall election, especially to the people of Oregon.
It is due to district races such as District Five that the House, while having been won by the Republicans, remains at a thin majority. As a result, the Republican Party is more susceptible to party outliers who may be willing to side with the Democrats on certain issues. For the next two years in the House, bipartisanship will be critical to win over the Republicans and Democrats on the fence of their respective parties. Bipartisans will have the most sway over what bills are passed and what decisions must be made. As one of these congresspeople, Janelle Bynum, who has a district of mixed voters to please, will have to establish a reputation in the capitol as a congresswoman of compromise and bipartisanship if she wants to be a serious contender for re-election in her district and make an impact in Washington D.C.
