Republican Rep. Lori Chavez-DeRemer (R-OR) was defeated by Democrat state lawmaker Janelle Bynum in the race for Oregon’s Fifth Congressional District.
Bynum has 48% of the vote to Chavez-DeRemer’s 45%. Although some ballots have not yet been counted, Chavez-DeRemer has no viable path to victory.
Chavez-DeRemer is best known as one of the “25 Intransigents” who voted blocked Rep. Jim Jordan (R-OH) — perhaps the most popular conservative in the nation — from the speakership in a series of votes on the House floor in October 2023.
The group blocked Jordan despite his having won the House Republican Conference’s nomination in a conference-wide vote. Ironically, in justifying her vote against the democratically chosen GOP Speaker candidate, Chavez-DeRemer cited her concerns with Republican division.
The group’s blockade led to a compromise candidate, Rep. Mike Johnson (R-LA), attaining the Speaker’s gavel.
Johnson, perhaps the biggest beneficiary of Jordan’s defeat, campaigned for the embattled Congresswoman in the closing weeks of the campaign, telling crowds he saved his rally in Oregon City with Chavez-DeRemer for the end of the election cycle because of how important it is, the Oregon Capital Chronicle reports.
During the campaign stop, Johnson praised Chavez-DeRemer for her frequency in working with Democrats, touting a report showing her as the second-most bipartisan member of Congress.
Chavez-DeRemer’s vote against Jordan is not her only position far out of step with conservatives.
After arriving in Washington in 2023, Chavez-DeRemer joined a small cadre of centrist Republicans and Democrats working to advance Biden administration priorities, most notably on immigration and border security.
She also joined with Democrats to push a draft migration and amnesty bill that supercharges the flow of foreign visa workers into the white-collar careers sought by many striving U.S. graduates, Breitbart News reported.
Her policy goals may not be surprising when considering the advisers she chose.
As Breitbart News reported exclusively in August, Chavez-DeRemer’s top immigration policy staffer, Francisco Flores-Pourrat, attended the 2024 Democratic National Convention (DNC), wearing a shirt appearing to read “REPRODUCTIVE RIGHTS ARE ON THE BALLOT” and “IWILLVOTE.COM” – a voter registration organization aligned with the Democratic Party.
Her staffer’s abortion stance conflicts with Chavez-DeRemer’s stated position.
The office’s press contact did not reply to an inquiry from Breitbart News asking for a statement from the congresswoman, if the staff member was using pre-approved office vacation days while in Chicago, or if Chavez-DeRemer is aware of any other of her staffers supporting Vice President Kamala Harris against Republican nominee and now President-elect Donald Trump.
Records show Flores-Pourrat remains employed by the office.
The congresswoman held out on endorsing Trump in the 2024 primary, offering a brief, tepid endorsement in March the same day Nikki Haley ended her quixotic campaign against Trump in the Republican presidential primary.
After her defeat, she won’t have the opportunity to work with Trump.
Bradley Jaye is a Capitol Hill Correspondent for Breitbart News. Follow him on X/Twitter at @BradleyAJaye.
