Janelle Sojourner Bynum (née Irick; born January 31, 1975) is an American politician and businesswoman serving as a member of the United States House of Representatives for Oregon's 5th district since 2025. She is a member of the Democratic Party and previously served in the Oregon House of Representatives.

First elected to Oregon's legislature in 2016, Bynum previously represented the state's 51st district, which covered southern Multnomah County and northern Clackamas County, including the southeasternmost part of Portland, most of Happy Valley and Damascus, and the surrounding area. She later represented the 39th district, which covers northern Clackamas County, including most of Happy Valley and parts of Oregon City, Milwaukie and the surrounding area.

On November 5, 2024, Bynum was elected to the United States House of Representatives representing Oregon's 5th district after defeating incumbent Republican Lori Chavez-DeRemer. She is the first Black member of Congress from Oregon.

Bynum grew up in Washington, D.C.^[1][2] She attended Banneker High School and graduated from The Madeira School, during which she interned on Capitol Hill.^[3][4] She graduated with a bachelor's degree in electrical engineering from Florida A&M University in 1996 and with a Master in Business Administration from the University of Michigan in 2000.^[5]

As a student at Florida A&M University, Bynum received a scholarship from Boeing, and later served as a summer associate for the company.^[6] After graduating from college, Bynum worked at General Motors as a steering systems engineer while pursuing her MBA.^[7]

While at General Motors, she was in Taiwan for a week following the 9/11 terrorist attacks' impact on air travel.^[7] Following this experience, in 2002, Bynum relocated to Clackamas County, Oregon to help her mother-in-law run a McDonald's franchise.^[7][8]

In 2016, Bynum ran for Oregon's 51st House district after incumbent Shemia Fagan chose not to seek re-election. She won the Democratic primary with 66% of the vote, defeating former Damascus city council member Randy Shannon.^[9] In the general election, she faced Republican Lori Chavez-DeRemer, the mayor of Happy Valley, and won by a 51% to 49% margin in one of the most competitive state House races of the cycle.^{[10][11][12][13]}

During her 2018 re-election campaign, while canvassing a neighborhood in her district, Bynum, who is Black, was reported to the police as a "suspicious person."^[14] That year, she again faced Chavez-DeRemer and won with 53% of the vote.^[15] In 2020, she won another term by defeating Republican Jane Hays, a school administrator, and Libertarian candidate Donald Crawford.^[16][17]

In 2022, following redistricting, Bynum was drawn into the 39th District which no longer included East Portland and parts of Gresham and instead covered parts of unincorporated Clackamas County.^[18] Though the race was considered competitive by The Oregonian in early November 2022,^[19] she ultimately defeated Republican candidate Kori Haynes by a 10-point margin.^[18]

In 2019, Bynum cast the sole vote in Oregon's House of Representatives against a bill that would give more time for rape survivors to file civil suits, extending the statute of limitations.^[20] In 2020, Bynum and other state legislators pressed Governor Kate Brown to release nearly 2,000 state prison inmates, about 14 percent of Oregon’s inmate population, commuting their sentences.^[21]

In January 2022, after Tina Kotek resigned her position to focus on her run for Governor,^[22] Bynum ran for the position of Oregon Speaker of the House against Representative Dan Rayfield of Corvallis.^[23] In a closed-door meeting, Rayfield defeated Bynum for the Democratic caucus nomination for Speaker.^[24] Despite losing her party's nomination for Speaker, in February 2022, Bynum was the first Black person in Oregon's history to receive votes for Speaker of the House when she received four votes for Speaker.^[25][26][27]

As of 2023, Bynum served as chair of the House Committee on Economic Development and Small Business.^[28] In April 2023, as Chief Sponsor, Bynum supported the passage of Senate Bill 4, the Oregon CHIPS Act, a $210 million initiative to strengthen the state's semiconductor industry. The act provides funding for grants, loans, research, and land development to attract semiconductor companies and promote advanced manufacturing in Oregon.^[29] Bynum retired from the Oregon House of Representatives to run for congress, and was succeeded by April Dobson in January 2025.^[30]

On June 21, 2023, Bynum announced she would seek the Democratic nomination for Oregon's 5th congressional district, a seat then held by her 2016 and 2018 Republican opponent Lori Chavez-DeRemer.^[28] In January 2024, the DCCC named Bynum to its "Red to Blue" program, giving her access to increased fundraising, training, and guidance from the national Democratic Party.^[31] On May 21, 2024, Bynum defeated Jamie McLeod-Skinner in the Democratic primary.^[32]

On November 5, 2024, Bynum won the general election after defeating incumbent Republican Lori Chavez-DeRemer, who she had previously defeated twice in state-level races.^[33] The race was the 11th most expensive in the 2024 cycle, drawing over $26 million in outside spending.^[33] Bynum is the first black member of Congress elected in Oregon.^[33]

In 2025, Bynum was one of 46 House Democrats who joined all Republicans to vote for the Laken Riley Act.^[34]

Bynum's committee assignments for the 119th Congress include:^[35]

• House Financial Services Committee
  • Subcommittee on Capital Markets
  • Subcommittee on Housing and Insurance

Bynum's caucus memberships include:^[35]

• Future Forum (new member co-chair)
• New Democrat Coalition
• Bipartisan Women's Caucus (vice chair)
• Congressional Black Caucus

Bynum and her husband, Mark, have four children and live in Happy Valley.^[1] They own several McDonald's franchises in the Portland area.^[36][37] She is a Christian.^[5]

• Campaign website
• Legislative website
• Appearances on C-SPAN