One-on-one with Rep. Janelle Bynum | KOIN Conversations [5:01-10:03]

Get more into that. What do you think you're seeing from the other side of the aisle? Well, I think we're hitting a breaking point, you know, as people again, as they go home, as they're talking with their constituents, a lot of Republicans ran from doing town halls. We actually did 21 in our district and held over 400 events from our district. But as they're starting to go out and as they're starting to get a little more heat, they're having to stand up. And we're also seeing that, you know, some of them are in seats like mine, that are swing seats, and they have to appeal to a broader electorate. You can't run and you can't hide now from their voting records. Democrats are in the minority in both the House and the Senate, but that could change in next year's midterms. How important do you think your race will be in that context? Critical. I mean, I won by two, a little over two points. This is a seat that, you know, comprises like almost one-third Democrats, almost one-third Republicans, and almost one-third non-affiliated independence. And what I've tried to say is in holding those 21 town halls that our office is accessible, that we want to hear from people, people have a legitimate concern about how government is or is not working for them, and what government should and should not do. My focus has been on affordability, lowering costs, improving the quality of life, bringing health care to the forefront of the conversation, and making sure that people can count on Oregon being a place that they can raise their children, and their children can come back home. You were adamant about opposing the President's attempts to deploy federal troops into Portland. Ultimately, after a number of court battles, those troops were not deployed to the ICE facility in South Portland, and the Texas troops were actually sent home. Do you see that as a victory? Well, it wasn't a victory if people had to leave their home for some foolishness. So the Guardsmen were Americans, Oregonians as well, and I wanted to make sure that when they leave and they are deployed, they are deployed for real issues to solve real problems and to help real emergencies, and that wasn't what was happening. The other thing I think is important is that we always just remain vigilant about keeping our streets safe, keeping our community safe, and that means safety for everyone. And so when you deploy people on a non-mission, you put them in harm's way, and you put the people in harm's way, and I simply disagreed with that. Welcome to your year in video, and you've alluded to this earlier in this conversation. You had more than 400 meetings and events, 21 town halls, why so many, and why are those meetings with constituents so important to you? Well, number one, this is a very large district. It includes Portland, it includes the Willamette Wine Valley, it includes Central Oregon. And I think the most important thing is that you need to have open lines of communication to the people that you serve. There are a lot of people obsessed with who somebody voted for. That has never been my issue. I've always felt like if Oregon put education first, if we focused on a strong economy, if we kept our Oregon values true to what we believe in, clean air, clean water, we would have a thriving state and economy. It's been my number one goal, that's all I have ever been concerned about. And I think I made sure that I kept my promise to be where the people needed me to be, and I think they've been pretty satisfied with that. You do have some Republican opposition in the 2026 race. They're not very well-known statewide, though. Name so far, Patty Adair, Joseph Lehman, Jonathan Lockwood, your district is considered a purple district. However, you did defeat Republican Lori Chavez-Deremer, who's now the president's labor secretary. Are you getting any support from the national party, especially in terms of fundraising for your race? Well, they've made it clear by putting me on the front line list that this race is a priority. This seat, keeping this seat is a priority, and getting to the magic number of 218 is a priority. Outside of the race. I mean, running for re-election is one thing. But I think the most important thing is continuing my commitment to serve. Doing both is very difficult. I mean, I'm also a mom. We have, I would love to be momming right now, I'm looking right outside my office here,