Democrat Janelle Bynum has defeated Rep. Lori Chavez-DeRemer (R-Ore.), flipping back a congressional seat that Democrats had previously held for years.

Their race was so close that it took more than a week after Election Day to declare a winner.

“I am beyond honored that my neighbors have chosen me to be the next congresswoman for Oregon’s Fifth Congressional District,” Bynum said in a statement. “My work has always been a love letter to Oregon’s children. I ran for office to make their futures brighter, and I’ll do just that in Washington – for their education, for their reproductive freedoms, for their job opportunities, and so much more.”

Bynum will also make history with her win: she will be the first Black member of Congress from Oregon.

“I’m grateful for what this moment means not just for my children, but for all young people across our state to see that change is possible,” she said.

Bynum, a three-term state legislator, had been in a tight race with Chavez-DeRemer for months. But she had some key advantages over the freshman Republican.

Former Democratic Rep. Kurt Schrader had previously represented this district for 14 years before Chavez-DeRemer won in 2022. Schrader lost in the primary that year to a progressive challenger, and Chavez-DeRemer was able to appeal to moderate voters in both parties to win the general election.

This time around, though, Democrats were united behind Bynum, who comfortably won the primary in July. Chavez-DeRemer also has a record in Congress now, which made her much more susceptible to scrutiny.

Joe Biden also won this district by two points in the 2020 presidential election.

During their congressional race, Bynum went after Chavez-DeRemer on abortion rights, a major election issue since the Supreme Court’s repeal of Roe v. Wade in 2022. The GOP lawmaker tried to gloss over her support for a national abortion ban, even accusing Bynum of lying when she cited Chavez-DeRemer’s support for banning abortions after six weeks of pregnancy — when most people don’t even know they are pregnant.

But Chavez-DeRemer did support such a ban, and very publicly. She fumbled when she was pressed on it in October 2022 by a local TV news anchor, too.

The two have run against each other before: they both fought for a seat in the state legislature in 2016 and again in 2018. Bynum won both times.

See full results from the Oregon House election here.