Republican Lori Chavez-DeRemer has been projected to defeat Democrat Jamie McLeod-Skinner in Oregon’s new 5th Congressional District. After the race was called on Sunday afternoon, Chavez-DeRemer became the first Latina congresswoman from Oregon.

McLeod-Skinner, an attorney, small-business owner, and regional emergency response coordinator, and Chavez-DeRemer were locked in a tight race but the Republican edged ahead in the closing days of the midterms. 

With her crucial flip of the Democrat-held House seat, Republicans moved one step closer to controlling the House after losing control of the Senate to the liberals. 

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After her win, she said that hoped to focus in Congress on combating inflation, boosting local law enforcement, and coming up with alternatives to conventional public schools.

“I take it right back to being a mayor, a mom and a business owner,” said Chavez-DeRemer. “I think that those three things are what people in Oregon’s 5th are looking forward to and have hope for.”

Who is Lori Chavez-DeRemer? 

According to her bio on Ballotpedia, Chavez-DeRemer “received a bachelor’s in business administration from California State University-Fresno. She served on the Happy Valley Parks Committee and the Happy Valley City Council before serving as mayor of Happy Valley from 2010 to 2018. She runs several medical clinics throughout the Pacific Northwest alongside her husband.”

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During her campaign, she has taken strong stances on the economy, gun ownership, and immigration. She has also slammed McLeod-Skinner for supporting Biden’s domestic policy agenda.

“You cannot say that you’re for hardworking Americans and working families if you’re willing to support every single spending bill that Biden has brought down,” she told HuffPost.

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Chavez-DeRemer also recognized the proud fact that she will be part of an increasingly diverse cohort of Republican congressional candidates.

Although Latinos are “a small sector of the entire state, it’s still one of the fastest growing populations that we’re seeing,” Chavez-DeRemer said. “Giving them a voice, letting them know that we support those family values and then recognizing that they can trust us if we can look like them, understand them … and we can be relatable, I think that that’s key.”