Deschutes County Commissioner Patti Adair to run for Congress against Janelle Bynum
Deschutes County Commissioner Patti Adair to run for Congress against Janelle Bynum
Published 10:28 am Tuesday, November 18, 2025
Patti Adair’s second term as Deschutes County commissioner ends next fall. Instead of running for reelection, she plans to seek a seat in the U.S. House of Representatives.
The 74-year-old conservative Republican, who lives on a horse ranch near Sisters, announced her campaign for Oregon’s 5th Congressional District in an email Tuesday morning. It marks a major twist for the hotly-contested 2026 Deschutes County Commission race, in which four of five of the board’s seats are on the ballot.
Adair, however, said she is focused on the federal level.
“It’s a calling to run for the higher office,” Adair said in an interview Tuesday morning. “I’m a native Oregonian. I see where our state has gone, and I believe that I can bring balance back and actually help my district recover.”
Adair will compete for the Republican nomination in the race for District 5, which stretches across the Cascade Mountains, from Bend to the suburbs southeast of Portland. The winner of May’s Republican primary will presumably challenge U.S. Rep. Janelle Bynum, the incumbent Democrat who flipped Oregon’s most high-profile U.S. House district in 2024 with her narrow defeat of then-incumbent Republican U.S. Rep. Lori Chavez-DeRemer.
The Democratic National Campaign Committee flagged Bynum as one of the most vulnerable Democrat incumbents in 2026.
In a press release, Adair called Bynum “an extreme partisan.”
“Unlike our current Representative, I will put people and problem-solving first, not partisanship and obstructionism,” she said.
Adair cited curbing costs of housing, utilities, healthcare and groceries as a top priority.
Shakeup for Deschutes County Commission
Adair’s announcement shakes up the race for Deschutes County Commission. Along with Commissioner Tony DeBone, Adair makes up one half of the board’s current Republican majority that has outvoted lone Democrat Phil Chang on key issues, although Adair has occasionally sided with Chang to support homelessness projects.
Next year, there will five commissioners instead of three. To maintain a majority, Republicans will need to win three of four seats on the ballot. Adair’s bid for the U.S. House leaves the race for Position 3 without a current Republican candidate. Two Democrats, teacher Amy Sabbadini and Redmond School Board member Amanda Page, have both filed for the seat. The filing deadline is not until March 10.
“We all know it’s going to be a real engaging and dynamic process between now and the end of next year,” DeBone said in an interview. He said he was happy for Adair to “take the next step” and run for Congress.
