Deschutes County Commissioner Patti Adair is running for Congress in Oregon’s 5th Congressional District. Rumors of the run had swirled around Bend and Central Oregon for weeks, before Adair announced her bid in a press release on Tuesday.
In this image from video, Deschutes County Commissioner Patti Adair speak at a budget committee meeting on May 14, 2025.
Deschutes County Board of Commissioners / Deschutes County Board of Commissioners
Adair, a Republican, is vying for the seat held by first term House Representative, Janelle Bynum, a Democrat from Happy Valley.
Bynum hasn’t launched her election campaign but she has signaled her intention to run.
“I hope to earn another term from my constituents and continue working to move things forward for the next generation,” she said.
Adair is hoping to make the jump after serving on the Deschutes County Board of Commissioners for two terms. She was elected in 2018 and then again in 2022.
“I am running for Congress because I understand firsthand the challenges that families and communities in the 5th Congressional District are facing,” said Adair in a press release.
“Unlike our current Representative, I will put people and problem-solving first, not partisanship and obstructionism,” she added.
Fellow Deschutes County commissioner and Democrat Phil Chang said that hasn’t been his experience in working with her.
Adair said she has voted with Chang in the past. However, she typically votes with fellow county commissioner and Republican Tony DeBone, often overruling Chang.
Earlier this year, Adair and DeBone voted to dissolved a Deschutes County DEIA program, citing a presidential executive order that demanded an end to federal funding for DEI programs, despite public outcry and opposition from Chang.
Adair listed seven endorsers on her press release, one of them being Jefferson County Commissioner Kelly Simmelink. He called her a “willing partner that gets things done,” and pointed to the diversity of Deschutes County and her time in office during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic as evidence of her ability to handle the stress of the congressional office and to work across the aisle.
Adair was also a district delegate from Oregon in the 2016 Republican National Convention and went to Washington D.C. to attend President Trump’s inauguration in 2025. But she said she didn’t get to go inside the Capitol One Arena or any other events, except for a gathering at Oregon U.S. Rep. Cliff Bentz’s office.
Her announcement comes at a dynamic moment in the county commissioner race, where the field is rapidly filling ahead of the May 2026 primary. Adair told OPB she won’t be seeking re-election to her Deschutes County commission chair.
Thirteen candidates have announced their intention to run, with three people challenging Adair’s seat. John Heylin, who led the 2024 effort to expand the county board of commissioners from three to five seats, dropped out of the race, he told OPB in an interview, citing family and financial reasons.
Adair’s announcement also comes just before Deschutes County voters decide on whether or not to create representative districts for commissioners. A map of potential county commission represented districts will be presented to the board next month.
Oregon City, pictured here, is located at the edge of suburban and rural Clackamas County. More than 40% of voters in Oregon's 5th Congressional District live in Clackamas County.
Bryce Dole / OPB
