PORTLAND — Democrat Janelle Bynum has flipped Oregon’s 5th Congressional District and will become the state’s first Black member of Congress.

Bynum, a state representative who was backed and funded by national Democrats, ousted freshman GOP U.S. Rep. Lori Chavez-DeRemer. Republicans lost a seat that they flipped red for the first time in roughly 25 years during the 2022 midterms.

Chavez-DeRemer conceded the race Thursday, the day that The Associated Press declared Bynum the winner.

“I’m deeply grateful for the opportunity I had to serve as Oregonians’ voice in Congress,” Chavez-DeRemer said in a statement posted on her social media. “Although this isn’t the outcome we had hoped for, I’m proud of what we accomplished together.”

The contest was seen as a GOP toss up by the Cook Political Report, meaning either party had a good chance of winning.

Chavez-DeRemer narrowly won the seat in 2022, which was the first election held in the district after its boundaries were significantly redrawn following the 2020 census.

The district now encompasses disparate regions spanning metro Portland and its wealthy and working-class suburbs, as well as rural agricultural and mountain communities and includes Bend and Redmond. Registered Democratic voters outnumber Republicans by about 25,000 in the district, but unaffiliated voters represent the largest constituency.