Following its creation after the 1980 census, the first five members to represent the district all got divorced while in office, a pattern that has brought the district to media attention.[3][4]
History
The district was created in 1982 when Oregon was granted a new congressional district as a result of reapportionment from the 1980 census. Denny Smith, who had represented Oregon's 2nd congressional district in the previous Congress, was re-elected in the 5th district in 1982 after it absorbed most of the western portion of the old 2nd.
In 2002, the district shrank slightly in area due to redistricting. About half of the portion of the district that had been in Benton County was moved into the 4th district and portions of west-central Clackamas County were moved into the 3rd district. At the same time, small portions of northern Clackamas and southern Multnomah County that had previously been part of the 1st district were moved into the 5th district.[5]
Following the 2020 census and the subsequent redistricting, the 5th was redrawn significantly. It lost its western and coastal portions, including the urban portion of Salem, as well as all of Polk, Lincoln, and Tillamook counties. It gained all of Linn County and the most populated portions of Deschutes County. It is the most evenly divided district in partisan terms in Oregon, and has been through many iterations.
Composition
For the 118th and successive Congresses (based on redistricting following the 2020 census), the district contains all or portions of the following counties and communities:[6]
When created in 1983, the district was an inland district focused around the Willamette Valley, and consisted of all of Clackamas and Marion counties, as well as small parts of the counties of Benton, Linn, and Polk. In 1993, the district gained a large coastal portion from the 1st district, gaining all of Tillamook and Lincoln counties as well as the rest of Polk, whilst part of Clackamas County was lost to the 3rd district.
In the 2003 and 2013 redistrictings, the changes were only minor, as the district gained a small portion of Multnomah County from the 3rd district in 2003 but lost it again in 2013, while it lost a portion of northern Clackamas County to the 3rd district in both 2003 and 2013.[10][11]
In the 2023 redistricting, the district underwent major boundary changes, as it gained all of Linn County, some of Multnomah and Clackamas counties, and parts of Deschutes County including Bend, but it lost the entire coastal section it had gained in 1993 as well as the area in Polk and Benton counties to the 1st, 4th, and 6th districts. Parts of western Marion County, including the city of Salem, were also lost to the new 6th district.
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