page_title: Suzanne Bonamici
section_title: Elections
hierarchical_section_title: Suzanne Bonamici / U.S. House of Representatives / Elections
caption_attribution_description: Official portrait of Congresswoman Suzanne Bonamici.
context_page_description: Suzanne Marie Bonamici is an American politician serving as the U.S. Representative for Oregon's 1st congressional district, a seat she was first elected to in a 2012 special election. The district includes most of Portland west of the Willamette River, as well as all of Yamhill, Columbia, Clatsop, and Washington counties.
  A Democrat, Bonamici previously represented District 17 in the Oregon State Senate from 2008 to 2011. She was first elected to the Oregon House of Representatives in 2006.
context_section_description: Special election
  In early 2011, Bonamici's name was floated as a possible successor to then-Congressman David Wu after The Oregonian and Willamette Week reported Wu exhibited odd behavior and clashed with his staff in the midst of apparent mental illness during the 2010 election cycle. Following Wu's resignation from Congress, Bonamici announced her candidacy for the special election to replace him, touting endorsements from former Governor Barbara Roberts, former Congresswoman Elizabeth Furse, and incumbent Oregon Attorney General John Kroger, among others.
  On November 8, 2011, Bonamici won the Democratic Party of Oregon's nomination, winning an outright majority of the vote in every county in the district and capturing 66% of the vote overall, with a 44-point margin over second-place finisher Brad Avakian. She faced Republican nominee Rob Cornilles in the special election on January 31, 2012, winning by a 14-point margin.
  Prior to her election to Congress, Bonamici resigned from the Oregon Senate on November 21, and was replaced by Elizabeth Steiner Hayward in December.
  2012 regular election
  In November 2012, Bonamici won re-election to her first full term with over 60% of the vote.
caption: Bonamici during the 112th Congress
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