Oregon working families helped propel former state Sen. Suzanne Bonamici (D) to victory yesterday in a special election for the U.S. House in the state’s northwestern First Congressional District. Bonamici, who defeated Republican businessman Rob Cornilles, replaces David Wu who resigned last year.

Oregon AFL-CIO President Tom Chamberlain says not only did union volunteers make more than 10,000 phone calls and 5,000 home visits to union families in support of Bonamici, but turned out to vote at a higher rate than the general public.

During the campaign, Bonamici called for the wealthy to pay their fair share of taxes, job creation through infrastructure investment and protection of Social Security and Medicare. She will fill out Wu’s remaining term and be on the ballot for a full two-year term in November.