Jeff Merkley | |
|---|---|
 Official portrait, 2017 | |
| United States Senator from Oregon | |
| Assumed office January 3, 2009 Serving with Ron Wyden | |
| Preceded by | Gordon Smith |
| 64th Speaker of the Oregon House of Representatives | |
| In office January 3, 2007 – January 2, 2009 | |
| Preceded by | Karen Minnis |
| Succeeded by | Dave Hunt |
| Member of the Oregon House of Representatives from the 47th district | |
| In office January 3, 1999 – January 2, 2009 | |
| Preceded by | Frank Shields |
| Succeeded by | Jefferson Smith |
| Personal details | |
| Born | Jeffrey Alan Merkley October 24, 1956 Myrtle Creek, Oregon, U.S. |
| Political party | Democratic |
| Spouse |
Mary Sorteberg (m. 1992) |
| Children | 2 |
| Education | Stanford University (BA) Princeton University (MPA) |
| Website | Senate website |
Jeffrey Alan Merkley (born October 24, 1956) is an American politician serving as the junior United States senator from Oregon since 2009. A member of the Democratic Party, he served from 1999 to 2009 as the representative for the 47th district in the Oregon House of Representatives, which covers central Multnomah County on the eastern side of Portland; he was the speaker of the House during the last two years of his tenure.
In 2008, Merkley defeated two-term Republican incumbent U.S. Senator Gordon Smith and was reelected in 2014 and 2020, defeating Republican nominees Monica Wehby and Jo Rae Perkins. During his tenure, Merkley has been an advocate of progressivism and was the only U.S. senator to endorse Bernie Sanders in the 2016 Democratic presidential primaries.[1] He was considered a potential candidate for president in 2020, but chose to run for reelection to the Senate instead.[2]
- ^ "Sanders' first Senate endorser: Jeff Merkley". Politico. April 13, 2016. Archived from the original on January 10, 2022. Retrieved January 10, 2022.
- ^ Miller, Avery; Klein, Rick (December 19, 2018). "Sen. Jeff Merkley: Family on board for a 2020 presidential run and he won't defer to Sen. Bernie Sanders". ABC News. Archived from the original on August 2, 2020. Retrieved December 20, 2018.