Jeff Merkley

Merkley was born in Myrtle Creek, Oregon, and grew up in Douglas County, Roseburg and East Multnomah County; his father was a millwright, “the mechanic who keeps the mill machinery running.”⁠[1][2]

In 1979 he became the first person in his family to graduate from college, earning a bachelor’s degree from Stanford UniversityStanford UniversityStanford University is a research university in California founded by Leland and Jane Stanford in 1885 and opened in 1891.Open the full entry; he received a graduate degree from Princeton UniversityPrinceton UniversityPrinceton University is a private university and Ivy League member in Princeton, New Jersey. Chartered on October 22, 1746 as the College of New Jersey, it moved to Princeton in 1756 and adopted its present name in 1896. Undergraduate education leads to A.B. and B.S.E. degrees and emphasizes small-group discussion, independent research and residential college life. Graduate education spans the humanities, social sciences, natural sciences and engineering. As of October 2026, Christopher L. Eisgruber was president. Its 2026–27 operating budget was $3.407 billion, including $342 million for undergraduate aid.Open the full entry in 1982.⁠[1][2]

After college he worked on nuclear disarmament and military spending policy in Washington, D.C., and interned for Sen. Mark Hatfield.⁠[1]

Returning to Oregon, he led Portland Area Habitat for Humanity and developed affordable housing; he has said that seeing nonprofits could not solve housing problems on their own led him to run for office.⁠[1]

In 1998 Merkley was elected to the Oregon House of Representatives from District 47, serving from 1999 to 2009, and he became Speaker of the House in 2007.⁠[2][1]

Under his speakership the legislature created the state’s first rainy-day fund, expanded access to affordable prescription drugs, protected LGBTQ+ Oregonians from discrimination and banned predatory payday lending.⁠[1]

In 2008 he was elected to the U.S. Senate seat once held by Mark Hatfield, and he took office on January 3, 2009.⁠[1][2]

In the 119th Congress (2025–2026) he was ranking member of the Senate Budget Committee and served on the Appropriations; Environment and Public Works; Foreign Relations; and Rules and Administration committees and the Joint Committee on Printing, and was ranking member of the appropriations subcommittee on the Interior, environment and related agencies and of the environment subcommittee on chemical safety, waste management, environmental justice and regulatory oversight.⁠[2]

He also co-chairs the Congressional-Executive Commission on China.⁠[1]

He holds a town hall in each of Oregon’s 36 counties every year and has held more than 500.⁠[1]

In 2025 Merkley considered retiring; he has said actions by the Trump administration led him to run again.⁠[3]

He has cited the fight against dark money in politics and an overhaul of the filibuster as unfinished work, and said that if Democrats regained the Senate he would aim to reduce debt by cutting wasteful defense spending and reversing tax breaks that benefit the wealthy. “This century is going to belong to the nations that invest the most in education and infrastructure,” he said.⁠[3]

In the May 19 Democratic primary he defeated Paul Damian Wells with 93.2% of the vote. Through June 30 he had raised $4.5 million for the cycle, compared with about $120,000 for his Republican opponent, David Brock SmithDavid Brock SmithDavid Brock Smith is an American Republican politician and restaurateur from Port Orford, Oregon. He served in the Oregon House of Representatives from 2017 to 2023 and has been an Oregon state senator since 2023; as the 2026 Republican nominee for the U.S. Senate he lost to incumbent Jeff Merkley.Open the full entry.⁠[2][3]

In the November 3 general election Merkley, running as the Democratic and Working Families Party nominee, defeated Republican state Sen. David Brock Smith; other candidates included Chris Henry of the Pacific Green and Progressive parties and Libertarian Gary Dye. At 11:00 p.m. EST the Associated Press declared that Merkley had won reelection.⁠[2][4]

Senator Jeff Merkley: Official website: https://www.merkley.senate.gov/ (opens in a new window).⁠[1]

X: Public account: https://x.com/SenJeffMerkley (opens in a new window).⁠[1]

YouTubeYouTubeYouTube is Google’s video-sharing and creator platform, founded in 2005 by Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim and acquired by Google in 2006. Built around video uploading, viewing, and creator earnings, the platform has developed Shorts, YouTube Music, Premium, YouTube TV, and products for children, and is headquartered in San Bruno, California, United States.Open the full entry: Public channel: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCRoXttCJhMnLVCxCaa6VnNQ (opens in a new window).⁠[1]