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, Merkley served as the 64th Speaker of the Oregon House of Representatives from 2007 to 2009.
Before his election to the Senate, Merkley was a five-term member of the Oregon House of Representatives, representing the 47th district in central Multnomah County at the eastern side of Portland. Merkley defeated two-term Republican incumbent Gordon Smith in 2008 and was reelected in 2014, defeating Republican nominee Monica Wehby.
Merkley has been a leading progressive voice in the Senate and was the only U.S. Senator to endorse Bernie Sanders in the 2016 Democratic presidential primaries. He was considered a potential candidate for president in 2020, but he chose to run for reelection to the Senate instead.[1]
