Jeff Merkley
American politician (born 1956) / From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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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.
Jeff Merkley | |
---|---|
United States Senator from Oregon | |
Assumed office January 3, 2009 | |
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 (1956-10-24) October 24, 1956 (age 67) 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 |
Jeff Merkley on the Good Samaritan Remediation of Abandoned Hardrock Mines Act of 2022 Recorded September 29, 2022 | |
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]