Jeff Merkley
Candidate for:
US Senate
What drives me to seek an elected position
I am the son of a union mechanic, attended public schools and was the first in my family to go to college. I still live in the same blue-collar neighborhood I grew up in.
My vision: “Families thrive, and the rich pay their fair share.”
But the mega wealthy are making that vision harder to achieve. The people have the ballot box, but billionaires have lawyers and lobbyists, media campaigns and unlimited secret campaign donations. And they have Trump, who is building a strong-man state with the mission of “families lose, billionaires win.”
There has never been a more important moment to fight back.
The first three priorities or issues I want to tackle
End Trump’s strongman state: No more ICE agents operating as secret police; no more operations at schools and warrantless home raids. Full accountability for every civil rights violation.
End political corruption: No more stock trading; no more exchanging government favors for investments in Trump’s companies. The Supreme Court needs reform and a binding code of ethics.
Save our elections: Stop gerrymandering. Require paper ballots. End secret campaign funding. Expand vote-by-mail for all. Block Trump’s election rigging.
Strengthen the foundations for families to thrive: Housing. Health care. Education. Good-paying jobs! Stop drug companies from price gouging. Ban hedge funds from buying single-family homes. Create affordable daycare and debt-free opportunities for trade school and college.
Meet the climate chaos challenge: Rapidly transition from dirty, expensive fossils to cheaper, cleaner, renewables.
Create opportunity across Oregon: I hold a town hall in every county, every year and champion every corner of Oregon: rural broadband; clean water; and investments in mental health, schools, ports, transportation, agriculture, and mills.
Restore American alliances and leadership for human welfare and human rights.
The experiences and insights I will bring to the office
As Senator, I shut down the worst abuses of the Wall Street Casino and fought against the Trump administration’s inhumane child separation policy. I led a national battle to stop billionaires from buying elections, prevent voter suppression and end partisan gerrymandering. With Trump now turning our democracy into an authoritarian state, as Ranking Member of the Senate Budget Committee, I am leading the fight against a ruthless billionaires win, families lose agenda that targets working Americans, rewards greed and corruption and threatens our democracy. Every day, I roll up my sleeves and take on the powerful to deliver for ordinary Oregonians and a future where families thrive, and the rich pay their fair share.
What being a Democrat in Multnomah County means to me
On October 21, 2025, I went to the US Senate chamber to ring the alarm bells about President Trump’s aggressive authoritarian takeover of our republic. I spoke through the night for over 22 hours.
I undertook this grueling exercise to convey that we are at the most perilous moment for our democracy since the Civil War.
We now have all three ingredients of a strongman state: a rubber-stamp Congress doing the President’s bidding; a Supreme Court finding “invisible ink” in the Constitution to enhance the President’s powers; and a power-hungry president behaving like a king, breaking the law and violating the checks and balances of our Constitution.
But there are two powerful ways to stop the entrenchment of an authoritarian state. The first is robust, peaceful citizen action. The second is an overwhelming rejection of supporters of a strongman state at the next election.
There has never been a more important time to fight back, and I know I can count on Democrats in Multnomah County and across Oregon to be in this fight. Together, let’s save our republic!