Jeff Merkley

Jeff Merkley and his wife, Mary Sorteberg, have two children, Brynne and Jonathan, and two Airedale terriers, Roxy and Lila.¹ He met Mary while she was volunteering at a Washington homeless shelter with the Lutheran Volunteer Corps.¹ His childhood in Oregon timber communities included a millwright father and annual family camping trips.¹

Merkley became the first person in his family to graduate from college in 1979.¹ During an early Washington internship with Senator Mark Hatfield, he waited tables and washed dishes to extend his stay.¹ He later worked on nuclear policy before returning to Oregon, becoming executive director of Portland Area Habitat for Humanity and developing affordable housing.¹

First elected to the Oregon House in 1998, he became speaker in 2007 and entered the U.S. Senate in 2009.¹² He worked with Senator Carl Levin on the Volcker provisions of the 2010 Dodd-Frank financial reform law.³ Those rules generally restrict banks' trading for their own accounts and investments in hedge funds or private equity.⁴

His current priorities center on healthcare, affordable housing, education and jobs that support working families.¹ He also emphasizes climate, mental health and childcare in describing the issues raised at his Oregon town halls.¹ He faces Republican David Brock Smith on November 3, with voters deciding whether to return a senator serving since 2009 or change the party representing them in this seat.²