# Jeff Merkley

Jeff Merkley is a Democratic U.S. senator from Oregon.

- Party: Democrat
- Seat: U.S. Senate, Oregon
- Serving since: 2009-01-06
- Current term: 119th Congress (2025–27)
- Next election: 2026-11-03
- Bioguide ID: M001176
- FEC candidate IDs: S8OR00207

Source: https://americaspoliticalpulse.com/p/M001176 (America’s Political Pulse, Polarization Research Lab), data through 2026-10-27. Data under CC BY 4.0. Cite as: Westwood, Sean J., and Yphtach Lelkes. 2024. America's Political Pulse [data set].

## Headline

Merkley sits at −1.61 on the CSIP scale, more liberal than 94% of Senate Democrats.

## What Merkley says (119th Congress (2025–27))

2,716 classified statements: 1,723 posts on X, 627 press releases, 328 Congressional Record speeches, 38 newsletters. Each rate is the share of statements with the label, against the Senate Democrats average; rank 1 is the highest rate.

| Label | Merkley | Senate Democrats average | Rank |
|---|---|---|---|
| Personal attacks | 11.3% | 10.9% | 19 of 45 |
| Policy criticism | 36.8% | 36.6% | 22 of 45 |
| Policy discussion | 72.7% | 77.8% | 35 of 45 |
| Bipartisanship | 14.2% | 17.8% | 29 of 45 |
| Credit claiming | 25.7% | 26.2% | 24 of 45 |
| Extreme labels | 3.6% | 2.4% | 10 of 45 |

Most discussed policy areas: Government Operations and Politics 30% (Senate Democrats 22%); Economics and Public Finance 24% (Senate Democrats 24%); Health 23% (Senate Democrats 27%); Armed Forces and National Security 15% (Senate Democrats 21%); Civil Rights and Liberties, Minority Issues 13% (Senate Democrats 11%).

## Ideology (CSIP)

CSIP score −1.61 (standard error 0.01), from 14,243 donors and 4,940 roll calls. Negative is left of 0, positive right of it, on one scale for every official. 5.6% of Senate Democrats score lower.

## Votes (119th Congress (2025–27))

915 roll calls. Attendance 99.2% (Senate Democrats 97.0%). Party unity 99.5% (95.3%). 37 votes against the party majority.

Key votes:

- 2026-09-28 · voted nay · On Passage of the Bill · S. 4668 A bill to protect the name, image, and likeness rights of, and provide protections for, student athletes and to promote fair competition among… · Bill Passed · https://voteview.com/rollcall/RS1190909
- 2026-09-24 · voted yea · On the Concurrent Resolution · H.Con.Res. 89 A concurrent resolution directing the President, pursuant to section 5(c) of the War Powers Resolution, to remove United States Armed Forces… · Concurrent Resolution Rejected · https://voteview.com/rollcall/RS1190903
- 2026-08-08 · voted yea · On Passage of the Bill · H.R. 6500 An act making continuing appropriations and extensions for fiscal year 2027, and for other purposes. · Bill Passed · https://voteview.com/rollcall/RS1190887
- 2026-08-07 · voted yea · On Passage of the Bill · H.R. 5334 An act to impose sanctions and other measures with respect to the Russian Federation, as championed by the late Senator Lindsey O. Graham, and for… · Bill Passed · https://voteview.com/rollcall/RS1190883
- 2026-07-30 · voted nay · On the Resolution · S.Res. 817 An executive resolution authorizing the en bloc consideration in Executive Session of certain nominations on the Executive Calendar. · Resolution Agreed to · https://voteview.com/rollcall/RS1190876
- 2026-06-23 · voted yea · On the Concurrent Resolution · H.Con.Res. 86 A concurrent resolution directing the President, pursuant to section 5(c) of the War Powers Resolution, to remove United States Armed Forces… · Concurrent Resolution Agreed to · https://voteview.com/rollcall/RS1190843
- 2026-06-05 · voted nay · On Passage of the Bill · S. 2 An original bill to provide for reconciliation pursuant to title II of S. Con. Res. 33. · Bill Passed · https://voteview.com/rollcall/RS1190822
- 2026-05-11 · voted nay · On the Resolution · S.Res. 690 An executive resolution authorizing the en bloc consideration in Executive Session of certain nominations on the Executive Calendar. · Resolution Agreed to · https://voteview.com/rollcall/RS1190773
- 2026-04-23 · voted nay · On the Concurrent Resolution · S.Con.Res. 33 A concurrent resolution setting forth the congressional budget for the United States Government for fiscal year 2026 and setting forth the… · Concurrent Resolution Agreed to · https://voteview.com/rollcall/RS1190764
- 2026-04-16 · voted nay · On the Joint Resolution · H.J.Res. 140 A joint resolution providing for congressional disapproval under chapter 8 of title 5, United States Code, of the rule submitted by the Bureau of… · Joint Resolution Passed · https://voteview.com/rollcall/RS1190743

## Legislation (119th Congress (2025–27))

Sponsored 138 bills: 134 reached committee, 7 passed one chamber, 0 passed both, 0 became law. Cosponsored 717. 10.1% of sponsored bills got out of committee (Senate Democrats 13.5%; rank 31 of 45).

Recent sponsored bills:

- S.J.Res. 221: A joint resolution providing for congressional disapproval of the agreement for civilian nuclear cooperation between the United States and the Kingdom of… (introduced, 2026-10-15) https://www.congress.gov/bill/119th-congress/senate-joint-resolution/221
- S. 5606: Hong Konger Promise of Refuge Act (in committee, 2026-09-30) https://www.congress.gov/bill/119th-congress/senate-bill/5606
- S. 5624: Honoring Fallen Wildland Firefighters Act of 2026 (in committee, 2026-09-30) https://www.congress.gov/bill/119th-congress/senate-bill/5624
- S. 5670: A bill to ensure the prudent obligation of budget authority, and for other purposes. (in committee, 2026-09-30) https://www.congress.gov/bill/119th-congress/senate-bill/5670
- S. 5673: Car Privacy Rights Act of 2026 (in committee, 2026-09-30) https://www.congress.gov/bill/119th-congress/senate-bill/5673
- S. 5575: Stop Corrupt Gratuities Act (in committee, 2026-09-29) https://www.congress.gov/bill/119th-congress/senate-bill/5575
- S. 5592: American Promise Mortgage Act (in committee, 2026-09-29) https://www.congress.gov/bill/119th-congress/senate-bill/5592
- S. 5602: No Funds for Trump’s Illegal Arch Act (introduced, 2026-09-30) https://www.congress.gov/bill/119th-congress/senate-bill/5602
- S. 5603: Protecting Presidential Memorials Act (introduced, 2026-09-30) https://www.congress.gov/bill/119th-congress/senate-bill/5603
- S. 5568: Smaller Class Sizes for Students and Educators Act of 2026 (in committee, 2026-09-28) https://www.congress.gov/bill/119th-congress/senate-bill/5568

## Campaign money (2026 cycle)

Raised $5.4M (Senate Democrats median $2.6M). 30% of individual money came in gifts of $200 or less. 69% of itemized individual money came from in state. Aggregates only; no individual donors.

## Recent statements

Newest first. Posts on X are listed by date and link only.

- 2026-10-26 · Post on X · labels: policy criticism, policy discussion · https://x.com/SenJeffMerkley/status/2114755647719850393
- 2026-10-24 · Post on X · labels: policy discussion · https://x.com/SenJeffMerkley/status/2114106019496227108
- 2026-10-23 · Post on X · labels: policy discussion · https://x.com/SenJeffMerkley/status/2113725708816245056
- 2026-10-23 · Post on X · labels: personal attacks, policy discussion · https://x.com/SenJeffMerkley/status/2113776842381607385
- 2026-10-22 · Post on X · labels: policy discussion · https://x.com/SenJeffMerkley/status/2113324508740247668
- 2026-10-22 · Post on X · labels: personal attacks, policy discussion · https://x.com/SenJeffMerkley/status/2113366323128336406
- 2026-10-21 · Post on X · https://x.com/SenJeffMerkley/status/2112968819295523131
- 2026-10-21 · Post on X · labels: policy discussion · https://x.com/SenJeffMerkley/status/2112983874212872618
- 2026-10-20 · Post on X · labels: policy discussion · https://x.com/SenJeffMerkley/status/2112595287630037098
- 2026-10-20 · Post on X · labels: policy discussion, bipartisanship · https://x.com/SenJeffMerkley/status/2112610359345291284

## Links

- Official site: https://www.merkley.senate.gov
- X: https://x.com/SenJeffMerkley
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/jeffmerkley
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/senjeffmerkley
- YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/SenatorJeffMerkley
- Congress.gov: https://bioguide.congress.gov/search/bio/M001176

Full profile, with every chart and the methods: https://americaspoliticalpulse.com/p/M001176