Oathstar

U.S. Senator from Oregon · Class II

Jeff Merkley

Democrat 3rd term On 2026 ballot Ranking · Budget
100LoyaltyMed 96
99AttendMed 98
4BipartMed 9
4BreaksMed 31

Position · −0.45

LEFTD · R RANGESRIGHT
In office
Senate 2009–now
17 years in CongressMore senior than 66% of the Senate
Breaks on
  • Energy & environment 4%
  • International Affairs 3%
Committees
  • Printing
  • Appropriations
  • Environment and Public Works
Bills on
  • Health
  • International Affairs
  • Environmental Protection
Age
69

2026 election

On the November ballot
General election Nov 3, 2026

Facing

See the full race

Bottom line

Where Merkley has influence

Roles

Talks most about

Stories in Merkley’s press releases with their latest stance, last three months. Read by AI.

Where Merkley breaks with Democrats

Method

Share of party-line votes on each issue where Merkley voted against most Democrats. The tick is the median for Senate Democrats.

  1. Energy & environment 4% · 1 of 26 party 4%
  2. International Affairs 3% · 1 of 31 party 3%
  3. Armed Forces & National Security 2% · 1 of 42 party 2%

Every issue Pro See all 4 issues where Merkley has broken with Democrats, and filter the voting record to those votes.

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Notable votes

Full record (Pro)

Where Merkley broke with their party, close outcomes and final passage votes on named bills, newest first.

DateMeasureTitleVote Party split (yea)Result
Sep 28, 2026 S. 4668 Protect College Sports Act of 2026On Passage of the Bill · This bill establishes requirements for name, image, or likeness (NIL) agreements for college student athletes and provides a limited…Broke w/ party Nay Passed
77–22
Sep 24, 2026 S. 4668 Protect College Sports Act of 2026On the Cloture Motion · This bill establishes requirements for name, image, or likeness (NIL) agreements for college student athletes and provides a limited…Broke w/ party Nay Passed
74–25
Sep 24, 2026 S. 4668 Protect College Sports Act of 2026On the Amendment · This bill establishes requirements for name, image, or likeness (NIL) agreements for college student athletes and provides a limited…Broke w/ party Nay Passed
77–23
Sep 22, 2026 S. 4668 Protect College Sports Act of 2026On the Cloture Motion · This bill establishes requirements for name, image, or likeness (NIL) agreements for college student athletes and provides a limited…Broke w/ party Nay Passed
70–21
Sep 17, 2026 S. 4668 Protect College Sports Act of 2026On the Motion to Proceed · This bill establishes requirements for name, image, or likeness (NIL) agreements for college student athletes and provides a limited…Broke w/ party Nay Passed
77–22
Sep 15, 2026 S. 4668 Protect College Sports Act of 2026On Cloture on the Motion to Proceed · This bill establishes requirements for name, image, or likeness (NIL) agreements for college student athletes and provides a limited…Broke w/ party Nay Passed
74–24
Aug 8, 2026 H.R. 6500 Continuing Appropriations and Extensions Act, 2027On the Motion to Table · This bill provides continuing FY2027 appropriations for federal agencies and extends various expiring programs and authorities.Broke w/ party Nay Passed
61–32
Aug 7, 2026 H.R. 5334 Lindsey O. Graham Sanctioning Russia and Iran Act of 2026On the Amendment · This bill imposes a variety of sanctions, tariffs, and prohibitions related to Russia, extends an Iran-related sanctions law, and expands a…Broke w/ party Nay Failed
32–64

Yea ■ filled · Nay □ open · Not voting – dash. Party split bars: Democrats left, Republicans right; dark = yea, light = nay.

What Merkley is saying

All 86 statements and posts

◇ statements (press releases) · ○ posts. When a statement names a bill Merkley voted on, the vote is shown next to it.

Effectiveness, 119th Congress so far

How it’s measured
1.21· expected 0.96

Meets expectations

Rank 25 of 100 in the Senate · expected = average of 18 minority-party ranking members

How far Merkley’s own bills got, weighted by substance. The average member scores 1.00.

  1. Introduced 113
  2. Action in committee 15
  3. Action beyond committee 10
  4. Passed chamber 2
  5. Became law 0

113 bills and joint resolutions sponsored: 2 significant (got a roll call vote), 111 substantive, 0 commemorative. Compare the Senate

How Merkley’s ratings compare with every senator

Ratings, 119th Congress

Scores run 0–100 and always sit next to a median. Each tick is one senator; the ringed marker is Merkley.

99/ 100

Chamber median 98 · 7 missed of 915

Voted on 908 of 915 roll calls; missed 7. Higher than 86% of senators.

85% 100%

Party loyalty

How it’s measured
100/ 100

Senate D median 96 · Rank 9 of 47

Sided with the Democratic majority on 833 votes that split the parties. Higher than 62% of senators.

75% 100%
4/ 100

Chamber median 9 · −5

Average agreement with members of the other party on contested votes. Lower than 95% of senators.

0% 30%
−0.45

Democratic middle 80%: -0.51 to -0.23

Left–right position from roll-call similarity (DW-NOMINATE, Voteview), from −1 to +1. Members who vote alike sit near each other.

Liberal Conservative

Bills, 119th Congress

All 137 sponsored bills

Sponsored 137 (Senate median 61) · cosponsored 717 (median 308), 430 of them as an original cosponsor · most often on Health, International Affairs, Environmental Protection.

Votes by issue

How votes are tagged
IssueVotesYea share
Nominations223 1%
Economics and Public Finance207 65%
Other115 0%
Armed Forces & National Security51 18%
Immigration37 70%
International Affairs36 89%
Energy & environment26 4%
Congress19 11%
Finance and Financial Sector19 21%
Environmental Protection18 33%
Show all 32 issues
IssueVotesYea share
Public Lands and Natural Resources15 0%
Taxes, finance & economy14 0%
Government Operations and Politics13 23%
Energy12 0%
Sports and Recreation12 33%
Transportation and Public Works12 58%
Foreign affairs & trade10 0%
Health care10 0%
Housing and Community Development9 100%
Transportation & infrastructure8 13%
Taxation7 43%
Budget & appropriations7 0%
Foreign Trade and International Finance6 83%
Crime and Law Enforcement4 0%
Health4 75%
Education & families3 0%
Education2 50%
Emergency Management2 100%
Science, Technology, Communications2 0%
Immigration & border2 0%
Crime & justice2 0%
Families1 100%

How often Merkley voted with Democrats on each issue is part of Pro.

Who votes alike

Method

Agreement on contested votes where both cast yea or nay.

Full voting network Pro See all twelve closest allies, the members Merkley most often votes against, and the closest allies in the other party.

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Campaign money

Method

In the 2025–26 cycle Merkley’s campaign raised $4.5M: $3.5M (78%) from individuals and $478K (11%) from PACs and other committees. Cash on hand: $6.8M.

Through Jun 30, 2026; filings lag, so recent gifts can take weeks to appear. Money raised also counts loans and transfers, so the shares need not add to 100%. Source: FEC.gov.

Last cycle, party money, self-funding and debts are part of Pro. See Pro

Who funds Merkley

The largest PACs and other committees giving directly to the campaign this cycle, of 89.

  1. A New Direction PAC Member’s leadership PAC
  2. Alsobrooks Victory Fund Independent PAC
Amounts, the top 10 and who else they fundPro

See how much each organization gave Merkley this cycle and last, the mix of corporate, labor, trade and other PACs, and who else each one funds.

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Merkley’s own leadership PAC: Blue Senate PAC, Blue Wave Project, Climate Champions PAC. A separate PAC a member sponsors to give to other candidates.

Record over time

Historical record Pro Compare Merkley’s measures across every Congress on file.

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Résumé and contact