President Merkley? Oregon Senator Eyes White House Run in 2020

PORTLAND, OR – Jeff Merkley is almost two years into his second term representing Oregon in the United States Senate. He is beginning to wonder if it's time to move on.

The senator's not thinking about leaving politics. He's thinking about upping his game.

Merkley is thinking about a run for the White House in 2020.

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His spokeswoman tells Patch that while he's considering a run, right now he's focused on the midterms. That happens next week, so a decision could come sooner rather than later.

Merkley, a former Speaker of the House in the Oregon legislature before being elected to the U.S. Senate in 2008, upsetting incumbent Gordon Smith.

He received little notice outside of Oregon until the election of Donald Trump.

The 2016 presidential election gave Merkley – a self-professed "blue-collar kid who had to work really hard" – a chance to gain some exposure as a member of the progressive wing of the Democratic Party. He was the only senator to endorse Bernie Sanders's 2016 presidential campaign.

He's made the most of it, notably conducting a 15-hour filibuster agains then-Supreme Court nominee Neil Gorsuch.

It this past summer, when Merkley found himself in the spotlight of national attention.

He had gone to visit an immigration detention center in Texas and was refused entry, an incident that was caught on video. Merkley's appearance on CNN and MSNBC started to increase.

Merkley has also started a political action committee – the Blue Wave Project – that's been hiring field organizers and other staff in New Hampshire, Iowa, and other states.

Merkley has endorsed more than one dozen candidates. In addition to donating $2,500 to each, his PAC has been providing staff support to candidates this year including Iowa Democrat JD Scholten, who is trying to unseat Republican Steve King.

Photo via office of Senator Merkley.