The oregon delegation

congressional officials …

Oregon has an female-dominate delegation of five females and three males. It is also somewhat diverse in that one member is minority representation.

Of the eight class members, three are lawyers, one is a physician, and two have Master’s degrees. 

The average tenure for the delegation is currently 3.5 terms, assuming, of course, everyone completes their service by the end of 2026. The longest-serving member has been in Congress since 1981.

Two members of the Oregon delegation are freshmen members.  One of the Senators is up for re-election in 2026.

When you look at these profiles, we have given each a letter grade for their effort this Congress, based on various factors, which you will find in What Is Thomas Looking For? These letter grades are probably pretty familiar to you if you have ever been a school student (we hope the answer to that is we all have!)

If you see a meager score for a particular member, it will probably be due to one or two key factors: ethics challenges or anti-democratic behavior.

• Republicans have been hit hard on their lack of push back on former and now current President Trump and their support of election denying in the 2020 presidential campaign. The unanswered soaring deficit on their watch, the dismantling of allied relationships around the globe, and opposition to funding anti-authoritarian initiatives. The denial of climate change weighs heavily on us as well. We make no secret that transparency and Government in the Sunshine are essential to us, and we further argue that some have been awful stewards of this category. For example, none of the eight Oregon delegation members voted to overturn the 2020 presidential election results the same evening as Trump supporters stormed the United States Capitol.

• Democrats have been hit hard for their lack of progress on critical matters because they control the United States Senate and have a razor-close margin in the U.S. House of Representatives. They have not been innovative or necessarily insistent on finding rational, reasonable solutions to the problems plaguing the American public today. We want to see more and better.

• Both have been dinged for being too partisan and not collaborative where evident. In our opinion, being too doctrinaire or an obstructionist to good government in the 21st century does not get one a good grade from Thomas.

We also indicate what we believe might be the outcome of these Members’ 2026 elections today. The majority of House members were re-elected in 2023.

Our prospect ratings fall into three categories:

• Safe Bet - which means what it means. These members of Congress are running strong and look to be overwhelming prospects for re-election at this time. However, we reserve the right to re-categorize their chances if necessary.

• It’s A Race - means this race is too close to call, and we can not reasonably predict who will win this seat.

• Nudging - means the seat is leaning one way or another for this candidate. We have just a small number of current members of Congress in this category. Stay tuned!

So, would you like to meet these fascinating Oregonians? If so, keep reading on!

what is thomas looking for?

Thomas sees one Oregon seat as being vulnerable in 2026 and worth watching:

• OR05 - Janelle Bynum’s seat (Incumbent D - Nudging D)

the senators

United States Senator ron wyden (d)

U.S. Senator Ron Wyden is Dean of the Oregon delegation having been elected to the first of his six terms thus far in a special election in 1996 after serving in the U.S. House since 1981. He is the ranking member of the Senate Finance Committee; chair of the Joint Taxation Committee; a member of the Budget Committee, the Natural Resources Committee, and the Select Committee on Intelligence. Wyden is married and the father of five.  He graduated from Stanford University and has a law degree from the University of Oregon.

Thomas Take: Not Up For Re-Election in 2026

Thomas Rank: A

Website

United states senator jeff merkley (D)

Jeff Merkley is Oregon’s junior senator completing his third term.  He is the ranking member of the Senate Budget Committee and a member of the Appropriations Committee; the Environment and Public Works Committee; the Foreign Relations Committee; and the Rules and Administration Committee. Merkley, who is married and the father of two, graduated from Stanford University and has a graduate degree from Princeton University.  The Senator was once a Speaker of the Oregon House of Representatives.

Thomas Take: Up for re-election in 2026

Thomas Rank: B

Website

the representatives