NEW YORK — Sen. Jeff Merkley, D-Ore., has endorsed Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., the first such show of support from the body where Sanders has served for nine years. Merkley did so in the pages of the New York Times, a testament to the news value of a Democratic senator not joining the 40 who have endorsed former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton.
“From her time advocating for children as a young lawyer to her work as first lady of Arkansas and the United States, and as a senator and secretary of state, Hillary Clinton has a remarkable record. She would be a strong and capable president,” wrote Merkley. “But Bernie Sanders is boldly and fiercely addressing the biggest challenges facing our country. He has opposed trade deals with nations that pay their workers as little as a dollar an hour. Such deals have caused good jobs to move overseas and undermined the leverage of American workers to bargain for a fair share of the wealth they create in our remaining factories.”
Merkley, elected to the Senate in a close 2008 race and easily re-elected after a brief 2014 scare, once faced the sort of insurgency that Sanders now represents to Clinton. In 2008, seen by national Democrats as having the best chance to win what was then a Republican-held seat, Merkley had to hold off a spirited challenge from attorney Steve Novick. Like Sanders, Novick campaigned on broad populist policies, like raising the cap on Social Security taxes.
Oregon’s May 17 primary has not been polled recently, but it as seen as especially strong territory for Sanders. He has dominated in similar states in the West, where the Democratic vote is dominated by white liberals. In 2008, after a few setbacks in states like Texas and Pennsylvania, Barack Obama won an 18-point landslide in Oregon. By endorsing Sanders, Merkley may be avoiding the fate of Democrats in states like Washington and Minnesota, who endorsed Clinton early, watched her lose the state, then were (and continue to be) besieged by calls to flip to Sanders.
