He posted on his Facebook page:
Big news, friends! I am endorsing Bernie Sanders for President of the United States.
As I wrote in The New York Times, we need urgency. We need big ideas. We need to rethink the status quo that allows the best off to continue setting the terms of debate. We have two good choices for president, but I think Bernie is the candidate who can best help us rethink how our economy and politics work, and for whom they work.
If you're feeling the Bern too, SHARE this and let me know here: http://www.jeffmerkley.com/feelthebern
The Oregon Democratic Primary takes place May 17 and Bernie Sanders is projected to be the likely winner.
Here are some excerpts from the Op-Ed Merkley published in the NYTimes: Why I'm Supporting Bernie Sanders
"...After considering the biggest challenges facing our nation and the future I want for my children and our country, I have decided to become the first member of the Senate to support my colleague Bernie Sanders for president.
... 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.
He has passionately advocated for pivoting from fossil fuels to renewable energy to save our planet from global warming -- the greatest threat facing humanity. He recognizes that to accomplish this we must keep the vast bulk of the world's fossil fuels in the ground.
Bernie is a determined leader in taking on the concentration of campaign cash from the mega-wealthy that is corrupting the vision of opportunity embedded in our Constitution.
And he has been unflinching in taking on predatory lending, as well as the threats to our economy from high-risk strategies at our biggest banks.
It has been noted that Bernie has an uphill battle ahead of him to win the Democratic nomination. But his leadership on these issues and his willingness to fearlessly stand up to the powers that be have galvanized a grass-roots movement. People know that we don't just need better policies, we need a wholesale rethinking of how our economy and our politics work, and for whom they work.
The first three words of the Constitution, in bold script, are "We the People." The American story is a journey of continuous striving to more fully realize our founding principles of hope and opportunity for all.
It is time to recommit ourselves to that vision of a country that measures our nation's success not at the boardroom table, but at kitchen tables across America. Bernie Sanders stands for that America, and so I stand with Bernie Sanders for president."
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