Jeff Merkley (D-Ore.)

At the age of 19, Merkley interned for Oregon Sen. Mark O. Hatfield (R), who he says inspired him to pursue a career in public service. "I was struck by how well-respected he was in the Senate and how he approached everyone with civility and respect himself," Merkley said. "He was willing to work with the other party when he thought that was right, or even stand alone if he thought that was right."

Merkley was the first member of his family to graduate from college - and he did so with honors. He received a B.A. in international relations with honors from Stanford University in 1979.

In his mid-20s, Merkley traveled through war-torn Central America. He returned to an internship at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace in Washington, D.C., before heading to Princeton, where he got his master's in public policy at the Woodrow Wilson School of Public and International Affairs, graduating in 1982.

After graduation, Merkley went to Washington. He worked at the Pentagon as a presidential fellow, then moved to the Congressional Budget Office as a defense analyst.

In 1991, Merkley returned to Oregon to work in affordable housing development for groups including Habitat for Humanity and Human Solutions. In 1996, he became President of the World Affairs Council of Oregon, a private non-profit, non-partisan organization that focuses on educating the public about international affairs. He served in that post until 2003.

Merkley was elected to the Oregon House of Representatives in 1998. In the 2006 elections, Merkley helped Democrats take control of the state . House for the first time in 16 years. He was chosen as speaker in January 2007.

The next year, he ran to oust Sen. Smith, the West Coast's lone Republican senator, who closely linked himself with Democrats throughout the campaign.

The race was close; Merkley waited two days to claim victory as ballots were counted. He ended up with 49 percent of the vote to Smith's 46 percent.

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