Ronald Lee Wyden ( WY-dən; born May 3, 1949) is an American attorney and politician serving as the senior United States senator from Oregon, a seat he has held since 1996. A member of the Democratic Party, he served in the United States House of Representatives from 1981 until 1996. Upon the death of Representative Don Young in 2022, Wyden became the dean of the West Coast's Congressional delegation. He is the dean of Oregon's congressional delegation and serves as the ranking member of the Senate Finance Committee. Known for his libertarian-leaning stances within the Democratic Party, Wyden has been a prominent advocate for privacy rights, internet freedom, and limiting government surveillance, positioning him as a defender of civil liberties.
Early life, education, and early career
Ronald Wyden was born in Wichita, Kansas, the son of Edith (née Rosenow) and Peter H. Wyden (originally Weidenreich, 1923–1998), both of whom were Jewish and had fled Nazi Germany. He grew up in Palo Alto, California, where he played basketball for Palo Alto High School. He attended the University of California, Santa Barbara, on a basketball scholarship, and later transferred to Stanford University, where he majored in political science and received his Bachelor of Arts in 1971. He received a Juris Doctor from the University of Oregon School of Law in 1974, but has never been a member of the Oregon State Bar.
While teaching gerontology at several Oregon universities, Wyden founded the Oregon chapter of the Gray Panthers, which he led from 1974 to 1980. He was also the director of the Oregon Legal Services Center for Elderly, a nonprofit law service. From 1977 to 1979 he served on the Oregon State Board of Examiners of Nursing Home Administrators.
Wyden ran for the United States House of Representatives in 1980. In the Democratic primary, Wyden, who was just 31 at the time, upset incumbent Representative Bob Duncan in Oregon's 3rd congressional district, which includes most of Portland. Later that fall, Wyden defeated his Republican opponent, Darrell Conger, with 71% of the vote. The 3rd has long been the most Democratic district in Oregon, and Wyden was reelected seven times, never with less than 70% of the vote.
In the House, Wyden played an influential role in the passage of Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act of 1996.
In January 1996, in a special election to fill the Senate seat vacated by Bob Packwood, Wyden defeated Oregon State Senate President Gordon Smith by just over 18,000 votes, mainly due to swamping Smith by over 89,000 votes in Multnomah County. Smith won the regular Senate election that November to succeed the retiring Mark Hatfield, and Smith and Wyden served together until Smith's defeat in 2008 by Democrat Jeff Merkley.
Wyden holds the Senate seat that was once held by Wayne Morse, a man whom Wyden worked for in the summer of 1968 as Morse's driver, and whom Wyden calls his mentor.
Wyden was elected to a full term in 1998 with 61% of the vote.
Wyden was reelected in 2004 with 64% of the vote to Republican nominee Al King's 31%.
In 2010, Wyden was reelected with 57% of the vote to Jim Huffman's 39%.
In 2016, Wyden was reelected with 57% of the vote to Republican nominee Mark Callahan's 33%.
In 2022, Wyden was reelected with 56% of the vote to Republican nominee Jo Rae Perkins's 41%.
In June 1996, Wyden offered an amendment to the mission of the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) that was endorsed by Transportation Secretary Federico F. Peña. In September, Wyden joined Wendell H. Ford in requesting that the FAA publicize information on the federal government's reason for not making safety data on the airlines more readily available to travelers.
In late 1999, Wyden threatened a filibuster amid Senate debate over banning physician-assisted suicide.
In May 2000, Wyden and Republican Representative Bill Thomas announced they would collaborate on an attempt to add prescription drug benefits to Medicare that year.
In January 2001, Wyden and Chuck Schumer were the only two senators on the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee to vote against the confirmation of Gale Norton as Secretary of the Interior. Wyden admitted reluctance in his opposition and said he hoped that Norton would change his view of her.
In February 2001, after the U.S. Department of Transportation's Inspector General's Office released a report on airlines providing "untimely, incomplete, or unreliable reports" on flight delays and cancellations, Wyden said the matter amounted to a "failure to communicate honestly about delays and cancellations" as well as the bumping of passengers from flights and that Congress was capable of taking action to give passengers "timely, accurate information and reasonable service." In March, Wyden stated his support for ending a federal rule requiring commercial pilots to cease flying after age 60.