WEBVTT 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:02.140 Welcome and thank you so much for joining us 00:00:02.140 --> 00:00:05.259 for another custom tailored deep dive. This one 00:00:05.259 --> 00:00:08.000 was crafted specifically for you. So whether 00:00:08.000 --> 00:00:11.179 you're prepping for a major meeting or maybe 00:00:11.179 --> 00:00:12.939 catching up on the mechanics of American political 00:00:12.939 --> 00:00:15.480 history or you're just insanely curious about 00:00:15.480 --> 00:00:18.120 how the gears of government actually turn when 00:00:18.120 --> 00:00:20.539 no one is really looking, you are in the exact 00:00:20.539 --> 00:00:23.280 right place today. Absolutely. We are opening 00:00:23.280 --> 00:00:25.440 up the historical record today. Specifically, 00:00:25.679 --> 00:00:28.679 we are looking at a comprehensive Wikipedia breakdown 00:00:28.679 --> 00:00:31.100 of the United States senators from the state 00:00:31.100 --> 00:00:34.500 of Oregon, which I know might sound like a highly 00:00:34.500 --> 00:00:36.719 specific, maybe even niche topic at first glance. 00:00:36.780 --> 00:00:39.280 But when you really analyze the historical timeline 00:00:39.280 --> 00:00:41.820 of this one specific state, it reveals a much 00:00:41.820 --> 00:00:44.659 deeper, vastly more complex narrative about the 00:00:44.659 --> 00:00:47.359 entire country. It really does. Because our mission 00:00:47.359 --> 00:00:50.880 today is to explore how Oregon's senatorial history, 00:00:51.280 --> 00:00:53.439 stretching all the way from its statehood in 00:00:53.439 --> 00:00:56.799 1859, right up to the politicians walking the 00:00:56.799 --> 00:00:59.420 halls of the Capitol today, acts as a perfect 00:00:59.420 --> 00:01:01.759 microcosm for the evolution of American politics. 00:01:02.119 --> 00:01:05.040 I mean, we are going to see chaotic early elections, 00:01:05.340 --> 00:01:08.780 incredibly quirky political strategies, and pioneering 00:01:08.780 --> 00:01:11.200 democratic reforms that, quite frankly, eventually 00:01:11.200 --> 00:01:13.420 forced the hand of the entire federal government. 00:01:13.900 --> 00:01:15.819 To properly set the stage for you, I want you 00:01:15.819 --> 00:01:18.359 to imagine a backdrop of vintage maps and long 00:01:18.359 --> 00:01:20.819 historical timelines. We need to go back to the 00:01:20.819 --> 00:01:23.260 very beginning. Oregon officially joined the 00:01:23.260 --> 00:01:28.599 Union on February 14, 1859, and they did not 00:01:28.599 --> 00:01:30.920 ease into statehood quietly. Not at all. They 00:01:30.920 --> 00:01:32.959 immediately plunged headfirst into a turbulent, 00:01:33.140 --> 00:01:35.980 incredibly complex political landscape. The lead 00:01:35.980 --> 00:01:37.900 -up to the Civil War was already fracturing the 00:01:37.900 --> 00:01:39.920 nation, and Oregon was stepping right into the 00:01:39.920 --> 00:01:42.790 middle of that intense pressure cooker. And just 00:01:42.790 --> 00:01:45.269 a quick heads up for you listening before we 00:01:45.269 --> 00:01:47.430 really get into the weeds here. We are covering 00:01:47.430 --> 00:01:50.409 over a century and a half of intense politics 00:01:50.409 --> 00:01:53.650 today, spanning pretty much every party imaginable. 00:01:53.849 --> 00:01:56.530 We are here strictly as your historical tour 00:01:56.530 --> 00:01:59.109 guides. We aren't picking sides or endorsing 00:01:59.109 --> 00:02:00.870 anyone's platform, whether we're talking about 00:02:00.870 --> 00:02:04.430 the 1860s or the 2020s. We're just impartially 00:02:04.430 --> 00:02:06.689 reporting the facts from the source, cracking 00:02:06.689 --> 00:02:08.830 open the record to see how the political machine 00:02:08.830 --> 00:02:11.210 actually works and what the data can teach us. 00:02:11.240 --> 00:02:14.219 Because the system itself is arguably the main 00:02:14.219 --> 00:02:16.960 character of this story. The rules of that system 00:02:16.960 --> 00:02:19.340 dictated some truly bizarre outcomes right out 00:02:19.340 --> 00:02:22.219 of the gate. Oh, completely. To prove that, let's 00:02:22.219 --> 00:02:24.639 look at the very first class two senator from 00:02:24.639 --> 00:02:27.099 Oregon. He was a Democrat named Delazon Smith. 00:02:27.419 --> 00:02:30.039 He took office on the exact day Oregon became 00:02:30.039 --> 00:02:33.199 a state, February 14th, 1859. Now, just real 00:02:33.199 --> 00:02:34.960 quick, he was a class two senator, which just 00:02:34.960 --> 00:02:36.960 means his election cycle was staggered differently 00:02:36.960 --> 00:02:39.400 than a class one or class three seat. So the 00:02:39.400 --> 00:02:41.199 Senate doesn't empty out. all at once. Right. 00:02:41.240 --> 00:02:43.780 Standard constitutional procedure. Right. Anyway, 00:02:43.960 --> 00:02:45.960 you would think the very first senator would 00:02:45.960 --> 00:02:48.259 have this long storied career really setting 00:02:48.259 --> 00:02:50.939 the foundation for the new state. But his term 00:02:50.939 --> 00:02:54.699 ended just 17 days later on March 3rd, 1859. 00:02:54.979 --> 00:02:58.039 He literally lost his bid for reelection almost 00:02:58.039 --> 00:03:02.009 the second he arrived. 17 days. It is a staggering 00:03:02.009 --> 00:03:04.729 detail when you consider the logistics of 1859. 00:03:04.930 --> 00:03:07.449 Think about the sheer physical effort required 00:03:07.449 --> 00:03:10.110 just to travel from Oregon to Washington, D .C. 00:03:10.129 --> 00:03:12.530 back then. To put all that effort into achieving 00:03:12.530 --> 00:03:15.289 statehood, to finally secure a seat at the table 00:03:15.289 --> 00:03:17.090 in the United States Senate, and then you lose 00:03:17.090 --> 00:03:19.569 that seat barely two weeks later. It highlights 00:03:19.569 --> 00:03:22.430 just how volatile the local political factions 00:03:22.430 --> 00:03:24.789 were back home. Okay, let's unpack this because 00:03:24.789 --> 00:03:27.650 it gets even wilder. After Delazon Smith lost 00:03:27.650 --> 00:03:29.810 re -election and vacated the seat on March 3, 00:03:29.990 --> 00:03:32.810 the seat just sat empty for over a year. Over 00:03:32.810 --> 00:03:35.009 a year? Oregon only had one senator until October 00:03:35.009 --> 00:03:37.569 1, 1860, purely because the system just completely 00:03:37.569 --> 00:03:40.550 broke down. What's fascinating here is the structural 00:03:40.550 --> 00:03:43.469 reason behind that breakdown. As you know, back 00:03:43.469 --> 00:03:46.590 before the 17th Amendment, state legislatures 00:03:46.590 --> 00:03:49.150 picked U .S. senators. The general public didn't 00:03:49.150 --> 00:03:51.469 vote for them directly. But what happens when 00:03:51.469 --> 00:03:53.430 that state legislatures completely fractures? 00:03:53.590 --> 00:03:56.729 Gridlock. Exactly. Oregon gives us the ultimate 00:03:56.729 --> 00:04:00.530 case study. After Smith left, the local politicians 00:04:00.530 --> 00:04:04.080 simply failed to elect a successor. The partisan 00:04:04.080 --> 00:04:06.900 divide was so bitter that they literally preferred 00:04:06.900 --> 00:04:09.539 having zero voice in Washington over letting 00:04:09.539 --> 00:04:11.520 the other side win. Which is mind blowing when 00:04:11.520 --> 00:04:14.280 you think about the timing. This is 1859 to 1860. 00:04:14.479 --> 00:04:17.240 The country is on the absolute brink of the Civil 00:04:17.240 --> 00:04:19.620 War, arguably the most critical juncture in American 00:04:19.620 --> 00:04:22.639 history. And Oregon effectively gives up half 00:04:22.639 --> 00:04:25.019 of its voting power in the Senate because local 00:04:25.019 --> 00:04:27.259 lawmakers couldn't compromise in a back room. 00:04:27.399 --> 00:04:30.540 That massive legislative gridlock left an entire 00:04:30.540 --> 00:04:34.579 state with only half its representation. It is 00:04:34.579 --> 00:04:36.720 no wonder the people of Oregon eventually recognized 00:04:36.720 --> 00:04:38.600 that the constitutional mechanism was fundamentally 00:04:38.600 --> 00:04:40.740 broken and decided to do something about it. 00:04:40.970 --> 00:04:43.689 They got incredibly fed up. And that frustration 00:04:43.689 --> 00:04:46.110 leads us to one of the most important moments 00:04:46.110 --> 00:04:49.490 in American democratic reform. If we fast forward 00:04:49.490 --> 00:04:52.449 a bit to 1904, the voters in Oregon passed a 00:04:52.449 --> 00:04:54.269 ballot measure demanding that U .S. senators 00:04:54.269 --> 00:04:56.790 be selected by a popular vote. They basically 00:04:56.790 --> 00:04:59.209 set up a system where the public would vote and 00:04:59.209 --> 00:05:01.529 the state legislature would be heavily pressured 00:05:01.529 --> 00:05:03.930 to formally endorse whoever the people actually 00:05:03.930 --> 00:05:06.509 chose. It was a highly calculated workaround 00:05:06.509 --> 00:05:09.629 driven by absolute necessity. We connect this 00:05:09.629 --> 00:05:11.889 to the bigger picture. Oregon was an absolute 00:05:11.889 --> 00:05:15.420 trailblazer here. This 1904 ballot measure, often 00:05:15.420 --> 00:05:17.420 referred to as part of the Oregon system, happened 00:05:17.420 --> 00:05:19.819 a full decade before the 17th Amendment made 00:05:19.819 --> 00:05:22.160 direct popular election of senators the national 00:05:22.160 --> 00:05:25.360 law of the land in 1914. Oregon was pioneering 00:05:25.360 --> 00:05:27.259 a way to place power directly in the hands of 00:05:27.259 --> 00:05:29.360 the voters to avoid the exact kind of legislative 00:05:29.360 --> 00:05:32.259 gridlock that kept Delazon Smith's seat vacant 00:05:32.259 --> 00:05:34.060 for a year and a half. They essentially hacked 00:05:34.060 --> 00:05:36.939 the system to make it work for them. They looked 00:05:36.939 --> 00:05:38.980 at the Constitution, realized it was causing 00:05:38.980 --> 00:05:41.600 an administrative nightmare locally, and found 00:05:41.600 --> 00:05:43.850 a loophole to... democratize the process ahead 00:05:43.850 --> 00:05:47.129 of the rest of the country. And speaking of manipulating 00:05:47.129 --> 00:05:49.329 the system, let's move into our second chapter 00:05:49.329 --> 00:05:52.670 here. Because the timeline is full of these wild 00:05:52.670 --> 00:05:56.170 strategic moves and massive party shifts, the 00:05:56.170 --> 00:05:59.089 mid -19th to early 20th century was an era of 00:05:59.089 --> 00:06:01.750 intense political shuffling. It was incredibly 00:06:01.750 --> 00:06:05.000 fluid. The rigidity we associate with modern 00:06:05.000 --> 00:06:07.639 political parties simply wasn't as entrenched. 00:06:07.759 --> 00:06:09.980 For example, looking at the historical record, 00:06:10.199 --> 00:06:12.899 we see a senator named Benjamin F. Harding. He 00:06:12.899 --> 00:06:15.720 was elected in 1862 to finish out a term. He 00:06:15.720 --> 00:06:18.000 is specifically noted as a war Democrat. Right. 00:06:18.060 --> 00:06:20.379 For context, war Democrats were members of the 00:06:20.379 --> 00:06:22.360 Democratic Party in the North who broke with 00:06:22.360 --> 00:06:24.540 their own party to support Abraham Lincoln and 00:06:24.540 --> 00:06:26.680 the Union's military policies during the Civil 00:06:26.680 --> 00:06:30.649 War. Which is a huge ideological split. And Harding 00:06:30.649 --> 00:06:33.470 didn't just passively support the union. He actively 00:06:33.470 --> 00:06:35.910 helped organize the union party in Oregon, which 00:06:35.910 --> 00:06:38.290 was essentially a local coalition of Republicans 00:06:38.290 --> 00:06:40.990 and war Democrats. He was then elected to the 00:06:40.990 --> 00:06:43.930 Senate under that new union party banner. It 00:06:43.930 --> 00:06:46.529 shows you how fluid political identity was. You 00:06:46.529 --> 00:06:49.490 could literally help invent a new localized political 00:06:49.490 --> 00:06:52.329 party to meet the crisis of the moment and ride 00:06:52.329 --> 00:06:54.879 that coalition right into the U .S. Senate. It 00:06:54.879 --> 00:06:57.100 speaks to a time when political labels were more 00:06:57.100 --> 00:06:59.779 of a vehicle for immediate policy goals rather 00:06:59.779 --> 00:07:02.589 than lifelong tribal identities. But if we are 00:07:02.589 --> 00:07:04.910 examining the mechanics of how politicians utilize 00:07:04.910 --> 00:07:07.509 the Senate's rules, the story of Frederick W. 00:07:07.649 --> 00:07:10.050 Mulkey is perhaps the most unique anomaly on 00:07:10.050 --> 00:07:12.129 the board. Mulkey might be the ultimate team 00:07:12.129 --> 00:07:14.569 player in American political history. The guy 00:07:14.569 --> 00:07:16.170 was a Republican who was elected to the Senate 00:07:16.170 --> 00:07:19.089 twice, first in 1907 and then again in 1918. 00:07:19.449 --> 00:07:21.930 But he never ran to serve a full six -year term. 00:07:22.009 --> 00:07:24.149 He was elected strictly to finish out short, 00:07:24.230 --> 00:07:26.790 unexpired terms left behind by other senators. 00:07:27.149 --> 00:07:29.879 Which is wild. Because running a statewide campaign 00:07:29.879 --> 00:07:33.660 is a grueling, expensive, exhausting endeavor. 00:07:33.759 --> 00:07:36.259 To do all of that explicitly for a caretaker 00:07:36.259 --> 00:07:39.310 role is rare enough. But his actions during that 00:07:39.310 --> 00:07:42.129 1918 term are what really highlight the strategic 00:07:42.129 --> 00:07:44.089 mastery of the Senate rulebook. Oh, absolutely. 00:07:44.750 --> 00:07:47.009 He wins the election to finish out the term, 00:07:47.170 --> 00:07:49.930 packs his bags, goes to Washington, D .C., serves 00:07:49.930 --> 00:07:52.730 for about six weeks, and then deliberately resigns 00:07:52.730 --> 00:07:56.389 early on December 17th, 1918. He willingly walks 00:07:56.389 --> 00:07:58.810 away from the seat he just won. And the reason 00:07:58.810 --> 00:08:01.790 why is pure political gamesmanship. He resigned 00:08:01.790 --> 00:08:04.149 so that his successor, Charles L. McNary, who 00:08:04.149 --> 00:08:05.670 had already won the election for the next full 00:08:05.670 --> 00:08:08.339 term, could be appointed early. The strategic 00:08:08.339 --> 00:08:10.540 purpose of that early appointment was entirely 00:08:10.540 --> 00:08:13.560 about preferential seniority. In the United States 00:08:13.560 --> 00:08:15.800 Senate, seniority dictates almost everything. 00:08:16.160 --> 00:08:18.500 Committee assignments, physical desk placement 00:08:18.500 --> 00:08:21.620 on the Senate floor, and overall influence. By 00:08:21.620 --> 00:08:23.480 stepping down just a few weeks before the term 00:08:23.480 --> 00:08:25.939 officially ended, Mulkey ensured that McNary 00:08:25.939 --> 00:08:27.879 would enter the Senate with slightly more tenure 00:08:27.879 --> 00:08:29.740 than the other incoming freshman senators of 00:08:29.740 --> 00:08:32.309 his class. It's brilliant, really. Mulkey went 00:08:32.309 --> 00:08:34.149 through the entire election process, essentially, 00:08:34.210 --> 00:08:36.669 to serve as a placeholder and then pull off a 00:08:36.669 --> 00:08:39.710 procedural maneuver to give his colleague a slight 00:08:39.710 --> 00:08:42.169 competitive edge in a committee room. That is 00:08:42.169 --> 00:08:44.710 next level dedication to leveraging the rulebook. 00:08:44.889 --> 00:08:47.450 It demonstrates how acutely aware these local 00:08:47.450 --> 00:08:50.230 politicians were of the federal institutional 00:08:50.230 --> 00:08:53.490 rules. It was never just about winning the seat. 00:08:53.649 --> 00:08:56.470 It was about maximizing the institutional power 00:08:56.470 --> 00:08:58.450 of that seat for the state of Oregon once you 00:08:58.450 --> 00:09:00.509 had it. Here's where it gets real. Really interesting, 00:09:00.629 --> 00:09:03.590 though. If Frederick Mulkey was a master of procedural 00:09:03.590 --> 00:09:06.789 strategy, Wayne Morse was a master of ideological 00:09:06.789 --> 00:09:10.009 transformation. When you look back at his timeline 00:09:10.009 --> 00:09:12.289 in the 20th century, it is almost hard to believe 00:09:12.289 --> 00:09:15.009 he pulled this off. Wayne Morse's career is one 00:09:15.009 --> 00:09:17.669 of the most prominent examples of political realignment 00:09:17.669 --> 00:09:20.029 in congressional history. He began his Senate 00:09:20.029 --> 00:09:22.549 career firmly entrenched as a Republican. He 00:09:22.549 --> 00:09:25.590 was elected in 1944 and then successfully reelected 00:09:25.590 --> 00:09:28.259 as a Republican in 1950. But then, right in the 00:09:28.259 --> 00:09:30.139 middle of the shifting political tides of the 00:09:30.139 --> 00:09:33.580 1950s, he drops the label. Just two years into 00:09:33.580 --> 00:09:36.240 his second term, in 1952, he leaves the Republican 00:09:36.240 --> 00:09:39.200 Party and becomes an independent. The sheer political 00:09:39.200 --> 00:09:41.399 tightrope required to do that during the Cold 00:09:41.399 --> 00:09:44.220 War era is immense. But he doesn't stop at being 00:09:44.220 --> 00:09:47.320 an independent. In 1955, he officially changes 00:09:47.320 --> 00:09:49.659 his party affiliation again, this time joining 00:09:49.659 --> 00:09:51.960 the Democratic Party. And he doesn't just switch 00:09:51.960 --> 00:09:54.080 labels quietly. He goes on to win reelection 00:09:54.080 --> 00:09:57.679 as a Democrat in 1956 and then once more in 1962. 00:09:58.100 --> 00:10:00.399 So to recap, he was elected as a Republican, 00:10:00.659 --> 00:10:03.580 served a stint as an independent and was reelected 00:10:03.580 --> 00:10:06.279 twice as a Democrat. Think about the logistics 00:10:06.279 --> 00:10:08.940 of his campaigns. He had to continuously convince 00:10:08.940 --> 00:10:11.159 the voters of Oregon that his underlying principles 00:10:11.159 --> 00:10:13.759 were the same, even as the banner he was running 00:10:13.759 --> 00:10:16.620 under completely changed colors. It objectively 00:10:16.620 --> 00:10:19.399 showcases how a politician's identity can shift 00:10:19.399 --> 00:10:22.080 drastically over a single career. It also tells 00:10:22.080 --> 00:10:23.700 us something profound about the electorate at 00:10:23.700 --> 00:10:26.279 that time. To change parties so dramatically 00:10:26.279 --> 00:10:29.340 and still secure statewide reelection suggests 00:10:29.340 --> 00:10:32.399 that the voters in Oregon were highly loyal to 00:10:32.399 --> 00:10:35.470 the individual. To his specific character and 00:10:35.470 --> 00:10:38.129 his personal platform, rather than strictly to 00:10:38.129 --> 00:10:40.610 the party apparatus, they were voting for Wayne 00:10:40.610 --> 00:10:42.769 Morse, the man, not just the letter next to his 00:10:42.769 --> 00:10:45.309 name. Let's transition to the later 20th century 00:10:45.309 --> 00:10:48.309 and the modern era, because as the timeline moves 00:10:48.309 --> 00:10:51.129 forward, the chaotic short -term musical chairs 00:10:51.129 --> 00:10:53.929 of the 1800s starts to settle into some incredibly 00:10:53.929 --> 00:10:57.629 impactful long -term legacies. One story that 00:10:57.629 --> 00:11:00.090 immediately stands out in the 1960s is Maureen 00:11:00.090 --> 00:11:02.590 Neuberger. The Neuberger succession is a remarkable 00:11:02.590 --> 00:11:05.129 piece of history. Richard L. Neuberger was a 00:11:05.129 --> 00:11:08.289 Democratic senator elected in 1954. Tragically, 00:11:08.289 --> 00:11:11.350 he died in office on March 9th, 1960. Now, the 00:11:11.350 --> 00:11:13.490 concept of a widow's mandate, where a spouse 00:11:13.490 --> 00:11:15.289 is appointed to finish out a deceased member's 00:11:15.289 --> 00:11:17.409 term, is a known phenomenon in congressional 00:11:17.409 --> 00:11:20.009 history. Right. But usually they're just caretakers. 00:11:20.070 --> 00:11:21.830 They keep the seat warm for a few months until 00:11:21.830 --> 00:11:23.929 the next election, and then they quietly step 00:11:23.929 --> 00:11:27.009 down. Maureen Neuberger did not do that. After 00:11:27.009 --> 00:11:28.909 a very brief interim appointment by the governor, 00:11:29.070 --> 00:11:31.970 the voters of Oregon elected her. And they didn't 00:11:31.970 --> 00:11:33.789 just elect her to finish the final few months 00:11:33.789 --> 00:11:36.590 of her husband's term. They elected her simultaneously 00:11:36.590 --> 00:11:40.110 to finish that term A -N -D to a full six -year 00:11:40.110 --> 00:11:43.370 term of her own. She went on to serve until 1967. 00:11:44.459 --> 00:11:46.700 transcending that caretaker role to win a full 00:11:46.700 --> 00:11:50.019 subsequent term speaks volumes it validates her 00:11:50.019 --> 00:11:53.039 own political acumen and shows the deep trust 00:11:53.039 --> 00:11:55.440 the electorate placed in her to carry forward 00:11:55.440 --> 00:11:57.860 her own legislative agenda not just serve as 00:11:57.860 --> 00:12:00.129 a memorial to her husband And as her term was 00:12:00.129 --> 00:12:02.809 wrapping up in 1967, we see another logistical 00:12:02.809 --> 00:12:05.210 quirk with the arrival of Mark Hatfield. Hatfield 00:12:05.210 --> 00:12:06.990 was a Republican elected to the Senate in the 00:12:06.990 --> 00:12:09.990 1966 cycle. But if you look closely at the dates, 00:12:10.110 --> 00:12:12.490 his Senate term didn't start on January 3rd like 00:12:12.490 --> 00:12:14.730 everyone else's. He actually showed up a week 00:12:14.730 --> 00:12:16.970 late to his own swearing in. The reason behind 00:12:16.970 --> 00:12:19.490 that delay is quite practical, but highly unusual 00:12:19.490 --> 00:12:22.250 for federal politics. He needed to finish out 00:12:22.250 --> 00:12:24.850 his term as the governor of Oregon first. His 00:12:24.850 --> 00:12:27.429 gubernatorial term didn't end until January 9th. 00:12:27.639 --> 00:12:29.659 He was essentially prioritizing his commitment 00:12:29.659 --> 00:12:31.759 to the state executive branch before heading 00:12:31.759 --> 00:12:34.960 off to join the federal legislative branch. Imagine 00:12:34.960 --> 00:12:37.399 the logistical nightmare of closing out an entire 00:12:37.399 --> 00:12:39.700 governorship while your new colleagues in the 00:12:39.700 --> 00:12:41.700 U .S. Senate are already starting committee meetings 00:12:41.700 --> 00:12:44.000 without you. It is just another one of those 00:12:44.000 --> 00:12:46.580 distinct details that makes this historical timeline 00:12:46.580 --> 00:12:49.840 so much richer than just a list of names. As 00:12:49.840 --> 00:12:51.879 we move past Hatfield and into the late 20th 00:12:51.879 --> 00:12:54.779 century, the timeline reveals a massive shift 00:12:54.779 --> 00:12:57.679 in the rhythm of the Senate. The days of 17 -day 00:12:57.679 --> 00:13:00.259 terms and vacant seats disappear, replaced by 00:13:00.259 --> 00:13:02.700 a trend toward immense longevity and incumbency 00:13:02.700 --> 00:13:05.960 advantage. Bob Packwood, a Republican, was elected 00:13:05.960 --> 00:13:09.299 in 1968. He served from 1969 all the way until 00:13:09.299 --> 00:13:12.519 his resignation in 1995. That is a 26 -year career. 00:13:12.940 --> 00:13:15.460 And Packwood's eventual resignation directly 00:13:15.460 --> 00:13:18.200 paved the way for the modern era of Oregon politics. 00:13:18.740 --> 00:13:21.360 Following his departure, Ron Wyden, a Democrat, 00:13:21.620 --> 00:13:24.299 was elected in a special election in early 1996 00:13:24.299 --> 00:13:27.360 to finish out that term. Wyden has won every 00:13:27.360 --> 00:13:30.639 election since, and he is now officially Oregon's 00:13:30.639 --> 00:13:33.600 longest serving senator. To give you a comprehensive 00:13:33.600 --> 00:13:36.200 picture of the current political makeup, as of 00:13:36.200 --> 00:13:40.059 the 118th and 119th Congresses, Oregon's Senate 00:13:40.059 --> 00:13:43.000 delegation consists entirely of Democrats. You 00:13:43.000 --> 00:13:45.320 have Ron Wyden, as mentioned, and Jeff Merkley, 00:13:45.419 --> 00:13:47.539 who has been serving since his election in 2008. 00:13:47.980 --> 00:13:49.899 And instead of just reading the roster for the 00:13:49.899 --> 00:13:51.519 current House of Representatives, let's look 00:13:51.519 --> 00:13:53.440 at what the broader delegation actually represents 00:13:53.440 --> 00:13:56.019 today. You currently have five Democrats, Suzanne 00:13:56.019 --> 00:13:59.039 Bonamici, Maxine Dexter, Val Hoyle, Janelle Bynum, 00:13:59.100 --> 00:14:01.279 and Andrea Salinas, alongside one Republican, 00:14:01.559 --> 00:14:04.379 Cliff Benz. That snapshot perfectly reflects 00:14:04.379 --> 00:14:06.620 the modern geographical and political realities 00:14:06.620 --> 00:14:08.980 of the state. You have the dense, deeply blue 00:14:08.980 --> 00:14:10.940 -leaning population centers along the coast and 00:14:10.940 --> 00:14:13.279 the I -5 corridor balanced against the expansive, 00:14:13.620 --> 00:14:15.879 red -leaning rural districts of the eastern part 00:14:15.879 --> 00:14:18.740 of the state. how the state's internal political 00:14:18.740 --> 00:14:21.539 diversity is still very much active, even if 00:14:21.539 --> 00:14:23.179 the two statewide Senate seats are currently 00:14:23.179 --> 00:14:26.879 held by one party. Looking ahead, the structural 00:14:26.879 --> 00:14:29.000 rhythm continues without the gridlock of the 00:14:29.000 --> 00:14:32.039 1850s. The timeline notes that Oregon's next 00:14:32.039 --> 00:14:35.100 Senate elections are locked in. The Class 2 seat 00:14:35.100 --> 00:14:37.460 currently held by Senator Merkley will be contested 00:14:37.460 --> 00:14:40.519 in 2026, and the Class 3 seat held by Senator 00:14:40.519 --> 00:14:43.580 Wyden will be up in 2028. So what does this all 00:14:43.580 --> 00:14:46.360 mean? We started this deep dive looking at DeLazon 00:14:46.360 --> 00:14:48.879 Smith, a guy who took an exhausting trip across 00:14:48.879 --> 00:14:52.360 the country in 1859 to serve for exactly 17 days 00:14:52.360 --> 00:14:54.960 before getting the boot. That short stint plunged 00:14:54.960 --> 00:14:57.240 the state into a 19 -month gridlock because a 00:14:57.240 --> 00:15:00.000 polarized legislature completely lost its ability 00:15:00.000 --> 00:15:02.700 to compromise. We saw how that exact failure 00:15:02.700 --> 00:15:04.580 pushed the voters to take matters into their 00:15:04.580 --> 00:15:07.059 own hands, pioneering the popular vote for senators 00:15:07.059 --> 00:15:09.220 well before the federal constitution mandated 00:15:09.220 --> 00:15:12.470 it. We watched strategic masterclasses like Frederick 00:15:12.470 --> 00:15:14.490 Mulkey suffering through a statewide campaign 00:15:14.490 --> 00:15:16.649 just so he could resign and give his colleague 00:15:16.649 --> 00:15:19.309 a slight seniority bump. We watched Wayne Morse 00:15:19.309 --> 00:15:21.710 pull off the ultimate political tightrope walk, 00:15:21.929 --> 00:15:24.450 changing his entire identity from Republican 00:15:24.450 --> 00:15:26.610 to independent to Democrat while keeping the 00:15:26.610 --> 00:15:29.210 voters completely on his side. And we followed 00:15:29.210 --> 00:15:31.490 that thread all the way to the modern era of 00:15:31.490 --> 00:15:34.230 massive incumbencies with Wyden and Merkley and 00:15:34.230 --> 00:15:36.889 a House delegation that perfectly maps the current 00:15:36.889 --> 00:15:39.679 rural -urban divide. This raises an important 00:15:39.679 --> 00:15:42.759 question for you to consider as we wrap up. When 00:15:42.759 --> 00:15:45.460 you look at this expansive timeline, you clearly 00:15:45.460 --> 00:15:48.139 see how much the structural rules of the game 00:15:48.139 --> 00:15:51.039 matter. The shift from legislative appointments 00:15:51.039 --> 00:15:54.179 in back rooms to a direct popular vote at the 00:15:54.179 --> 00:15:56.620 ballot box fundamentally altered the relationship 00:15:56.620 --> 00:15:58.879 between the senator and the citizen. It changed 00:15:58.879 --> 00:16:01.740 the very type of leader a state produces. You 00:16:01.740 --> 00:16:03.519 have to wonder how the mechanics of elections, 00:16:03.740 --> 00:16:06.080 the literal rules written on paper, the staggered 00:16:06.080 --> 00:16:08.460 classes, the seniority advantages, continue to 00:16:08.460 --> 00:16:10.639 shape the personalities and the policies that 00:16:10.639 --> 00:16:12.730 end up representing us today. I think that is 00:16:12.730 --> 00:16:14.570 the perfect thought to leave you with today. 00:16:14.750 --> 00:16:17.090 When you look back at politicians like Wayne 00:16:17.090 --> 00:16:19.370 Morris, who changed their party entirely based 00:16:19.370 --> 00:16:22.210 on shifting personal ideologies, or you look 00:16:22.210 --> 00:16:24.669 at a guy like Frederick Malky, who willingly 00:16:24.669 --> 00:16:27.090 gave up his seat just to manipulate a procedural 00:16:27.090 --> 00:16:29.370 advantage in a committee room, you really have 00:16:29.370 --> 00:16:32.009 to ask yourself how much of our political history 00:16:32.009 --> 00:16:34.809 is actually shaped by these grand, sweeping ideological 00:16:34.809 --> 00:16:37.990 battles, and how much of it is just really clever, 00:16:38.149 --> 00:16:40.470 real -time maneuvering of the rulebook. It is 00:16:40.470 --> 00:16:42.580 something to mull - over the next time you cast 00:16:42.580 --> 00:16:45.279 a ballot, read a headline, or wonder why Congress 00:16:45.279 --> 00:16:48.159 operates the way it does. Thank you so much for 00:16:48.159 --> 00:16:50.220 joining us on this custom deep dive. We hope 00:16:50.220 --> 00:16:52.279 you enjoyed exploring the fascinating historical 00:16:52.279 --> 00:16:54.279 details hidden inside the records of a single 00:16:54.279 --> 00:16:56.659 state, and we encourage you to keep diving into 00:16:56.659 --> 00:16:58.299 the hidden histories all around you.