NEWPORT – Sen. Jeff Merkley is holding three town halls along the Oregon coast on Saturday, Jan. 17, starting out at 10 a.m. with a question-and-answer session at Newport High School.

Merkley is also visiting Tillamook, and Clatsop counties on Saturday and then holding town halls in in Lane, Benton, and Linn counties on Sunday.

The events are part of the senator’s 2026 town hall tour of Oregon, where he holds a session in each of the state’s 36 counties.

Merkley’s last town hall in Lincoln County was Feb. 1, 2025 – two weeks after Donald Trump took office as president and drew 450 people to the session at Oregon Coast Community College. The senator has been adamantly opposed to most of the administration’s actions and policy changes since.

Merkley, 68, announced in July that he would run again for the Senate seat he’s held for more than 16 years. He’s represented Oregon in the U.S. Senate since 2009, alongside Oregon’s senior U.S. Sen. Ron Wyden, also a Democrat.