We Asked Oregon’s Top Democrats: Should Jeff Merkley Be Allowed to Run for the U.S. Senate and the Presidency Simultaneously?

It's been nearly 50 years since then-U.S. Sen. Wayne Morse (D-Ore.) entered the 1960 Democratic primary against U.S. Sen. John F. Kennedy (D-Mass.). His run against JFK was short-lived; he dropped out after narrowly losing his home-state primary to the future president.

Half a century later, another Oregon progressive, Sen. Jeff Merkley (D-Ore.), is contemplating a run. But unlike Morse, who was in the middle of a term, Merkley is up for re-election in 2020. Oregon law prohibits a candidate from running for two offices at once.