Oregonians know Ron as a senator who listens and innovates. For example, Ron has secured landmark health care and economic wins for our workers and retirees. Always citing the need to "throw open the doors of government for Oregonians," he holds an open-to-all town hall meeting in each of Oregon's 36 counties each year. Thus far he has held more than 970 meetings, as well as several virtual town hall meetings sponsored by the nonpartisan Town Hall Project. Wyden's dedication to hearing all sides of an issue and looking for common sense, nonpartisan solutions has won him trust on both sides of the aisle and put him at the heart of so many of the Senate's most important debates. In 2011, the Almanac of American Politics described Wyden as having "displayed a genius for coming up with sensible-sounding ideas no one else had thought of and making the counter-intuitive political alliances that prove helpful in passing bills." The Washington Post's Ezra Klein wrote: "The country has problems. And Ron Wyden has comprehensive, bipartisan proposals for fixing them."
Throughout his time in Congress, ensuring equality and justice for Oregonians has been a major priority for Senator Wyden. Wyden has been a champion for women, children and families, LGBTQ Americans and seniors. In addition, Senator Wyden led the campaign to put domestic sex trafficking of children on the national agenda and has promoted policies to help victims of sex trafficking. Senator Wyden is also concerned about racial disparities within our criminal justice system and has invested effort into reforming the criminal justice system.