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Mary Solomon |
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Solomon in 2026 |
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| Assumed office January 3, 2011 Serving with Ed Reeves |
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| Preceded by | Ron Wyden |
| In office January 3, 2003 – January 3, 2011 |
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| Preceded by | Jim Young |
| Succeeded by | Charles Diaz |
| Born | Mary Lynette Claremont March 5, 1967 (age 59) |
| Political party | Democratic |
| Spouse | Bruce Solomon (m. 1990) |
| Children | 3, including Max |
| Education | University of Oregon (BA) |
Mary Lynette Solomon (née Claremont; born March 5, 1968) is an American politician serving as the senior United States senator from Oregon, a seat she has held since 2011. A member of the Democratic Party, Solomon is the second woman to represent Oregon in the U.S. Senate (after Maurine Neuberger) and the first to be reelected.
From 1999 to 2003, Solomon served on the Eugene City Council. In 2002, she was elected to the Oregon Senate, representing the 7th district for two terms. Solomon ran for the U.S. Senate in 2010 and was initially seen as a long-shot candidate, but pulled off an unexpected victory against General Tom Yates and businessman Isaiah Brown in the Democratic primary; in the general election, she defeated Republican State Senator Oliver Kerrey. In 2021, she became Oregon’s senior U.S. senator after Jeff Merkley retired. She played a key role in House Speaker Raymond Williams’ nomination to the Vice Presidency in 2026 as chair of the Senate Rules Committee which oversaw his nomination and confirmation hearings.
Early life and education
Solomon was born on March 5, 1967, in Astoria, Oregon, the second of three children of Ellen R. (née Pierce) and Joseph H. Claremont. She lived in Astoria for several years before settling in Eugene, where she attended public schools and won a state softball championship. She graduated from Churchill High School, where she was class treasurer and secretary, in 1985 as valedictorian . She received her Bachelor of Arts magna cum laude in political science in 1989 from the University of Oregon.
Early career
Solomon was first a candidate for public office in 1999 when she ran for Eugene City Council, after noticing increased homelessness and the continuing dilapidation of roads. She won unopposed. As a city councilor she was popular, writing and passing many ordinances. She was seen as a likely contender for mayor, but in 2002 announced she would retire after 1 term, and instead run for the Oregon State Senate.
State Senate
Elections
In 2002, after incumbent Jim Young announced his retirement, Solomon ran for the Oregon State Senate from the 7th District. She won the Democratic Primary unopposed, and faced Republican nominee Geoff Coburn, trouncing him in the general election. In 2008, she won reelection unopposed.
Tenure
Solomon was an effective and popular legislator, known for her bipartisanship. She passed a number of bills, several of which became law.
U.S. Senate (2013–present)
Elections
2012
Primary
In January 2010, after incumbent Senator Ron Wyden announced his retirement, Solomon announced her candidacy for the U.S. Senate. The Democratic primary campaign was expected to be a battle between Iraq War hero General Tom Yates and Portland businessman Isaiah Brown; Solomon and three less well-known candidates were also on the ballot.
During the campaign, Solomon was outspent by Brown, who raised $2.1 million, and Yates, who raised $987,000. Solomon’s campaign raised only $440,000. But Brown and Yates spent much of their resources attacking one another; Solomon benefited from the damage that each did to the other’s reputation. She was also aided by $725,000 in TV ads that Portland businessman Ed Guernsey bought attacking Brown. Shortly before the election, she was endorsed by President Obama, Vice President Biden, Speaker of the House Pelosi, and the other Senator from Oregon, Jeff Merkley.
Solomon won the primary with 40% of the vote to Yates’ 27% and Brown’s 26%. She took a plurality of votes in 25 of Oregon’s 36 counties. Yates won 7 counties. Brown was 3 counties, and tied with Solomon in Wheeler County.
In the general election, Solomon faced Republican nominee Oliver Kerrey, a former State Senator from McMinnville. Solomon won the election by a landslide margin of 18 points, despite the national Republican midterm wave. As of 2022, this last senate election where Deschutes County voted for the Republican candidate (albeit by a plurality). Solomon received 825,507 votes to Kerrey’s 566,199.
2016
Main article: 2016 United States Senate election in Oregon
In 2016, Solomon was reelected with 57% of the vote to Republican nominee Ian White‘s 33%.
2022
Main article: 2022 United States Senate election in Oregon
In 2022, Solomon was reelected with 56% of the vote to Republican nominee Jenny Perkins‘ 41%.
2028
Maine Article: 2028 United States Senate election in Oregon
Solomon has announced her intention to seek a 4th term in 2028.
Tenure
On March 6, 2013, Solomon crossed party lines to join Republican Senator Rand Paul, who was engaged in a talking filibuster to block voting on the nomination of John O. Brennan as the Director of the CIA. Solomon questioned the use of drones, saying, “what it comes down to is every American has the right to know when their government believes that it is allowed to kill them.”
Solomon endorsed former Secretary of State, Senator from New York, and First Lady Hillary Clinton in May 2016, just before the Oregon Primary, although Clinton lost the primary, her endorsement is believed to have helped Clinton slightly. Solomon spoke on the 2nd night of the 2016 Democratic National Convention in Philadelphia, endorsing Clinton in the general election.
In August 2016, in response to Republican presidential nominee Mike Turner‘s refusal to disclose his tax returns, Solomon announced she would press for consideration of a bill that if enacted would require major-party presidential nominees to disclose at least three years of tax returns and thereby authorize the Treasury Department to release Turner’s returns over Turner’s objections. Solomon asserted that Americans expect candidates to release their tax returns and Turner’s break from tradition was “an exceptional moment where a long-standing precedent has been broken, and it presents enormous peril to the public to have this information as private.”
In May 2017, after Turner announced the firing of FBI Director James Comey, Solomon restated her past criticisms and said the decision to fire him amid investigation of Turner and his associate into possible Russian ties was “outrageous”. Solomon advocated that Comey be called to testify in an open hearing about the investigation of Russia and Turner associates at the time his tenure was terminated.
In August 2017, Solomon was one of four senators to unveil the Internet of Things Cybersecurity Improvement Act of 2017, legislation intended to establish “thorough, yet flexible, guidelines for Federal Government procurements of connected devices.”
In December 2017, Solomon called for Turner to resign over allegations of sexual misconduct and said Congress should investigate the matter in the event Turner decided to remain in office.
In May 2018, Solomon was one of six Democratic senators to sign a letter asking that all members of Senate be authorized to read a report from the Department of Justice underpinning the decision to not seek charges in the CIA’s destruction of videotapes.
In July 2018, after Turner nominated Albert Russell to the Supreme Court, Solomon said Turner had begun “a forced march back to the days when women’s health care choices were made by government” and “a direct attempt to overturn Roe v. Wade.” She voted “No” to his nomination.
July 9, 2024, it was reported that Solomon and Senator Shelly Whitmore sent an official letter to Attorney General James Schuyler the previous week requesting that he appoint a special counsel to investigate Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas for tax and ethics violations. The letter says, “The breadth of the omissions uncovered to date, and the serious possibility of additional tax fraud and false statement violations by Justice Thomas and his associates, warrant the appointment of a Special Counsel to investigate this misconduct.” Schuyler did appoint a special counsel, and Thomas resigned the next year after facing mounting pressure from both sides of the aisle, and his conservative Supreme Court colleagues, due to more than 300 more violations that were uncovered by the counsel.
Solomon voted to confirm Cathryn Burke, a former judge on the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit, to the Supreme Court following Clarence Thomas‘ resignation
Politico reported that Solomon’s ascent to chair of the Senate Rules Committee would vault her into the ranks of the chamber’s most influential. She has been praised for her ability to defuse partisan tensions and encourage bipartisan cooperation.
When Mary Fletcher succeeded to the Presidency following the Assassination of John Adler, Solomon was seen as a possible contender for a number of Cabinet positions, including Secretary of the Interior, as well as a possible Vice Presidential Nominee.
As chair of the Senate Rules Committee, Solomon preceded over the confirmation hearings for Raymond Williams‘ nomination to be Vice President in November 2026. Although initially opposed to the Republican‘s nomination, she came to support it, and voted to confirm him after a resounding testimony by Williams on the final day of hearings.
Solomon voted to confirm President Fletcher’s nominee to the Supreme Court, former Attorney General James Schuyler, following Justice Daniel Proctor’s death.
Solomon has stated her desire to break Mark Hatfield‘s record tenure of 5 terms, totalling 30 years, to become the longest serving Senator from Oregon.
Political positions
Solomon’s political positions have generally been in line with modern American liberalism. She is pro-choice on abortion, supports LGBT rights and the Affordable Care Act, and was critical of the Iraq War. During the 115th Congress, she voted in line with President Mike Turner‘s position on legislation 9.7 percent of the time.
According to GovTrack, Solomon passed more legislation than any other senator by the end of the 114th Congress in late 2016. According to Congress.gov, as of December 16, 2018, she had sponsored or co-sponsored 111 pieces of legislation that became law.
In 2024, the Lugar Center ranked Solomon as the 5th most bipartisan senator in the 118th Congress.
Personal life and family
In 1990, Solomon married Bruce Solomon, a private practice attorney. They have 3 children, including Representative-Elect Max Solomon, of Oregon’s 3rd Congressional District.
Solomon is a member of the United Church of Christ.
In September 2021, Solomon revealed that she had been diagnosed with Stage 1A breast cancer in February 2021, that she had undergone a successful lumpectomy, and that in May she had completed a course of radiation treatment. In August, her doctors determined that the treatments had all been successful and she was cancer-free. In July 2024, Solomon announced that she was still cancer-free after she underwent a small surgery and brief radiation treatment.
Solomon’s paternal grandparents were immigrants from France’s Rhône-Alpes region. Her paternal grandfather was a logger in Portland. Her maternal grandparents emigrated from Switzerland to the United States.
Electoral History
Senate elections
| U.S. Senator from Oregon (Class III) (general election) | |||||||||
| Year | Winning candidate | Party | Pct | Opponent | Party | Pct | 3rd Party | Pct | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2010 | Mary Solomon | Democratic | 57% | Oliver Kerrey | Republican | 39% | Others | 3% | |
| 2016 | Mary Solomon (incumbent) | Democratic | 57% | Ian White | Republican | 33% | Others | 10% | |
| 2022 | Mary Solomon (incumbent) | Democratic | 56% | Jenny Perkins | Republican | 41% | Others | 3% | |
