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Sen. Jeff Merkley on Wednesday endorsed Bernie Sanders for president, saying Sanders is "boldly and fiercely addressing the biggest challenges facing our country."

(Dave Killen/The Oregonian)

Citing "the gloomy outlook for kids in my working-class neighborhood,"

on Wednesday endorsed Bernie Sanders for president.

Writing in a New York Times piece called "Why I'm Supporting Bernie Sanders," Merkley said Sanders "is boldly and fiercely addressing the biggest challenges facing our country."

In January, the state's other U.S. senator, Democrat Ron Wyden, endorsed Hillary Clinton.

Merkley is the first senator to endorse Sanders. The Democratic senator from Oregon told

MSNBC'

s "Morning Joe" that he decided to come out with his endorsement now since Oregon's vote by mail ballots go out at the end of the month.

Merkley cited Clinton's "remarkable record," writing that she would be "a strong and capable president." But he went on to detail the reasons why Sanders deserves support:

He has opposed trade deals with nations that pay their workers as little as a dollar an hour. Such deals have caused good jobs to move overseas and undermined the leverage of American workers to bargain for a fair share of the wealth they create in our remaining factories.

He has passionately advocated for pivoting from fossil fuels to renewable energy to save our planet from global warming -- the greatest threat facing humanity. He recognizes that to accomplish this we must keep the vast bulk of the world's fossil fuels in the ground.

Bernie is a determined leader in taking on the concentration of campaign cash from the mega-wealthy that is corrupting the vision of opportunity embedded in our Constitution.

-- The Oregonian