Jason R. R. Conger ( ; born March 27, 1968) is an American attorney and

Republican Republican can refer to: Political ideology * An advocate of a republic, a type of government that is not a monarchy or dictatorship, and is usually associated with the rule of law. ** Republicanism, the ideology in support of republics or agains ...

politician from the

U.S. state In the United States, a state is a constituent political entity, of which there are 50. Bound together in a political union, each state holds governmental jurisdiction over a separate and defined geographic territory where it shares its sover ...

Oregon Oregon () is a U.S. state, state in the Pacific Northwest region of the Western United States. The Columbia River delineates much of Oregon's northern boundary with Washington (state), Washington, while the Snake River delineates much of it ...

. He served in the

Oregon House of Representatives The Oregon House of Representatives is the lower house of the Oregon Legislative Assembly. There are 60 members of the House, representing 60 districts across the state, each with a population of 65,000. The House meets in the west wing of the ...

representing District 54 in

Bend, Oregon Bend is a city in and the county seat of Deschutes County, Oregon, United States. It is the principal city of the Bend Metropolitan Statistical Area. Bend is Central Oregon's largest city, with a population of 99,178 at the time of the 2020 U.S ...

, from 2011 to 2015. He ran for the Republican nomination for

United States Senate The United States Senate is the upper chamber of the United States Congress, with the House of Representatives being the lower chamber. Together they compose the national bicameral legislature of the United States. The composition and pow ...

in 2014.

Early life and career

Conger was born in

California California is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, located along the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the List of states and territori ...

on March 27, 1968. His parents were describes as heavily involved in the "drug and

hippie A hippie, also spelled hippy, especially in British English, is someone associated with the counterculture of the 1960s, originally a youth movement that began in the United States during the mid-1960s and spread to different countries around ...

scene of

Haight-Ashbury Haight-Ashbury () is a district of San Francisco, California, named for the intersection of Haight and Ashbury streets. It is also called The Haight and The Upper Haight. The neighborhood is known as one of the main centers of the counterculture ...

San Francisco San Francisco (; Spanish language, Spanish for "Francis of Assisi, Saint Francis"), officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the commercial, financial, and cultural center of Northern California. The city proper is the List of Ca ...

. As a child, he moved around the western states with his parents. His parents separated when he was eight years old. He went with his father, who lived an itinerant life. Conger left his father when he was 16 and began living on his own in Crescent City,

.Mapes, Jeff
"Jason Conger searches for footing in GOP Oregon Senate race as abortion, health care issues loom"
''The Oregonian'', Portland Oregon, March 28, 2014. Eventually, Conger earned his high school diploma at Sunset High (continuation) while working at a succession of menial jobs. He ran for the Crescent City Council after four of the five council members were recalled, but was not elected. After losing the city council election, he went to work for

Frank Riggs Frank Duncan Riggs (born September 5, 1950) is an American army veteran, former law enforcement officer, charter school executive, and politician from the states of California and Arizona. Early life Frank Riggs was born in Louisville, Kentucky. ...

, who was running for a seat in the

United States House of Representatives The United States House of Representatives, often referred to as the House of Representatives, the U.S. House, or simply the House, is the Lower house, lower chamber of the United States Congress, with the United States Senate, Senate being ...

, representing a district in northwest California. Riggs was elected to Congress in 1990, and Conger was given a staff job in Riggs’ office in

Washington Washington commonly refers to: * Washington (state), United States * Washington, D.C., the capital of the United States ** A metonym for the federal government of the United States ** Washington metropolitan area, the metropolitan area centered o ...

District of Columbia ) , image_skyline = , image_caption = Clockwise from top left: the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall, United States Capitol, Logan Circle, Jefferson Memorial, White House, Adams Morgan, ...

. Conger later returned to the northern California, where he worked in Riggs’ district office. Conger then attended

Humboldt State University California State Polytechnic University, Humboldt also known as Cal Poly Humboldt, Humboldt or Cal Poly"Cal Poly" may also refer to California Polytechnic State University in San Luis Obispo, California or California State Polytechnic Universi ...

, where he earned an undergraduate degree in 1997. After graduation, he applied for admission to

Harvard Law School Harvard Law School (Harvard Law or HLS) is the law school of Harvard University, a private research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1817, it is the oldest continuously operating law school in the United States. Each class ...

and was accepted. He was awarded a J.D. degree from Harvard in 2000. He then went to work for a large international law firm in

San Diego, California San Diego ( , ; ) is a city on the Pacific Ocean coast of Southern California located immediately adjacent to the Mexico–United States border. With a 2020 population of 1,386,932, it is the eighth most populous city in the United States ...

. By the early 2000s, Conger had built a successful corporate law practice. He specialized in corporate mergers, stock and bond offerings, and high-tech start-ups. In 2004, he persuaded his firm to let him move his practice to

. In 2009, Conger became a partner in Miller Nash, a

Portland Portland most commonly refers to: * Portland, Oregon, the largest city in the state of Oregon, in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States * Portland, Maine, the largest city in the state of Maine, in the New England region of the northeas ...

-based law firm. However, his law office remained in Bend.

Political career

Conger was first elected to the

in 2010, defeating incumbent Judy Stiegler. He was re-elected in 2012, serving as Assistant Republican Leader in the party leadership. Conger's term in Oregon legislature was highlighted with several measures. He gathered Republican support for an early version of Senate Bill 478, which would establish and maintain list of dangerous chemicals used in children's medicine. He successfully led the effort to establish the

Oregon State University Cascades Campus Oregon () is a U.S. state, state in the Pacific Northwest region of the Western United States. The Columbia River delineates much of Oregon's northern boundary with Washington (state), Washington, while the Snake River delineates much of it ...

in Bend. Conger also spearheaded the drive to reform the Oregon state employees’ pension fund and defended the state’s charitable tax deduction.

U.S. Senate campaign

In October 2013, Conger announced his decision to run for the Republican nomination for the

seat held by

Jeff Merkley Jeffrey Alan Merkley (born October 24, 1956) is an American politician serving as the junior United States senator from Oregon since 2009. A member of the Democratic Party, Merkley served as the 64th speaker of the Oregon House of Representatives ...

. Conger lost to Portland neurosurgeon

Monica Wehby Monica Wehby ( ; born May 7, 1962) is an American physician and politician from the state of Oregon. She was the Republican nominee for the United States Senate from Oregon in the 2014 election against Democratic incumbent Jeff Merkley. Early ...

in the Republican primary."Election Update", ''The Bulletin'', Bend, Oregon, May 22, 2014, p. B2.

Personal

Conger met his wife, Amy, when he was 17 and living in Crescent City. They were married four years later. The Congers live in Bend with their five children. The Congers selected Bend as their home because they wanted a small-town environment to raise their children, who were home-schooled much of the time.

References

External links

Official page
at the

Oregon Legislative Assembly The Oregon Legislative Assembly is the state legislature for the U.S. state of Oregon. The Legislative Assembly is bicameral, consisting of an upper and lower house: the Senate, whose 30 members are elected to serve four-year terms; and the Ho ...

Campaign website
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Conger, Jason 1968 births Living people Harvard Law School alumni California State Polytechnic University, Humboldt alumni Republican Party members of the Oregon House of Representatives Oregon lawyers Politicians from Bend, Oregon Place of birth missing (living people) 21st-century American politicians