High Quality Content by WIKIPEDIA articles! Ronald Lee "Ron" Wyden (born May 3, 1949) is an American politician from Oregon and a member of the Democratic Party. He won a seat in the United States House of Representatives in 1980, and served there until 1996, when he became a U.S. Senator.While teaching gerontology at several Oregon universities, Wyden founded the Oregon chapter of the Gray Panthers; he led that organization from 1974 to 1980. Wyden is also the former director of the Oregon Legal Services Center for Elderly, a nonprofit law service.