Kayse Jama is a Democratic member of the Oregon State Senate representing District 24, which covers East Portland, Damascus, Boring, and parts of Clackamas and Multnomah Counties. Born in 1973 or 1974 into a nomadic family in Somalia, he fled the civil war in the early 1990s as a refugee, eventually settling in Portland, Oregon. He is the first Muslim, first Black Muslim, first Somali-American, and first former refugee to serve in the Oregon State Legislature. Appointed in 2021 to replace Shemia Fagan , he was elected Senate Majority Leader on November 16, 2024. Notable achievements include chairing the Senate Committee on Housing and Development , serving on the Senate Committee on Labor and Business and the Joint Committee on Ways and Means Subcommittee on Transportation and Economic Development, and previously leading Unite Oregon to advance campaigns on police reform, hate crimes, and drug decriminalization via Ballot Measure 110.

Education and Political Experience

• Education: Graduate of Marylhurst University.
• Early Career: Worked at Lutheran Community Services Northwest aiding refugees; co-founded and directed Unite Oregon , focusing on intercultural organizing, equity coalitions like Fair Shot for All and Oregon Health Equity Alliance, and ballot measures reducing money in politics and expanding drug treatment.
• Political Experience: Appointed to Oregon State Senate District 24 in January 2021; re-elected in 2022; advanced to Senate Majority Leader in 2024; currently chairs Senate Rules Committee.