{{Short description|American politician}} {{refimprove|date=April 2025}} {{Infobox officeholder | name = Nathan Soltz | office = Chair of the Oregon Democratic Party | term_start = March 16, 2025 | term_end = | predecessor = Rosa Colquitt | successor = | birth_date = {{birth date and age|1997|5|10}} | birth_place = Medford, Oregon, U.S. | death_date = | death_place = | party = Democratic | education = Chemeketa Community College (attended)<br>Western Oregon University (BA)<br>College of William and Mary (attended) }} '''Nathan Joseph Soltz''' is an American politician serving as the Chair of the Democratic Party of Oregon.<ref>{{Cite web |title=DPO Officers |url=https://dpo.org/party/dpo-officers/ |access-date=2025-06-07 |website=Democratic Party of Oregon |language=en-US}}</ref> Before becoming party chair, Soltz ran for Salem City Council in 2024 but lost to real estate broker Shane Matthews by 42 votes.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Nathan Soltz |url=https://ballotpedia.org/Nathan_Soltz |access-date=2025-04-22 |website=Ballotpedia |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=McDonald |first=Abbey |date=2024-04-26 |title=VOTE 2024: Matthews, Soltz running for southeast Salem council seat |url=https://www.salemreporter.com/2024/04/26/vote-2024-matthews-soltz-running-for-southeast-salem-council-seat/ |access-date=2025-04-22 |website=Salem Reporter |language=en-US}}</ref> He also worked as legislative staff for various state senators: Alan Bates in 2016, Lew Frederick in 2017-2019, and Jeff Golden in 2019.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Senator Lew Frederick staff |url=https://www.oregonlegislature.gov/frederick/Pages/staff.aspx |access-date=2025-06-07 |website=www.oregonlegislature.gov}}</ref> He has served as Frederick's chief of staff since 2019.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Senator Lew Frederick staff |url=https://www.oregonlegislature.gov/frederick/Pages/staff.aspx |access-date=2025-06-07 |website=www.oregonlegislature.gov}}</ref>

==Biography== Soltz is Jewish. His mother is an immigrant from El Salvador whose biological father was Japanese, and Soltz's father is of Jewish ancestry. He is LGBTQ. He has philosophy and psychology degrees from Western Oregon University, where he participated in student government and led the student senate to be the first in the state to endorse ballot measures. He founded the Oregon Democratic Jewish Caucus. In 2012, he volunteered with Oregon United for Marriage to overturn the state's ban on same-sex marriage, and he volunteered on Bates' 2014 state senate campaign.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Woodworth |first=Whitney |title=Shane Matthews holds lead over Nathan Soltz in the Ward 3 Salem City Council race |url=https://www.statesmanjournal.com/story/news/politics/elections/2024/05/21/ward-3-salem-oregon-city-council-candidates/73631276007/ |access-date=2025-04-22 |website=Statesman Journal |language=en-US}}</ref> He is noted for his young age; at 19 he was Oregon's youngest-ever Democratic National Convention delegate in the 2016 Democratic National Convention and the youngest ever presidential elector in the 2020 election aged 23.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Senator Lew Frederick staff |url=https://www.oregonlegislature.gov/frederick/Pages/staff.aspx |access-date=2025-04-22 |website=www.oregonlegislature.gov}}</ref> He is supportive of labor unions, leading the creation of the Oregon State Legislature's first-in-the-nation staff union and attending strikes with his high school teachers.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Savio |first=Anna Del |date=2025-04-04 |title=Oregon’s new Democratic Party chair brings union background |url=https://nwlaborpress.org/2025/04/oregons-new-democratic-party-chair-brings-union-background/ |access-date=2025-04-22 |website=NW Labor Press |language=en-US}}</ref>

==References== {{reflist}}

{{s-start}} {{s-ppo}} {{s-bef|before=Rosa Colquitt}} {{s-ttl|title=Chair of the Oregon Democratic Party|years=2025–present}} {{s-inc}} {{s-end}}

{{Democratic State Chairs}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Soltz, Nathan}} Category:1997 births Category:American LGBTQ politicians Category:American politicians of Salvadoran descent Category:Asian-American people in Oregon politics Category:Hispanic and Latino American people in Oregon politics Category:Jewish American people in Oregon politics Category:Living people Category:Politicians from Salem, Oregon Category:State political party chairs of Oregon Category:Western Oregon University alumni