PORTLAND, Ore. — Sen. Jeff Merkley (D-Ore.) is quietly making clear to liberal advocacy groups that he’s available for a 2020 bid, even as the Democratic field of potential White House hopefuls fills with better-known progressives.

Merkley, the soft-spoken liberal who sent his kids to the same public school he attended in a blue-collar neighborhood here, commands neither the star power nor the crowd-thrilling electricity of his close Senate allies, Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) and Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.). But what he lacks in wattage, he has begun making up for with powerful new friends.

Every two weeks, Merkley’s Senate office plays host to a meeting between progressive senators — Warren is a frequent attendee — and the outside groups channeling Democratic excitement ahead of this fall’s midterm elections. The “inside-outside” meetings, as Merkley calls them, give liberal groups like Indivisible, the Progressive Change Campaign Committee and the Daily Kos a chance to compare notes.

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As Merkley plays host, he has also built alliances with those groups, which could serve as a platform for a presidential run.