It’s official: Oregon House Speaker Jeff Merkley (D-Portland) announced today he will enter the May 2008 Democratic primary for U.S. Senate.
As first reported here last week, Merkley announced this morning that he has filed the necessary paperwork to run next year.
Merkley wasted no time in his announcement seeking to tie Republican incumbent U.S. Sen. Gordon Smith to President Bush, saying “I’m running for U.S. Senate because I believe we need to make some big changes in our country. And I believe George Bush and Gordon Smith are leading us in the wrong direction.”
Merkley went on to establish his non-Portland and working class bona fides, noting that he lived in Myrtle Creek and Roseburg before moving in grade school to Portland where his dad got a job as a heavy equipment mechanic.
The newly minted Democratic Senate candidate never mentioned his two opponents so far in the primary, Ty Pettit or Steve Novick
(Nor did he mention the fact that as reported on OPB and elsewhere, he was a Pentagon weapons analyst in the 1980s in the Reagan administration, though we’re pretty sure that factoid might get some attention in a Democratic primary).
Novick, who entered the primary more than two months ago, made sure to note in commending Merkley’s decision that Merkley is following him “in taking on Gordon Smith” and just as quickly played the debate card, proposing a “series of joint appearances across the state with Jeff and any other candidates that enter the primary to let voters make up their minds.”
Let the debate begin.
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- Merkley “Wydens” The Gap Between His Record and Smith’s U.S. Sen.
- I’ll Take “Before & After” for $400, Alex: Novick in “Jeopardy” no more Look, we
"I believe they (Bush and Smith) are leading us in the wrong direction"?
Didn’t America elect Bush and his platform to lead us?
Twice?
Didn’t Merkley’s fellow Oregonian’s elect Smith? Twice?
Run on your own platform Merkley, stop the negativity that leads to the hate and violence that liberals usually fall back to.
At this point,I’d vote for anyone who will run against Smith.All this "I don’t agree with Bush" crap coming out of Smiths mouth is a bunch of rubbish.He’ll side with big biz everytime,and at the expense of all the rest of us.
I’ll have a party when Smith is defeated in the next election..Everyone who stands for freedom and integrity is invite to attend.
Not that I’m being negative or anything.
Snowballs live longer in hell than Merkley beating Smith. Hey this lying wizard of ethics managed to drop the most important clause out of ethic refinement..anyone remember campaign funds being used only for campaigning? He neatly dropped that piece of the reform out of sight. Multnomah county can’t elect him alone.
Merkley worked on arms control agreements at Defense, as a research intern. Not much of a handicap. And he is a very bright person, in contrast to Smith. the congressional bureau chief of a daily Capitol Hill newspaper told me, before he knew I was from Oregon, that Gordon Smith was the dumbest man in the Senate. Is that a negative?
Based on the strong reaction from Republicans here and at the state level (insta-vitriol), I’d say Merkley has gotten someone spooked.