Bailout Is Hot Topic In Downballot Ads

The unpopular but necessary bailout package has been passed, and it will now recede into the background for the rest of the campaign season, right? Not a chance. The presidential candidates may be turning to new lines of attack, but...

DSCC Targets Dole, Smith

The Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee is going after GOP incumbents in the North Carolina and Oregon Senate races in two new releases. Sen. Elizabeth Dole, R-N.C., running against state Sen. Kay Hagan (D) for her second term, is the target...

Tax Attacks In Oregon

Oregon Senate candidates Gordon Smith (R) and Jeff Merkley (D) are going after each other's tax records, as the incumbent Smith seeks to portray his opponent as a typical tax-and-spend liberal and Merkley gets more help from state and national...

At 'Home' With Rural Voters

After releasing several ads touting his support among Democrats -- even going so far as to cite ties to Barack Obama in one (subscription) -- Republican Sen. Gordon Smith of Oregon released a more typically conservative spot in late June....

Obamacans For Senate

How desperate is Sen. Gordon Smith, R-Ore., to disassociate himself from the GOP brand this year? His latest ad features words of praise from none other than Barack Obama. In response to attack ads from an outside group, Smith released...

Party People?

In a new TV ad released Monday, Oregon Sen. Gordon Smith is sticking to a strategy common among Republican incumbents this cycle: avoiding any mention of party ID. "Guts And Independence" (subscription) features two local Democratic leaders endorsing Smith instead...

Moving To The Middle

State House Speaker Jeff Merkley edged out Portland lawyer Steve Novick last week to become the Oregon Democratic Party's nominee for the Senate. Meanwhile, the incumbent, Sen. Gordon Smith (R), was already busy trying to set the tone of the...

DSCC Throws Weight Behind Merkley

Democratic voters in Oregon are choosing today not only between Barack Obama and Hillary Rodham Clinton, but also between attorney Steve Novick and state House Speaker Jeff Merkley, both seeking to take on Sen. Gordon Smith (R) in November. A...

Playing Nice In Oregon & Kentucky

Hillary Rodham Clinton has devoted much of her endgame advertising to touting her reputation for pugnacity, but with conventional wisdom coalescing behind Barack Obama, she's been forced to back off the harsh rhetoric of recent primaries in favor of blander,...

Oregon Dems Duke It Out

Just six days out from a closely contested Democratic Senate primary vote in Oregon, state House Speaker Jeff Merkley and attorney Steve Novick are taking different approaches with their advertising strategies. While Merkley is fighting back against negative ads from...

Smith Lashes Out At Oregon Dems

After several months of sitting back and letting Democrats Steve Novick and Jeff Merkley go after each other, Republican incumbent Gordon Smith has jumped into the fray in the Oregon Senate race, launching attacks on both of his potential Democratic...

Valerie Plame Unmasked As Clinton Supporter

Dismissing calls for her exit -- and setting aside for the moment her $20 million debt -- Hillary Rodham Clinton this weekend pressed ahead with her campaign in West Virginia and Oregon, expanding her ad buy in both states. Breaking...

Greening The GOP In Oregon

For weeks now, Oregon voters have been the target of campaign events and political advertisements from both Democratic candidates. In an effort to remind Oregonians that there's another candidate in the race, John McCain will today reach out to the...

Six To Go

Even before the Indiana and North Carolina results were in, Barack Obama and Hillary Rodham Clinton were looking ahead to the five states and one territory yet to vote in the protracted nomination contest. Putting his fundraising advantage to work...

Clinton Plants A Seed In Oregon

After being beaten to the airwaves by Barack Obama in Texas, Ohio, Pennsylvania, North Carolina and Indiana, Hillary Rodham Clinton has once again followed closely behind her opponent with a new ad buy in Oregon -- her first advertising in...

Upstart vs. Establishment In Oregon

With just under a month to go before voters head to the polls in the Oregon Senate Democratic primary, attorney Steve Novick refuses to let up in his effort to upset state House Speaker Jeff Merkley. Merkley has the backing...

Merkley Debuts On Oregon Airwaves

Oregon Senate candidate Jeff Merkley (D) received an unpleasant surprise this week: A SurveyUSA poll showed he was trailing Portland lawyer Steve Novick and statistically tied with long-shot candidate Candy Neville, despite having the support of the state's Democratic establishment....