Gordon Smith

By Ron Beasley

The Republican Senator from my state of Oregon is a wingnut who voted with the Bush administration over 90% of the time.  He has the major newspaper in the state, The Oregonian, trying to convince the voters of Oregon that Smith is a moderate.  This was always going to be a tough pick up for the Democrats and a vicious Democratic primary didn't help.  Smith has always been a wingnut for 5 years and a moderate for the year prior to his next election.  He made the shift a year earlier this time when he suddenly decided the the Iraq war war a bad idea after the Democrats win in 2006.  Until then he had been a cheer leader for the war. Well for the first time we have some good news,

Oregon Senate: Merkley tops Smith for first time 43% to 41%

Democratic challenger Jeff Merkley for the first time has edged ahead of Republican Senator Gordon Smith 43% to 41% in Oregon, according to the latest Rasmussen Reports telephone survey. While the advantage is not statistically significant, it is noteworthy for an incumbent senator to receive such low levels of support at this point in a campaign.

For some details on Smith's relationship with Karl Rove  and the Oregonian see Where's Gordon? and Dead Fish, Gordon Smith and the Oregonian.