Oregon Public Broadcasting

Oregon Democrats have their eye on the only Republican holding statewide office.  That would be Senator Gordon Smith.

The two leading Democrats in the race to unseat Smith are Steve Novick and Jeff Merkley.  Salem correspondent Chris Lehman introduces us to the two Senate hopefuls.

To find any policy differences between Jeff Merkley and Steve Novick, you have to look closely.  Their views on things like universal health care, renewable energy, and ending the war in Iraq sound a lot alike.

Instead, the two candidates are trying to position themselves as the person most likely to beat Gordon Smith.

Merkley says as Oregon House Speaker, he helped end political gridlock in the state capitol.

Jeff Merkley:  “I took on the paralysis in Salem, and we had the most progressive, productive session for Oregon’s working families we’ve seen in three decades.”

It helped that Merkley became speaker when Democrats won a majority in the legislature for the first time in more than a decade.  Still, he says his accomplishments there are proof that he can advance Democratic issues.

Jeff Merkley:  “Basic rights and domestic partnerships, a significant 20 percent increase in education spending, doubling scholarships for our students going to college, a large environmental agenda that put Oregon at the front of the clean energy movement in the nation, establishing a rainy day fund that for the first time we’re actually going to have a savings account so we can protect programs for when the economy turns down.”

Despite his decade in the Oregon House, and prior work in the Congressional Budget Office, Merkley is quick to paint his opponent as the political insider in the race.

Steve Novick has worked on political campaigns for several Oregon Democrats, and was director of a left-leaning political advocacy group.  Merkley says Novick is good at what he does.  But he says it’s not the same thing as bringing about real political change.

Jeff Merkley:  “Steve is a very good political consultant.  He runs campaigns for a living. He knows how to jab.  That’s not really my forte.  My forte is bringing people together and accomplishing things.”

But Novick defends his time as a political strategist.

Steve Novick:  “I worked on a bunch of campaigns.  It was always my job in those campaigns to be the fact guy.  I wasn’t the spin guy. I was the guy who knew the facts and kept my own campaign and the other campaign honest.”

Novick says Merkley is the real insider, with deep political connections and the blessing of the national Democratic Party. Novick says he’s not afraid to speak his mind.

Steve Novick:  “Even if that occasionally means criticizing fellow Democrats.  So when fellow Democrats have voted to continue funding the war, I’ve criticized them. When fellow Democrats have voted for warrantless wire-tapping, I’ve criticized them.”

And Novick says he has his own list of accomplishments, starting soon after he graduated from law school.

Steve Novick:  “I spent 8-and-a-half years suing polluters for the Federal Justice Department.  I had the honor of being lead counsel on the Love Canal case.  And I came back to Oregon in 1996.  And I’ve spent much of that time fighting the extreme right-wing ballot measures of people like Bill Sizemore and Don McIntire, preventing them from strangling public services from health care to public education to public safety.”

A once quiet Senate campaign has turned testy in recent weeks. The two campaigns are throwing around accusations of lying and spying.  But Oregon State University political scientist Bill Lunch says it might all be a moot point.

Bill Lunch:  “Democrats might conceivably beat Gordon Smith, but it’s not going to be easy.  On balance, you have to assume that Smith is likely to prevail again.  He’s done it before.”

Lunch says Smith has a war chest and name recognition that will be hard to overcome.

Aside from Jeff Merkley and Steve Novick, there are four other Democrats on the ballot; all political newcomers.