Oregon Public Broadcasting

Senate candidate Jeff Merkley popped up again Thursday, on contested T.V. ads paid for by the state Democratic Party. Last week, Republican Senator Gordon Smith's campaign called similar ads illegal -- and filed an official complaint with the Federal Elections Commission. Ethan Lindsey reports.

Unveiling another such ad, after Smith's complaint, reinforces a few things.

Democratic lawyers say they have a strong legal case - and federal elections officials are so backlogged they won't address this before November.

The ads are staged almost exactly like an official Merkley campaign ad.  They feature the House Speaker identifying himself and listing some accomplishments.

Merkley Ad: “I'm Jeff Merkley, and in the Oregon Legislature I worked to put the middle class first.”

Smith's campaign says Democrats have spent more than $600,000 on the "illegal ads."

Even before this latest ad appeared, some Democrats expressed discomfort with them.

And editorials in major state newspapers wrote that the ad was deceptive.

But Merkley staffers  insists these are "issue ads" since they don't explicitly say 'vote for Jeff Merkley' or 'vote against Gordon Smith.' They say the ads are exempt from the stricter campaign finance laws.