Oregon Public Broadcasting

The two leading Oregon U.S. Senate candidates have spent nearly $15 million trying to knock out their opponents in next month’s election. Salem correspondent Chris Lehman has more.

Republican Gordon Smith has spent more than $10 million trying to hang onto his seat.  The two-term incumbent spent nearly $5 million of that in the past three months, according to newly filed Federal campaign finance reports.  

His Democratic challenger, Jeff Merkley, spent about $2 million during the same time period.  Merkley’s overall spending now tops $4 million.

Final numbers won’t be available until after the election, but it could be shaping up to be one of the costliest races in Oregon history.

Of course, these numbers don’t include money spent by outside organizations.  The campaign committees of the Senate Democrats and Republicans have poured untold amounts into the race in the form of TV ads.