Story Photos
 Democrat Jeff Merkley, with his wife Mary Sorteberg, speaks to the press outside his party's election night celebration in Portland on Tuesday. Chris Ryan / The Associated Press
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Merkley win increases Dems' edge in Senate
Thursday, November 6, 2008 5:33 PM PST
By Brad Cain
The Associated Press
Printable version
E-mail this articlePORTLAND — Democrat Jeff Merkley has ousted Republican Sen. Gordon Smith, a victory once considered unlikely against an incumbent who had highlighted his efforts to work across the aisle in hopes of surviving a wave of anti-GOP sentiment.
Smith’s loss — the first for an Oregon senator in 40 years — means Democrats are poised to have at least 57 votes in the Senate next year. He had been the last GOP senator standing in the three Pacific Coast states south of Alaska.
“There’s a lot of work for us to do together,” Merkley told a crowd of supporters Thursday morning as they jammed a room at Portland State University and spilled into the hallway.
“It’s time for a very different approach,” he said, in such areas as health care, job creation, affordable housing and energy independence.
Smith gave a concession speech from his home in Pendleton.
“There was simply a tide too strong for us to stem. We understand that,” said Smith, his arm around his wife.
About 82 percent of the vote had been counted statewide early Thursday, showing Merkley with a margin of more than 40,000 votes.
The difference was smaller before more vote totals started coming in from Multnomah County, which includes Portland. A flood of votes that Oregonians delivered on Election Day have kept election workers tallying ballots for days.
For Merkley, it was a remarkable personal victory. The state House speaker and policy wonk from east Portland was far from the first choice of national Democrats looking for a challenger to Smith.
For Smith, the election represented a stinging rejection by voters of his political strategy. He ran TV ads touting his work with Barack Obama, Ted Kennedy and other prominent Democrats on issues such as alternative energy.
Merkley countered with a TV ad featuring Obama directly urging Oregonians to vote for Merkley. It was the only TV ad Obama did for another candidate for the general election, showing the importance that national Democrats placed on the Oregon race.
There will be at least 55 Democrats in the Senate, plus two independents who align with them. The outcomes of three Senate races remain uncertain: A runoff election is to be held in Georgia, a recount is scheduled in Minnesota, and thousands of ballots remain to be counted in a close race in Alaska.
A year ago, most observers doubted that Merkley could defeat the better-funded Smith. Merkley turned the race in his direction with millions of dollars from national Democrats and a campaign blitz that took him to 100 communities around the state.
Merkley told crowds that Smith was a Bush Republican who was more interested in bailing out Wall Street than helping people on Main Street.
He’s the first Oregonian to oust an incumbent senator since Republican Bob Packwood ousted Democratic Sen. Wayne Morse in 1968.
Louie wrote on Nov 6, 2008 9:52 AM:
Bob Packwood...there is another bummer of a Republican who took advantage of women and was found guilty of such.
So much for the ethics of the Republicans in office. "
Rainier Res wrote on Nov 6, 2008 10:03 AM:
And i'm really tired of people demonizing anyone in america who has wealth. He bought his family buisness back from when it was failing in the early 80's, and if he wants to buy a set of antique golf clubs and can afford it, why shouldn't he.
I for one hope that some day i can be one of the "evil" rich people who work their butts off and succeed in their buisness, and offer well paying jobs to the community. I've never once gotten a job from a poor person.
I hope Smith comes back in the next election. "
Gondolapete wrote on Nov 6, 2008 11:48 AM:
Mr. Bastinado wrote on Nov 6, 2008 1:35 PM:
By the way, what do you call the rightwing idiocy that we've had to endure for the past 8 years??? Just wondering. "
Im_not_saying wrote on Nov 6, 2008 1:44 PM:
biasmedia wrote on Nov 6, 2008 1:53 PM:
AmericanGirl wrote on Nov 6, 2008 2:16 PM:
cheney119 wrote on Nov 6, 2008 2:56 PM:
Gondolapete wrote on Nov 6, 2008 4:49 PM:
Rural Citizen wrote on Nov 6, 2008 5:11 PM:
It's REPUBLICANS that people are TIRED OF.
Why don't you guys quit being SORE LOOSERS
and WAKE UP AND SMELL THE COFFEE?
CORPORATE OWNED GOVERNMENT IS CALLED FASCISM AND IT HAS JUST BEEN REJECTED. "
cynic954 wrote on Nov 6, 2008 9:39 PM:
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