Analyst: Erickson allegations may mean little

A nonpartisan analyst said today that Republican U.S. House candidate Kevin Mannix’s distribution of a woman’s allegations that primary rival Mike Erickson provided funds for her to get an abortion did not change the fundamental contours of the race.

“Most people in the mainstream press will treat the allegations as unsubstantiated and they won’t get that much play,” said David Wasserman, who monitors House races for the Cook Political Report.

Wasserman, who said he believed Erickson had an advantage heading into next Tuesday’s primary, also said the unsubstantiated nature of the allegations might make it difficult for Democrats to play up the affair in advertisements in the fall.

Erickson, a transportation executive who ran a failed bid for the seat in 2006, and Mannix, a former Oregon Republican Party chair, are competing for retiring Rep. Darlene Hooley’s seat. Running in the Democratic primary are Kurt Schrader, a state Senator, and Steve Marks, a onetime aide to former Governor John Kitzhaber.

EARLIER on PolitickerOR.com:

• Report: Woman alleges Erickson got her pregnant and paid for abortion
  
• Erickson campaign denies rumors
• Days before primary woman accuses pro-life candidate of paying for abortion