NRSC leaps into action for Senate campaign

The National Republican Senatorial Committee increased its involvement in Oregon's senate race on Friday by re-launching a website attacking Merkley for his record on taxes and by releasing a video addressing the controversy over ads produced by the Democratic Party of Oregon featuring Senate candidate Jeff Merkley (D-Portland).

According to NRSC spokesman John Randall, www.musttaxmerkley.com, which was active in the lead up to the May primary, was re-launched Friday to set Merkley’s voting record on taxes straight as voters start weighing their choice for the November election. The site is run and paid for by the NRSC.

“We’re going to be very involved in this race,” Randall said. “It’s our goal to maintain our incumbent.”

The re-launch of the site comes on the heels of the Oregon Senate race tightening up. On Tuesday, second quarter fundraising numbers revealed that Merkley out fund raised Smith from April 1 to June 30. On Wednesday, Merkley polled ahead of incumbent Senator Gordon Smith (R-Pendleton) for the first time in the race. On Thursday, the Cook Report reclassified the Oregon Senate race as a tossup, instead of a race that leans Republican.

The Cook Report also cited a lack of national party support for the Smith campaign as a reason the incumbent’s chances of re-election have diminished in recent weeks. But Randall dismissed that idea.

“Gordon Smith has done a good job of positioning himself financially on his own,” Randall said. “He hasn’t needed the handholding that Merkley has needed.”

The handholding Randall referred to had to do with the controversial issues ads the Democratic Party of Oregon has released that feature Merkley. The video released by the NRSC on Friday, called, “Paid for by Jeff Merkley?” accuses Merkley of breaking campaign finance laws by appearing in the DPO’s ads.

“For Jeff Merkley, it’s more than just politics-as-usual,” the video says. “It’s a violation of federal law.”

The controversy revolves around the purpose of the ads -- whether the ads talk about issues or promote Merkley’s campaign. The NRSC believes the ads are to promote his campaign, which would put Merkley in violation of Federal Elections Commissions laws. The Democrats maintain the ads are about issues important to Oregonians.

The law on this is still being debated by election lawyers, and in all likelihood will not be decided on by the FEC until after the election.