Transcript of remarks from Merkley

Below is a transcript of remarks made by U.S. Senate candidate Jeff Merkley (D-Portland) at the Democratic National Convention Wednesday evening, as prepared for delivery.

I'm Jeff Merkley. I'm running for Senate in the great state of Oregon because we need to change direction and put America back on track. If my opponent, Gordon Smith, returns to Washington, it's just more of the same, and we can't afford that. Not in Oregon, not in America.

I'm the son of a mill-worker, the first in my family to attend college. I believe in an America that gives every child the opportunity to fulfill his or her potential. I believe in an America that paves a broad road for families to thrive. It is time to make America work for working Americans again!

George Bush, John McCain, and Gordon Smith have given us a government that puts oil company profits ahead of drivers' pain at the pump and tax loopholes that ship jobs overseas instead of tax relief for the middle class.

Y'know, my opponent talks like Barack Obama, but he votes like George Bush. Oregon needs a senator who will fight for affordable health care, living wage jobs, an end to the war and a smart energy policy, not a senator who will give us more of Bush and McCain's failed policies.

That's why I'm running. That's why I'll fight for you. And that's why I need you to fight for me. Let's win in November and give Barack Obama a Senate that fights for the change we need!

Thank you. God bless Oregon and God bless America.