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Big turnout expected
An election-day voter stampede is expected to propel Oregon's highest primary turnout in 20 years, state officials projected Monday.

More than 800,000 voters cast ballots in the vote-by-mail election as of Monday, and elections officials predicted another 250,000 will drop off their ballots before today's 8 p.m. deadline.

Secretary of State Bill Bradbury estimates a turnout between 50 percent and 60 percent. (Amy Hsuan, The Oregonian)

Are those polls right?
Hillary Clinton supporters found a glimmer of hope Monday with release of a new poll on Oregon’s Democratic presidential primary, but it turned out to be short-lived.

A day after Sen. Barack Obama attracted a record 75,000 people to downtown Portland and a throng of 3,000 to Pendleton, a poll released Monday by Suffolk University Political Research Center showed Clinton was in striking distance of Obama here. The Boston-based group reported that its May 17-18 poll showed Obama leading Clinton by 45 percent to 41 percent.

That followed a May 14-16 poll by American Research Group of Manchester, N.H., showing Obama ahead by a similar 50 percent to 45 percent margin.

But some political experts, including Portland pollster Tim Hibbitts, were skeptical about those findings. (Steve Law, Portland Tribune)

Schrader up big, Mannix edges ahead
State Senator Kurt Schrader has a handy lead over democratic primary candidate Steve Marks, and Republican Kevin Mannix is squeaking ahead of Mike Erickson in a last minute poll released by SurveyUSA and commissioned by KATU news.

With 43 percent, Schrader led Marks nearly two to one, although a full 38 percent of voters said they were undecided. Schrader does however lead in every demographic group.

Mannix—who dropped an eleventh hour bomb on Erickson last week—nosed ahead, 46 to 42 percent. The 4.7 margin of error, however, means that the race is still neck and neck. (Lauren Lafaro, PolitickerOR.com)

Novick nudges forward
Polls today have Steve Novick slightly ahead of Jeff Merkley; a PPP poll had Novick with a five point lead, while a just released SurveyUSA poll found the lead to be slightly smaller. (Lafaro, PolitickerOR.com)

With the PolitickerOR.com Wake-Up Call e-mailed to your inbox, phone, Blackberry or PDA first thing in the morning, you can get a rundown of Oregon's top political headlines. Sign up to get the Wake-Up Call delivered every morning.