Wyden stands solidly behind Merkley

Sen. Ron Wyden and Sen. Gordon Smith have enjoyed a relatively congenial relationship across the party line that divides them. They have worked together in Washington on a number of Oregon issues, including the extension of the Mt. Hood Wilderness Area. But that past cooperation didn't stop Wyden from endorsing Smith’s Democratic rival in the upcoming election.

Wyden said his decision was one of necessity; the importance of a Democratic majority outweighs his bipartisan friendship.

"You've got to have 60 votes to move ahead - to break a filibuster to move on universal health care, on climate change - the issues that we feel so strongly about,” Wyden said, speaking of two of his key issues.“A vote for Jeff Merkley will be a hugely important vote to help our new Democratic President finally produce the change people are waiting for,” Wyden continued.

Both Smith and Wyden have reaped political benefits from their relationship, despite claims made by the DPO and Merkley campaign that Smith has consistently cancelled out Wyden’s votes.

“The truth is that Gordon Smith has cancelled out Ron Wyden's vote nearly 1,700 times and voted with George Bush 90 percent of the time,” Merkley said in a statement, reiterating numbers that have become familiar to followers of his campaign. “He says he's a moderate in an election year, but for 12 years Smith has fought for a conservative agenda scripted by powerful special interests.”

Wyden, for his part, was less interested in criticizing his fellow Senator: ""I will not be criticizing [Smith's] service as a senator, or anybody else's," he said at the rally.

"But just as Gordon supported my opponents in 1998 and 2004 because those gentlemen shared Gordon Smith's Republican values," said Wyden, "it is important I support the person who supports my progressive values, and that person is Jeff Merkley."