Cook Report

An increasingly hostile climate for Republican candidates is the main reason that the Oregon Senate race was reclassified as a “toss up” race instead of a “leans Republican” race by The Cook Political Report on Thursday.

While the highly-regarded report praised Smith as a solid candidate and suggested that Merkley would not be able to keep up with the incumbent financially, it warned that even if Smith runs a flawless campaign, anti-Republican sentiment sweeping through voters fed up with war, an ailing economy, and high gas prices may lead to his downfall in November.

“Having to run against a bad political climate, one over which he has no control and cannot change, is an entirely different story,” the report said. “As such, the circumstances in this race warrant moving it to the Toss Up column.”