Matthew Miller

U.S. Senator Gordon Smith is waiting to see which Democrat wins the primary to challenge him: Jeff Merkley or Steve Novick: Getty Images Photo
Despite the uncomfortable reality for many Democrats that tensions continue to escalate in the primary race between the two candidates battling to challenge incumbent Republican Senator Gordon Smith next year, Democrats both here in Oregon, as well as inside the beltway, still smell blood in the water.

Speaker Jeff Merkley, the so-called establishment candidate, and his underdog opponent Steve Novick, have consistently portrayed Smith as a firm Bush ally, and have pointed to dismal approval numbers in the low 30’s, which conventional political wizardry suggests spell doom for any incumbent seeking reelection.

But publicly, GOP officials in the state, along with Smith’s aides in Washington, refuse to acknowledge even the most remote sense of concern over the Senator’s reelection prospects.