Mitt Romney

ST. PAUL -- After taking a while to get excited about a candidate, Oregon Republican Party vice chair Russ Walker said he is finally starting to see Oregon Republicans respond enthusiastically to presidential candidate John McCain.

Check back tomorrow morning to view my sketchpad for day three of the Democratic National Convention, and go to my national blog to follow convention coverage by cartoonists from around the country.

As the guessing games swirled around Oregon’s Democratic delegates heading to Denver on Friday as to who Barack Obama would pick for is running mate, Jack Lorts, the Hillary Clinton delegate and eastern-most representative of Oregon Democrats who was heading to Denver for the Democratic National Convention, got it right.

Former congressional candidate and Oregon delegate to the Republican National Convention Kevin Mannix predicted on Monday that Presidential nominee John McCain (R-Ariz.) would choose Mitt Romney as his vice presidential running mate.

At the very least, both the Merkley and Smith campaigns will likely keep us well entertained for the next three months.

The Oregon Republican Party held their biennial state convention this weekend, but the nine committees made only minor changes to the state party’s platform.

In an interview with PolitickerOR.com, ORP spokesperson Brianne Hyder said there were “no major changes to the Oregon Republican Party’s platform,” though there were “a few words here and there.” Hyder noted that more information regarding the changes would be released within the next few days.

Barack Obama has a 49%-39% lead over John McCain in the race for Oregon’s seven electoral votes, according to a SurveyUSA/KATU-TV poll.   In a hypothetical matchup that includes John Edwards and Mitt Romney as vice presidential candidates, Obama’s lead goes to 50%-40%.

Former presidential candidate and Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney is set to speak at tomorrow’s Oregon Republican Party State Convention.

Oregon Republican Party spokesperson, Brianne Hyder, told PolitickerOR.com that Romney will be the keynote speaker at the conventions’ banquet.