In the end, the Democrats succeeded primarily because of two factors. First was the willingness of a little-known rookie speaker of the Oregon House, Jeff Merkley, to ignore the advice of friends who thought he should stay in his job and eventually run for governor. Instead, Merkley decided to challenge Smith when more established political figures weren't willing to take the gamble.
Second was the decision of the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee and it's hyper-aggressive chairman, Sen. Charles Schumer of New York, to back Merkley to the hilt. The committee helped Merkley fend off a tough primary challenge and spent $11.6 million on ads attacking Smith -- more than anyone else in the race, candidates included.
Polls from both sides showed the race essentially tied in the last week. Isaacs said he figured two things put Merkley over the top: the superior voter turnout effort mounted by Democrats and an ad featuring Obama urging Oregonians to help him by electing Merkley.
Hope and Change strike again.
1 comment:
The Democratic machine is a force to be reckoned with. We've lost much more than Senate and House seats in this election. Honestly, I do not know how we can overcome what has happened. There is not a conservative leader out there to take charge. The maligning of Palin only makes it worse.
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