Politicker OR

The Oregonian has endorsed GOP State Rep. John Lim for re-election, and wants Democrat Suzanne Van Orman to replace retiring Republican Patti Smith's seat.  The newspaper is backing John Nelsen to replace Karen Minnis in District 49.  Click here to read the editorial.

The Oregonian editorial board endorsed two Republicans and one Democrat in three of the states most competitive house races Sunday.

Congressional candidate Joel Haugen (I-Scappoose) expressed disappointment in the passage of the Wall Street bailout bill Friday, but he did applaud U.S. Rep. Peter DeFazio (D-Springfield) for voting against the package.

Basic Rights Oregon issued a response to U.S. Sen. Gordon Smith's new campaign ad, which touts the work he did on hate crimes legislation to protect gays and lesbians.

U.S. Rep. David WuU.S. Rep. David Wu (D-Portland) expressed regret that Congress did not have time to put together more comprehensive legislation to deal with the country’s economic crisis, but said he voted in favor of the bill to use taxpayer dollars to bailout financial institutions because he feared it was the last opportunity to act. “When it came down to it, the bill that all members were asked to vote for today was the last train leaving the station,” Wu said in a statement.  “I wish this legislation had been further revised, but ultimately, we needed to act.”

U.S. Rep. Earl Blumenauer (D-Portland) released his first campaign ad of the general election Friday. Blumenauer’s campaign said that with so many new Oregon voters getting involved in the process, it wanted to take the opportunity to re-introduce the six-term congressman to his constituents.

It was only a matter of time until incumbent Republican Senator Gordon Smith pulled out the Matthew Shepard ad in his race against Democrat Jeff Merkley.  Shepard was an openly gay student at the University of Wyoming who was kidnapped and murdered in 1998 by two youths who opposed Shepard's sexuality.

U.S. Rep.  David Wu (D-Portland) switched from a nay to a yea on legislation that will use billions of taxpayer dollars to bailout Wall Street financial institutions.

Senate candidate Jeff Merkley: Campaign PhotoThe National Republican Senatorial Committee released a new ad Friday that attempts to tie Democratic Senate candidate Jeff Merkley’s actions in Salem to the corruption in Washington, D.C. “Our economy in trouble, Wall Street and Washington gambling with our money and piling up more government debt,” the ad says. “In Salem, with Jeff Merkley as speaker of the house, the story isn’t any better.”

State treasurer candidate Allen Alley (R-Lake Oswego) lost three more signs this week, costing the campaign $120.

Avoiding the press when running for office can cost you politically.  When you cannot answer questions about why you want to represent constituents one of the highest held offices in the country you end up on PolitickerOR.com's Losers list.  And we're not talking about Sarah Palin.

Oregon’s Senate race has moved to the toss-up category on political analyst Larry Sabato's "Crystal Ball," a website run by the University of Virginia's Center for Politics.

The Salem Statesman Journal endorsed State Sen. Kurt Schrader (D-Canby) in the OR-5 Congressional race Thursday.

Despite not having any serious challenge this campaign season, state Senator Mark Hass is running a one minute television ad on prime time television asking voters to restore what he calls "uniquely Oregon values."

SALEM -- Secretary of state candidates focused on creating a fair election process during their first debate hosted by the Salem City Club at Chemteka Community College Thursday night. Candidates Rick Dancer (R-Springfield) and Kate Brown (D-Portland), as well as Pacific Green Party candidate Seth Woolley, stressed that the main job of Oregon's secretary of state was to ensure that the voices of every Oregonian were heard in a fair election process. Each candidate also stressed why they would be the best one to uphold that process.

To view a larger version of this cartoon, click here.

FuturePAC head Michele Rossolo said Thursday that the Democratic political action committee has no plans on retracting statements made in recent mailers regarding Rep. Scott Brunn's (R-West Linn) position on abortion. Brunn had requested Thursday that FuturePAC retract statements made on mailers it sent to voters in House District 37 which said Brunn was against abortion in the instance of rape or incest and when a mother's life was in danger. "The facts absolutely back up everything we need to know," Rossolo said.

State Rep. Scott Brunn (R-West Linn) demanded Thursday that State Rep. candidate Michele Eberle (D-West Linn) and FuturePAC retract statements made in mailers that were sent to residents in HD-37.

As polls have started to turn against U.S. Sen. Gordon Smith (R-Pendleton), the Rothenberg Report has reclassified Oregon’s senate race as a “lean takeover” race.

U.S. Rep. Earl Blumenauer (D-Portland) said Thursday that he would not be supporting an $850 billion measure to bailout financial institutions that the Senate passed Wednesday night.