GOP: Victory Director appointment a sign of growing Republican confidence

A spokesman for the Republican National Committee indicated that the move to appoint a new director of the GOP's Victory campaign in Oregon and other states is part of a broader strategy to target those states' electoral votes in the November election.

"These are states that we are confident we will be successful in this fall," RNC spokesman Brian Walton said.

Tuesday's announcement that Bryan Watkins, the former campaign manager for Bob Watkins, California's Republican U.S Congressional candidate for District 52, will take the lead for Oregon Victory came with the announcement that five other states have also received new directors. Virginia, Iowa, Florida, Michigan and New Hampshire can be added to the list of nine states that received new Victory directors on June 2. Those states are Wisconsin, Ohio, Pennsylvania, New Mexico, Colorado, Nevada, Arkansas, Maine and Washington.

However, Oregon Democrats said they are not intimidated by the new Republican in town, nor do they believe that Watkins will be able to attract voters to a message that they believe is contrary to the interests of Oregonians.

"I hope they do send as many people as possible over here to broadcast John McCain's message of 100 more years in Iraq," says Marc Siegel, spokesman for the Democratic Party of Oregon. "We're all for it."

Walton says a third announcement of states that will receive new Victory directors will be made in the coming weeks.