Statesman Journal endorses Smith; Daily Astorian endorses Merkley

Oregon voters appear to be evenly split as to whom they will be supporting in Oregon’s Senate race, and Oregon’s newspapers are equally as divided.

U.S. Sen. Gordon Smith (R-Pendleton) picked up an endorsement from the Statesman Journal in Salem, whose editors argued that Oregon was well served by having a member from both parties serving in the Senate.

“Smith, who is seeking a third term, remains the best choice. He is in tune with Oregonians' common-sense, middle-of-the-road values,” the Statesman Journal editorial board wrote. “The state benefits from having both a Democrat and a Republican in the Senate; Oregon has influence with both parties' leadership.”

U.S. Senate candidate Jeff Merkley (D-Portland) was endorsed by the The Daily Astorian, who wrote that Smith, while a nice guy, seemed unambitious as a senator, and that if Oregon was to be served well in the Senate, the Beaver State needed a new senator that would be more willing to work on new legislation.

“In a nutshell, at the end of 12 years in the Senate, Gordon Smith has not distinguished himself with significant accomplishment,” the editoral board wrote. “Smith is a relatively inconsequential senator. That is especially clear when one sees Smith's colleague, Oregon Sen. Ron Wyden writing a tax reform bill as well as a health care bill - two monumental pieces of legislation that will be substantive vehicles in the next Congress.”

The state’s biggest paper, the Oregonian, has yet to come out with an endorsement in the race.