Merkley campaign releases new ad touting middle-class roots

U.S. Senate candidate Jeff Merkley (D-Portland) released a new campaign ad Wednesday telling voters about his humble beginnings.

The Merkley campaign wants to portray the candidate as a man that personally understands the struggles many Americans are facing, according to a campaign release.

“Growing up in a mill town and first in my family to attend college, it's not surprise to me why so many Oregon families feel that Washington has left us behind,” Merkley says in the ad. “It is time to deliver the change Washington politicians only talk about.”

Merkley was born in Myrtle Creek before he and his family moved to Portland. He attended Stanford University for college, and Princeton University for graduate school.

U.S. Sen. Gordon Smith's spokeswoman Lindsay Gilbride questioned the ad, accusing Merkley of supporting economic policies that would not be friendly for the middle class.

“Jeff Merkley claims to be fighting for the average family, but in his day to day life, he sticks it to working Oregonians who are struggling to make ends meet,” Gilbride said in a statement. “From raising taxes to his anti-job growth agenda, Jeff Merkley is no friend of the middle class.”