This time, can Erickson beat Hooley?

Oregonians rarely get the opportunity to see any real competitive races for Congress. Earl Blumenauer and Peter Defazio have solid Dem districts with large enough followings to ward off a serious challenge from any party. Greg Walden has seen a few scrappy Democratic candidates try and mount a race in his conservative eastern Oregon based district, but nothing the DCCC or the Democratic Party of Oregon pays any attention to. He won 67% of the vote in his last race.

In 2004, Republican Goli Ameri made a contentious effort to unseat incumbent David Wu, only to have her "he's a rapist" attacks backfire on Election Day. The campaign mounted against Wu last cycle by GOP black sheep and former state legislator Derrick Kitts went absolutely nowhere -- reestablishing Wu's trance over Washington county voters with a 64%-34% win.

So, that leaves us with Darlene Hooley, the holder of the only marginal seat in the state. After taking out incumbent Jim Bunn in 1996, she faced nominal opposition until her first millionaire opponent, Jim Zupancic, stepped up in 2004. That was Hooley's worst showing - 53%-44%

In 2006, Mike Erickson - who was even wealthier than Zupanic -- gave the Oregon GOP a much needed Hail Mary by entering the race on the last day of filing. His campaign made some rookie mistakes and, some pundits say, picked the wrong issues to discuss, and he eventually lost by 11 points.

But the hard-charging Erickson may have learned from his past mistakes. Announcing his candidacy early and raising more money than Hooley from individual Oregon donors in the last reporting period, Erickson has many political insiders giving his campaign a second glance. Known for her solid constituent services and passion for Oregon, Hooley still has no appetite for fundraising and is seen rarely on the campaign trail except in her television ads.

Hooley had $273,183 in her campaign account, as of the end of September - the lowest cash on hand of any Oregon incumbent.

If Erickson continues to raise cash from donors other than himself, and focuses on issues actually facing day-to-day voters in the district (such issues like jobs, social security, and wasteful government spending currently listed on his website) this race could get interesting.