Many Republican incumbent members of Congress are running with the wind blowing straight at them. For Sen. Gordon Smith, though, this wind seems to be packing hurricane force.
Smith’s problems appear to be three-fold. First, he is dealing with the same bad political environment that is impacting many of his GOP Senate colleagues up for re-election this year. The combination of the Wall Street crisis, a weakening economy, and an unpopular President at the helm of a damaged Republican Party has exacted their toll to varying degrees. In Smith’s case, that toll appears to be heavier than most.
Second, Republican strategists say that Oregon has become more Democratic over the past several years. Democrats now enjoy an 11-point advantage in voter registration, accounting for 43 percent of registered voters. Republicans make of 32 percent of the vote. This translates into a 216,000-vote advantage for Democrats. As one strategist put it, the state is now bluer than neighboring Washington. They attribute the change to the competitive Democratic presidential primary that brought out a record number of voters and to heightened enthusiasm
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