Democrat Jeff Merkley is declaring victory over Republican incumbent Sen. Gordon Smith in the Oregon Senate race, moving Democrats one seat closer to a filibuster-proof majority in the body.

“This is the beginning of a transformational change for America,” Merkley said at a news conference at Portland State University.

He said he would be working with President-elect Barack Obama “to put this nation back on track.”
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With 100 percent of the counties reporting, Merkley received 48.4 percent of the vote to Smith’s 46 percent, according to unofficial results from the Oregon Secretary of State’s office.

I doubt old Gordo will go gentle into that good night: he’s got smarmy lobbyist written all over him.

That is, until the 2010 Oregon Governor’s race rolls around. But Oregon hasn’t elected a Republican governor since the early 80s, so we may yet be safe from the Smith Frozen Foods millions…