Oregon Public Broadcasting

Presidential party nominations may be wrapped up by the time Oregonians cast their votes in May.  But Oregon Democrats, at least, will have a hotly contested primary race for U.S. Senate.  Correspondent Chris Lehman reports.

The two leading candidates are Oregon House Speaker Jeff Merkley and political consultant Steve Novick.

Merkley’s high-profile position makes him a familiar name for many Oregon voters, and he’ll be back in the headlines next month as the legislature meets for a one-month special session.

Novick is working hard for name recognition.  He held a press conference this week in Salem calling for an end to the Federal No Child Left Behind act.

Steve Novick:  “I think that the purpose of No Child Left Behind was to set public schools up for what they would call failure, and then announce that the public schools had failed and that they would need to be privatized.”

Novick has lots of experience crafting positions like that.  He’s worked on shaping Democratic campaigns in Oregon for more than a decade.

Novick and Merkley could face up to four other Democrats on the May ballot.   The winner will take on Republican incumbent Gordon Smith next fall.