McCain Dragging GOP Senators Down With Him

I suppose this is the opposite of presidential nominees having "coattails" -- with which they use their own momentum to help Congressional candidates win -- because even in Oregon, where for months I have assumed that Republican incumbent Gordon Smith would keep his Senate seat, Democratic challenger Jeff Merkley has pulled into the lead.

In a new poll released yesterday by Portland's KATU-TV and Survey USA, Merkley leads Smith 46 percent to 41 percent.

And Pollster.com shows that it's now Merkley's race to lose, with a trend average of 45 percent to 40 percent. Have a look at how about in mid-September, Smith's fortunes began to fall right along with the McCain-Palin ticket.



Smith isn’t as bad as some Senate Republicans -- not saying a lot, is it? -- but this would be an amazing pickup if Merkley can pull this out.