Daily Vanguard

Issue date: 5/6/08 Section: Opinion

Media Credit: Eva Schifter Steve Novick [Click to enlarge]

The three frontrunners for the Democratic U.S. Senate nomination came to campus last Wednesday for one of their last debates in a primary race that has almost been as hotly contested as its presidential counterpart. Those frontrunners, looking to take down incumbent Gordon Smith (R-Ore.) in the general election, would be Jeff Merkley, Candy Neville and Steve Novick. They were also joined by Independent candidate John Frohnmayer.

The whisper of Steve Novick's senatorial ambitions began with a Willamette Week cover story last year, and it has blossomed into a whirlwind of a campaign that has taken on the Oregon Democratic establishment (i.e. Merkley, the State House Speaker who was supported by the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee) and done quite a good job. The debate on Wednesday again showed Novick to be more prepared and better able to take on Smith in what will likely be a helluva general election showdown this November.

The fight between Novick, Merkley and Neville has largely come down to style over substance, and in the waning months of the campaign the three of them have mostly focused their campaigns against Smith, as opposed to each other. This is perhaps a necessity considering that when it comes to the issues, they're largely all in agreement. (It's been refreshing, come to think of it. Someone should give those two Democrats trying to be president the memo).

Let's see here. Iraq War? Let's bring the troops home. Impeaching Bush and Cheney? Leave it on the table, should be happening right now, actually. No Child Left Behind? Awful idea--to be mostly scratched. Illegal immigration? Let's provide a path for citizenship. Same-sex marriage? Check for Novick and Merkley, though Neville wants it left to the states.

Novick's style has been noted for his brashness and sometimes apolitical way of speaking his mind (unabashedly making unflattering remarks about both Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton is probably not the best way to make friends in high Democratic circles these days, among other things), yet he seemed more controlled and collected on Wednesday than he was in the televised debates earlier in the season.

Continued...

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