New ads and a new CQ rating in the OR-5 race

There are two new ads in the Fifth Congressional District race. The first comes directly from Kurt Schrader's campaign:

The second is from the DCCC's IE team and lays out the case against Mike Erickson:

CQ has changed its rating for this race from "Leans Democratic" to "Democrat Favored" -- a rare rating for an open seat in a swing district.

This is a good example of how the Republicans seem to be affected by Murphy’s Law, which states that anything that can go wrong will go wrong. ...

Although the Democrats produced a politically experienced contender in state Sen. Kurt Schrader, it appeared until midyear that Erickson might be able to go toe-to-toe with him. But Erickson drew a strong challenge for the May 20 primary from former state Rep. Kevin Mannix, who previously had run for governor, and Mannix floated an allegation that Erickson — who campaigned as an anti-abortion candidate — had once paid for a girlfriend to have an abortion. The charge got major play in the local press, and Erickson’s explanation that he had not intended to pay for an abortion did not impress many voters.

Discuss.

Oct. 22, 2008 Posted in in the news.