Election night at Convention Center

Oregon Democratic senatorial candidate Jeff Merkley took the stage at the Oregon Convention Center last night with a razor-thin edge over incumbent Republican Gordon Smith and the race still too close to call.

At press time, Merkley was locked in a virtual tie with Smith at 47 percent of the vote apiece with just more than 45 percent of precincts reporting in.

Despite the chance that Smith could overtake him, Merkley seemed confident and relaxed–a candidate at the end of a grueling race.

“Well folks, this is quite a historic evening,” Merkley said. “I’ve said all along there’s something important for us to do here in Oregon–help Barack Obama become President of the United States.”

Merkley spoke with the calm of a frontrunner, even though he wasn’t quite willing to claim any sort of victory for himself.

“We’re not quite sure yet exactly how that arc is going to touch Oregon,” he said, referencing Barack Obama’s acceptance speech. “But things are feeling pretty good.”

Merkley also thanked Smith for having “delivered 12 years of selfless service” to the state of Oregon. He also thanked his campaign staff, including former Gov. Barbara Roberts and Gov. Ted Kulongoski, the co-chairs of Merkley’s campaign.

“They stepped forward when I first talked about this vision,” he said. “They are extraordinary leaders of Oregon and I was certainly blessed to have them as leaders of this campaign.”

He noted the main themes of his campaign and said he was excited to work with Sen. Ron Wyden and President-elect Obama to create living wage jobs, ensure affordable healthcare for all and find energy solutions that make the U.S. independent from foreign oil.

The Speaker of the Oregon House also noted what a long campaign it had been.

“When your children grow six inches during a campaign, you know it’s way too long,” Merkley said to chuckles from the audience.