Merkley says victory is part of ‘transformational change’

Tight U.S. Senate race finally breaks when Portland challenger pulls ahead by more than 40,000 votes

By Kevin Harden

The Portland Tribune, Nov 4, 2008, Updated Oct 30, 2009 (61 Reader comments)

Jonathan House / Portland Tribune

Oregon House Speaker Jeff Merkley celebrated with supporters Thursday morning at PSU after declaring victory in his U.S. Senate race with Republican Gordon Smith.

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After two very tense days of watching election returns seesaw, Oregon House Speaker Jeff Merkley claimed victory Thursday morning in his U.S. Senate race with Republican Gordon Smith.

By Thursday morning, Merkley was leading Smith by slightly more than 40,000 votes, 773,358 to 732,771, with about 80 percent of the state’s vote counted. Click here to see updated results.

In a victory speech at Portland State University, Merkley told more than 100 of his cheering supporters jammed into a small second-floor meeting room that his election was part of a “transformational change for America.” He urged them to work hard to make the change positive for all Oregonians.

“The task is at hand,” Merkley said. “It’s time to go change the world. Let’s go do it together.” Click here to listen the first clip. Click here to listen the second clip.

Smith, who has held the U.S. Senate seat for 12 years, conceded to Merkley in a telephone call at about 9:15 a.m. Thursday. He is scheduled to talk about the election this afternoon.

The victory makes Merkley the first challenger to unseat an incumbent U.S. senator in Oregon since 1968, when Bob Packwood defeated Sen. Wayne Morse.

This is also the first time in many years that both U.S. Senators have been from Portland.