Vicki Walker

Back for your viewing pleasure we are giving you our weekly winners and losers.  Not much going on this week, but Vicki Walker managed to garner more press and there is one more Democrat in the city of Portland.  Keep checking the Inside Edge for our weekly cast of characters.

Jeff Merkley and Steve Novick reunited today Portland, portraying a united front for the Democratic effort to unseat Sen. Gordon Smith.

“The choice in this Senate election is crystal clear,” Merkley said. “If you want more of the same – an agenda scripted by the most powerful special interests – then Gordon Smith is your man. If you want to change Washington D.C. and set a new direction for America, then join our fight to deliver hope and opportunity to every single American.”

Kate Brown walked away with the Democratic nomination for Secretary of State tonight, scoring 51 percent of the vote, while opponents Rick Metsger and Vicki Walker had 28 percent and 18 percent, respectively.

Brown’s victory was aided by her large campaign kitty; she has spent $480,000 since January, and was supported by large checks from many of Oregon’s largest unions.

On the eve of the Oregon primary, two new polls are showing differing pictures of tomorrow night’s results.

A Suffolk University poll has Sen. Hillary Clinton closing in on rival Sen. Barack Obama, 45 to 41 percent, with a four point margin of error.

Suffolk interviewed 600 likely voters in Oregon, and found the Senators to be competitive for female votes, an important demographic for Clinton.

The field of candidates looking to secure the Democratic nomination for secretary of state has narrowed to two frontrunners, according to a poll commissioned by the Portland Tribune and FOX News 12.

Secretary of State candidate state Sen. Vicki Walker has based her campaign around her goal of integrity in the election process and protecting the ballot measure system, even distributing a campaign pamphlet that details her plans. 

That goal recently earned Walker the endorsements of the Oregon Voter Rights Coalition and the Independent Party of Oregon.

Secretary of State candidate Kate Brown recently received large amounts of campaign cash from two prominent liberal organizations. EMILY's List, a national fundraising powerhouse who endorsed Brown over the other pro-choice Democratic candidate Vicki Walker, donated $10,000 last week.