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Senate candidates on their way
Two of six candidates Democratic U.S. Senate nomination face off for role as policy-changing legislator
Gail Cole
Issue date: 5/20/08 Section: News
John McCain, Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton have received the most attention during this primary election season, but Oregon's Democratic U.S. Senate candidates prove to be just as important in handling the issues that face college students.
Jeff Merkley and Steve Novick are both running for the Democratic nomination in the race for the U.S. Senate against Republican incumbent Gordon Smith.
According to their respective websites, Merkley is currently the Oregon speaker of the House of Representatives, and Novick is Senior Project Manager for the consulting firm Pyramid Communications and has previously worked for federal offices and state level campaigns.
Both candidates have similar views on several issues. For example, both want an end to U.S. intervention in Iraq, additional federal funding for post-secondary education and exploring new energy resources as a way to stimulate the economy and help the environment.
"I'm running for the U.S. Senate as a matter of preemptive guilt," Novick said, referring to the issues of global warming, federal debt and health care.
"Maybe I can help prevent all this by having the guts to run against Gordon Smith," Novick said.
"Our nation is dramatically off track, and it's up to us as citizens to make things right," Merkley said. "We have to restore the integrity of the United States."
Novick believes he separates himself from other candidates by deeply investigating issues.
"My campaign is committed to the idea that we have to explain in some detail what we have to do on a wide variety of issues," Novick said.
"Most people don't know that 50 percent of electricity comes from coal," Novick said. "Every time you flip a switch, you contribute to global warming."
Merkley believes that other candidates, particularly Smith, do not have the interest of families in mind.
"Smith promoted [a piece of legislation] that rewards companies for shipping jobs overseas," Merkley said. "It hurts our families; it hurts our economy."
Jeff Merkley and Steve Novick are both running for the Democratic nomination in the race for the U.S. Senate against Republican incumbent Gordon Smith.
According to their respective websites, Merkley is currently the Oregon speaker of the House of Representatives, and Novick is Senior Project Manager for the consulting firm Pyramid Communications and has previously worked for federal offices and state level campaigns.
Both candidates have similar views on several issues. For example, both want an end to U.S. intervention in Iraq, additional federal funding for post-secondary education and exploring new energy resources as a way to stimulate the economy and help the environment.
"I'm running for the U.S. Senate as a matter of preemptive guilt," Novick said, referring to the issues of global warming, federal debt and health care.
"Maybe I can help prevent all this by having the guts to run against Gordon Smith," Novick said.
"Our nation is dramatically off track, and it's up to us as citizens to make things right," Merkley said. "We have to restore the integrity of the United States."
Novick believes he separates himself from other candidates by deeply investigating issues.
"My campaign is committed to the idea that we have to explain in some detail what we have to do on a wide variety of issues," Novick said.
"Most people don't know that 50 percent of electricity comes from coal," Novick said. "Every time you flip a switch, you contribute to global warming."
Merkley believes that other candidates, particularly Smith, do not have the interest of families in mind.
"Smith promoted [a piece of legislation] that rewards companies for shipping jobs overseas," Merkley said. "It hurts our families; it hurts our economy."
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