Matt Canter, communications director for Democratic U.S. Senate candidate Jeff Merkley, is hitting reporters’ inboxes Tuesday morning with a campaign memo outlining how “over the past week the dynamics of the Oregon Senate race have changed. Gordon Smith has emerged from the shadows to launch two new false attacks on Jeff Merkley.”

Canter points, for example, to a new NRSC Web site slamming Merkley.

“The web site…attacks Merkley’s record fighting for middle class tax relief in the Oregon House,” Canter writes. “The NRSC is using the same tactic to attack Democrats running against the most vulnerable Republicans in the country, including Senator John Sununu of New Hampshire and Senator Ted Stevens of Alaska.”

The Merkley campaign takes a side swipe at Democratic primary opponent Steve Novick, writing that the Web site makes no “mention of political consultant Steve Novick.”

Canter concludes, “Smith’s efforts to attack Merkley will certainly continue during the primary. The Smith campaign knows they are one of the most vulnerable Republican campaigns in the country and sees Merkley as a serious threat. The Merkley campaign will continue to move forward with the positive message that is uniting Oregonians hungry for change in Washington D.C.”