Over the past couple of days, Jeff Merkley is taking the fight to Sen. Gordon Smith, releasing a new television spot and hammering on the political ties between Smith and President Bush.

The campaign’s newest ad features a conversation between the candidate and his young daughter, who despite being “just a kid” can see that “Gordon Smith is afraid of [Merkley.]” Merkley responds to his daughter with a spin on his tagline of change: “What Gordon Smith is really afraid of is change. The type of change I'll bring to Washington...”

The ad was further response to Smith’s attack on Merkley’s fundraising record last week; the Speaker’s campaign cited SurveyUSA and Rasmussen polls, which “show that Merkley is the strongest Democrat to face Smith in November.” A Hibbits poll, released yesterday, however, has Steve Novick leading Merkley in the Democratic primary.

Merkley’s campaign continued to focus on Smith today, highlighting a comment from Sen. Barack Obama’s interview with the Willamette Week: “Gordon Smith's problem is that he rarely breaks away from George Bush and the Republican agenda that I think has done this country great damage.”

"I agree with Barack Obama and I know the majority of Oregonians do as well," said Merkley. "I will work with a new Democratic president to fight for families and kids, not special interests like Gordon Smith has. We need new leaders who can unite progressives, bring us together and get this nation back on track."