ST. PAUL -- After taking a while to get excited about a candidate, Oregon Republican Party vice chair Russ Walker said he is finally starting to see Oregon Republicans respond enthusiastically to presidential candidate John McCain.

“I think what was hard was that there was no clear choice for president,” Walker, a former Mitt Romney supporter said. “But I like McCain. I’ve been excited since he got the nomination.”

Walker said that earlier in the election cycle, with incumbent Sen. Gordon Smith (R-Pendleton) pushing toward the moderate side of the Republican party, and with no clear-cut presidential candidate before the primary, Republicans were having trouble finding a candidate to rally around. But after McCain became the nominee, and especially after he asked Gov. Sarah Palin (R-Alaska) to join him on the ticket, Oregonians have responded enthusiastically to the longtime Senator, whom Walker says has a lot of admirers in the Beaver State.

“McCain doesn’t do anything unless he does it loudly,” Walker said. “He’s not one of those politicians that hides from his votes.”

As for Walker’s former presidential preference, he believes Romney (R-Mass.) will be back.

“Romney brought economic conservatism into the campaign, I expect he will be back in the fold,” Walker said. “He will have his day. I would suspect McCain will include Romney in the campaign somehow.”