PORTLAND -- State Democratic Party Chairwoman Meredith Wood Smith said Friday that U.S. Sen. Gordon Smith’s (R-Pendleton) approval ratings have plummeted recently because people have started to take a closer look at his record.

“He’s gotten a free ride,” Wood Smith told PolitickerOR.com Tuesday afternoon as she registered voters in Pioneer Square in Portland. “When the lens is on you, you get examined more closely. The blush is off Mr. Nice Guy.”

Wood Smith said that because Smith’s record is being so finely scrutinized by voters, Democratic nominee Jeff Merkley, the state House speaker, needs to make next Thursday’s Senate debate in Portland a discussion on Smith’s votes in Washington, D.C., and what he can do for Oregonians.

“He will keep the focus on Gordon Smith’s record and voting with George W. Bush 90 percent of the time,” Wood Smith said. “Jeff Merkley is concerned for all Oregonians, not just ones who benefit from Bush’s tax cuts.”