Merkley wins over voters at Portland City Club debate

Undecided Voters: the Debate, the Poll and Novick-(Neville)-Merkley
Willamette Week, by Beth Slovic 4/7/08

KATU just released a new poll showing 40 percent of surveyed voters didn't know who they'd vote for in the U.S. Senate primary next month. Check out Melica Johnson's report here.

Before the start of last week's debate at the City Club of Portland, I searched for undecided voters in the packed audience (largely comprising voters over 55).

I called 13 of those undecided voters after the debate to see how the back and forth between Oregon House Speaker Jeff Merkley and activist and attorney Steve Novick affected their thinking on the race, which includes four other candidates. For background on the debate, read summaries here, here and here.

Of the 11 who responded to WWire's question, one remained undecided, two were for Novick and the rest were for Merkley. Here's who those voters are and what they had to say:

Patty Kerns, 72, Novick
"I feel a little sorry for the other guy. He's this great big guy. He looks like a politician."

Donna Benson, 78, Merkley
"[Novick] was a little too angry."

Walt Kingsley, octogenarian, Merkley
On Novick: "He was like a Bantam cock."

Carol Wallace, 80, Merkley
"I was impressed with Steve. He seemed like a real gutsy guy and a real witty guy, but over-the-top. I think he's finding out you can't say any old thing you want. ... I think he's too green."

Matt Lange, 23, Merkley
"I'm probably leaning toward Merkley right now. I thought he was a little more clear with his policies." "I was disappointed with both of them when they got to the questions. It was a little personal and outlandish."

Rhett Tatum, 23, Merkley (even though he was once turned down for a job in Merkley's Salem office!)

"To Novick's credit, he did make me realize he's a lot more thoughtful that I realized [on the issues.] My concern is that in the general election he'll stick his foot in his mouth."

Name withheld because he was skipping work, twentysomething, Merkley
"I'm definitely a firm Merkley supporter now. He has a strong record of actually accomplishing stuff."

Charlene Flowers, 60, Novick
"I do believe Novick's a better campaigner and speaker, but I haven't quite decided yet."

Megan and Ralph Leftwich, 50 and 51, Merkley
"She was leaning toward Novick and now we're both going to vote for Merkley. You have to know how the process works. Merkley had practical answers that can move us in the right direction. ... If you're idealistic, you have to know how to get to that ideal state."

Now back to the poll released by KATU today. In addition to showing 40 percent of surveyed voters were undecided, the poll of nearly 600 people revealed 23 percent would vote for Novick, 12 percent would vote for Candy Neville (who was not invited to last Friday's debate at City Club) and 11 percent would vote for Merkley. (The margin of error is about 4 percent.)

Novick told KATU's Melica Johnson he thinks voters are looking for something a "little different." "And I'm little and different," he added.

Asked about the poll, Merkley spokesman Matt Canter told KATU it was not a legitimate survey. Johnson then asked Canter to see the campaign's polls. "I'm going to decline to release that," Canter told her.

Posted April 8, 2008
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