According to an anonymous source, former FuturePAC guru Jon Isaacs appears to be heading at least the development of Merkley's initial team, if not the entire campaign. While the prospective candidate mulls the final decision over with his family this week, Isaacs was reportedly lining up folks to begin the campaign. The source said Isaacs had selected three people to join him in assisting Merkley: former Arnie Roblan (HD-9) aide Nick Batz to do field operations, former Bradbury 2002 operative John Valley in the policy shop, and former FuturePAC fundraiser Ivo Trummer to shake the trees for money.
Not trusting anonymous sources, we went to THE source...Jon Isaacs. Isaacs confirmed that Merkley's announcement was "imminent," although it would not necessarily surprise him if the ultimate decision was not to run after talking with family. As far as political ambition, the timing and the decision to leave the Speaker's gavel behind however, Merkley is "highly motivated" to run.
A Lake Research poll; conducted 7/7-7/11 for ex-DoJ enviro atty Steve Novick (D); surveyed 500 LVs; margin of error +/- 4.4% (Hotline sources, 7/24). Tested: Novick, Sen. Gordon Smith (R), state House Speaker Jeff Merkley (D), ex-public radio talk show host/ex-Jackson Co. Commis. Jeff Golden (D), and New Seasons markets co-founder Eileen Brady (D).
Will You Vote To Reelect Smith?
Vote to re-elect 32%
Consider someone else 34
Vote to replace 19
Fav/Unfav Name ID
Smith 59%/25% 99%
Golden 10 / 5 43
Novick 9 / 6 46
Merkley 8 / 5 39
Brady 5 / 3 43
RSS Feed: http://www.loadedorygun.net/rss/rss2.xml
