Merkley Wins Huge AFL-CIO Endorsement: Novick Whines About DC Boogeyman

The signs were good, but actually winning the AFL-CIO endorsement yesterday must have felt great for Oregon Democratic Senate candidate Jeff Merkley. As Speaker of the State House, Merkley won a gold medal as a “Working Families Champion, and was rated the second most labor friendly State Representative this past session. Upon that strong legislative record, Merkley won the endorsement. Oregon AFL-CIO President Tom Chamberlain explained why his organization endorsed Merkley:

Jeff Merkley is a hero for all Oregonians who work to support their families. He effectively fought to protect Oregon’s minimum wage, make our workplaces safer, and stop employers from abusing workers who want to join a union.

The AFL-CIO is arguably the biggest endorsement prize in the race. Within Oregon, the AFL-CIO represents 145,000 workers and has more than 200,000 voters in union households. Union voters comprise more than 11% of the registered voters. When votes are cast, union members will make up an even larger proportion as union voters in Oregon turned out 13% more than the general populous in 2006.

Furthermore, the number of troops on the ground supporting Merkley is about to receive a huge increase. The Oregon AFL-CIO was the best state federation in the nation at member outreach, with over 900 volunteers, 180,000 phone calls, 7,000 door knocks, and 65,000 worksite fliers during the 2006 election, all of which should increase in 2008. The infusion of volunteers will help an already growing grassroots movement in support of Merkley around the state.

The endorsement also impacts the other candidate in the Democratic primary, Steve Novick. Losing the endorsement significantly compounds problems for his campaign. In response the Novick campaign pulled out the tired old “D.C. insiders” boogeyman that has become a campaign staple and earned them the scorn of both local and national bloggers:

Novick’s campaign manager, Jake Weigler, charged that the endorsement process was “driven by D.C.,” where the national unions are headquartered. He added: “It’s sad that the AFL-CIO would tell rank-and-file workers across Oregon to turn their backs on someone who has been shoulder to shoulder with them on the front lines and picket lines for more than a decade.”

Novick’s campaign is becoming a one trick pony. Step 1 The seek the support of an organization. Step 2 When denied that support by superior campaigning from Merkley, declare his false outsider status while bashing the party establishment and accusing “DC insiders” of buying the election. It’s getting tiring.

The Novick campaign must know by now that they are in deep trouble. Novick has shown that he can not compete in the money race, bringing in only 125k in Q3. Failing at fundraising and guaranteed to be outspent so significantly in the primary that a leaner campaign cannot account for the difference, Novick’s only hope is to field a massive grassroots campaign. To that end Novick’s only chance was to secure the backing of organized labor and the massive number of volunteers that comes with labor endorsements. The labor movement, who Weigler points out, were among Novick’s closest allies, abandoned him, showing a failure to use Novick’s political capital.

History suggests, that without labor or funds, Novick is all but certain to lose the primary. The only question now is will Novick continue to turn his fire on fellow Democrats and hurt our general election effort?

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Tags: AFL-CIO, Jeff Merkley, Steve Novick, OR-Sen, Endorsements, 2008 Senate Democratic Primary, labor