Report: Wehby’s support dropped following stalking report

Though Republicans see her as their best shot at taking down Sen. Jeff Merkley (D-Ore.), Oregon Republican Senate candidate Monica Wehby’s personal history could hurt her support — and might have already.

{mosads}According to The Oregonian, voter returns indicate Wehby’s levels of support dropped steeply in the last few days before the primary, after news reports detailed allegations of “stalking” and “harassment” against her from her exes.

Oregon is an all-mail ballot state. Among those ballots counted by Tuesday of last week, before the reports broke on Friday and Monday, Wehby led her next closest primary challenger, Rep. Jason Conger, 53.5 percent to 33.9 percent.

By Wednesday, when the most updated count was reported, Wehby took 50.2 percent to Conger’s 37.4 percent of the vote.

Among the ballots sent within that period, Wehby led Conger by only about 1 percentage point.

Wehby managed to pull out a win in the primary despite late-breaking news about her personal relationships. Politico reported this past weekend that Wehby’s ex-boyfriend, Andrew Miller, accused Wehby of “stalking” him in a police report filed last spring.

And on Monday, The Oregonian reported that Wehby’s ex-husband, Jim Grant, accused her of “ongoing harassment” in a Portland, Ore., police report, when they were in the middle of their 2007 divorce.

But Wehby, in her victory speech, brushed the reports aside.

“I am a working mom … I try my best, but in life, we all make mistakes. And when I do, I’m no different than the rest of you. I pick myself back up, and I try to make things better. I promise you I’ll do that as your senator,” she said.

She added: “But I do have a message for those national Democrats who were willing to shred my family for their own political gain: People are tired of your dirty tricks.”