Merkley cruises to win in Oregon

Sen. Jeff Merkley (D-Ore.) easily won a second term Tuesday, after what initially appeared to be a challenging race.

Merkley’s victory was announced just after polls closed at 11 p.m., finalizing his victory over Monica Wehby.

{mosads}Wehby was originally seen as a tough challenger for Merkley. Republicans were eager to try and make grounds in a reliable Democratic state like Oregon and oust one of the Senate’s more liberal members, but a series of missteps for the pediatric neurosurgeon upended Wehby’s viability as a candidate.

Among those stumbles was the revelation that Wehby was accused of stalking a former boyfriend, and the race gradually dropped off the radar as noncompetitive.