The (Portland) Oregonian reported Sunday that political activist Steve Novick (D) intends to announce this week that he’ll seek the Democratic nomination for the right to challenge Sen. Gordon Smith (R) next year.

Reps. Peter DeFazio (D) and Earl Blumenauer (D) continue to hedge on running for Senate, leaving Novick, an attorney, and medical equipment company executive Ty Pettit as the only Democrats in the race thus far.

Novick, a 43-year-old lawyer, is a longtime Democratic operative and activist for liberal causes. He was a top aide to businessman Tom Brugere, the Democratic nominee against Smith in the 1996 open-seat election.

Novick entered college at age 14 and Harvard Law School at age 18. It is not clear whether he’d step aside if a better-known candidate, like DeFazio, decided to run.

— David M. Drucker