Sen. Gordon Smith (R) is up with a new television spot featuring two prominent Democrats who look directly into the camera and pledge their support for the incumbent in his re-election bid against state Speaker Jeff Merkley (D).

“We’re both Democrats,” state Sen. Avel Gordly says in the 30-second ad.

“But we’re voting for Gordon Smith,” says former Rep. Elizabeth Furse (D).

The Smith campaign said it had made a large buy in the Portland and Eugene media markets and that the ad would run for a few weeks.

The Merkley campaign noted that both Furse and Gordly endorsed Smith in 2002 and essentially labeled their backing of the Senator this time around as “not news.”

“Smith votes with George Bush 90 percent of the time and then tries to tell Oregonians that he’s a moderate,” Merkley campaign spokesman Matt Canter said.