Last week, the Salem Statesman Journal reported that Oregon Democrats were blowing away the Republicans in newly registered voters by nearly a 2-1 margin. This extension of the party's already large lead in voter registration was indicative of the Beaver State's move away from the GOP in recent years. The latest Battleground Poll from John Zogby yesterday seemed to confirm that the Democrats are set to win big in November in the state. Now, a scandal is ripping through the state Republican Party that could further swing the state blue in the upcoming election, perhaps even allowing the Democrats to gain full control of the state legislature for the first time in a decade.

The Oregonian's Jeff Mapes writes today in "State GOP helps its chairman shed debt" that 2002 gubernatorial candidate Kevin Mannix and current state GOP chairman is in hot water for diverting funds from the state party to pay off his own debt. Mapes writes this:

The Oregon Republican Party recently took the unusual step of paying its chairman, Kevin Mannix, $37,000 to help him retire some of the large debt he carries from his unsuccessful 2002 bid for governor.

But the payment has drawn criticism from some top Republicans who think the money should be spent on current political campaigns -- and who question whether Mannix is financially benefiting from his volunteer position as head of the party.

Mannix and other party officials are not paid for their work, and the party has not typically helped its nominees pay lingering campaign debts.

Mannix defended the payment, saying it was part of a new program the party set up to help Republican candidates who wound up with campaign debt. And he says the payment was also a recognition of his work in helping the party raise what he said were record amounts of money.

Mapes reports that this action has drawn the ire of many leading Republicans.

Mannix's finances elicited criticism from some Republican activists this week.

"We shouldn't be helping candidates who go into debt," said Rep. Jeff Kropf, R-Lebanon, who argued that the money should instead go to helping elect Republicans running for office this year.

Gayna Flake, who left the state Republican Central Committee in June, said she raised objections when the plan to help repay debt incurred by Mannix and other candidates was approved last year.

"It would be better to spend the money on current candidates than bailing out past candidates," said Flake, who called the party action "self-serving."

Mannix was by far the largest beneficiary of the program to repay candidates' debts.

Whereas Mannix received $37,000 in April, three other candidates split a total of slightly less than $2,200. The other candidates were Liz VanLeeuween, who ran for Congress, and two legislative candidates, Donna Nelson and John Scruggs.

The Oregon Republican Party is a joke today, which is a sad statement given that this was not long ago a one party state in favor of the GOP. It may be hard to remember, but less than 10 years ago the state was represented by two liberal Republicans in the Senate who chaired the Appropriations Committee and the Finance Committee, and Republicans were competitive across the state.

The fact is that Oregon GOP is facing the same problem of the national party today: by moving too far to the right and constantly trying to fight off moderates and liberals, they have drastically winnowed away the field of possible voters. Karl Rove's strategy might work in the short run as the Republicans could win this year; nonetheless, by using an orthodox ideology to drive the ultra right into a frenzy this year to win reelection for the President, the Republicans have alienated a huge swath of the electorate for years to come.

In Oregon, with the fact that the state GOP chairman may be embezzling serious amounts of funds to further his own cause will not help out this situation. The Oregon GOP is in shambles, and you're going to see the effects of this on November 2.