 Since the legislature was still in session at the time it was considered unlikely that any prominent lawmakers would jump into the race until the end of June or later.Of those, Jeff Merkley, then Speaker of the Oregon House of Representatives was considered to be the most likely to challenge Smith due to rumors that he had been in talks with the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee (DSCC), which is often thought vital to winning a Senate race against a sitting incumbent.The rumors that Merkley was being courted by the DSCC were confirmed when it was reported that he had traveled to the East Coast to discuss a possible run at the invitation of Senator Charles Schumer of New York, who as chairman of the DSCC was in charge of recruiting possible challengers to take on Smith.