Montana Senator Max Baucus has served in the U.S. Senate since 1978, working hard to make sure the people of Montana are treated fairly in our nation’s capital. An avid runner who loves the outdoors, Baucus walked the entire 820-mile length of his home state when he campaigned for re-election in 1996, and he plans on running in the 100-mile Western States Endurance Run in 2009.

As chair of the powerful Senate Finance Committee, Max was a leader in the fight to expand the State Children’s Health Insurance Program (S-CHIP) which would have brought health care to 12,000 uninsured Montana children.

The Senate late Thursday by a veto-proof margin of 68-31 approved a $35 billion, five-year expansion of the State Children’s Health Insurance Program after Senate Finance Chairman Max Baucus, D-Mont., shepherded the bill through a weeklong debate.

“I’m thrilled,” Baucus said in an interview. “It’s just clearly the right thing to do.”

Baucus will keep fighting for children’s health care when he returns to the Senate for a historic sixth term. For more on the Montana Senate race, see our race profile page, or visit Max Baucus’s web site.

Check out some of Tuesday night's highlights from the Road to Victory's vantage point backstage.

Watch former Virginia Governor Mark Warner prepare for his keynote address at the Democratic Convention.

Warner is running for Virginia's open U.S. Senate seat. For more on the Virginia Senate race, see our race profile page, or visit Mark Warner's website.

North Carolina Democrat Kay Hagan has been building up some great momentum against Republican Liddy Dole. The latest poll from Public Policy Polling shows the race still very close, but with Hagan now leading 42% to 39%.

Click here to see the results of the poll. 

During her decade as a state senator, Kay Hagan has been one of the most effective lawmakers in North Carolina. In contrast, Liddy Dole was recently ranked as the 93rd most effective of the 100 sitting U.S. Senators. No wonder North Carolinians are looking for a change.

For more on the North Carolina race, see our race profile page, or visit Kay Hagan’s website.

Jeff Merkley's campaign has released a backgrounder on Gordon Smith's Iraq record.  Check it out:

MEMORANDUM

TO: Interested Parties
FROM: Merkley for Oregon
RE: Smith Sides with Bush and Against Vets
DATE: August 25, 2008

SUMMATION:

Make no mistake: George Bush and Gordon Smith voted to send our troops to Iraq.

And Smith sent our troops to war without proper body armor and supported extending tours of duty for reservists.

Then he opposed a tax deduction for their combat pay and voted to cut their health care when they returned home.

But somehow Gordon Smith found the money to give millionaires a tax break and a pay raise to himself. 

Working families are STILL PAYING for Gordon Smith's vote to send America to war.

BACKGROUND:

Though he likes to pretend otherwise, Gordon Smith has been a rubber stamp for George Bush on the Iraq war and our veterans have paid the price.

When Jeff Merkley, Ron Wyden, and Oregon’s entire Democratic Congressional delegation opposed the Iraq war, Gordon Smith sided with George Bush.

Gordon Smith sided with George Bush to send our troops to Iraq without the body armor they needed to keep them safe.  He even voted with George Bush to extend tours of duty to reservists. [Senate vote #237, 10/11/02; Senate vote #376, 10/2/03; Senate vote #397, 10/17/03]

Smith was siding with Bush and siding against our veterans and men and women in uniform.  He opposed a tax deduction for combat pay and voted to cut benefits for our men and women in uniform. [Senate vote #344, 11/17/05; Senate vote #81, 3/17/05]

Smith failed to provide for our troops, but found the money to give a tax cut to millionaires and a pay raise for himself. [Senate vote #196, 5/23/03; Senate vote #211, 7/29/05]

Smith loves to highlight one speech, but here are the facts:

• Smith has supported the agenda of George Bush 90% of the time. [CQ Member Profile]
• Prior to his “end of the rope” speech, Smith voted at least 17 times to support Bush's war in Iraq policy, supporting the Bush Administration's War in Iraq for more than five years. [Vote #232, 10/10/02; Vote #235, 10/10/02; Vote #236, 10/10/02; Vote # 237, 10/11/02; Vote #371, 10/1/03; Vote #379, 10/14/03; Vote #380, 10/14/03; Vote #389, 10/16/03; Vote #391, 10/17/03; Vote #392, 10/17/03; Vote #394, 10/17/03; Vote #399, 10/17/03; Vote #130, 6/17/04; Vote #322, 11/15/05; Vote #181, 6/22/06; Vote #182, 6/22/06; Vote #233, 9/6/06; Vote #243, 9/13/06]
• One month after six of his fellow Republicans lost reelection in the fall of 2006, Smith made his big speech.
• But following his big speech, Smith voted in favor of continuing the war at least 6 times. [Senate vote #44, 02/05/07; The Oregonian, 2/6/07; Senate vote #167, 5/16/07; Senate vote #181, 5/24/07; Senate vote #345, 09/20/07; Senate vote #362, 10/03/07; Senate vote #437, 12/18/07]

In 2004, Gordon Smith had harsh words for those who changed their position on Iraq:

People who cannot make up their minds should not be President of the United States.

[Congressional Record, 9/30/04]