According to a June 23 Survey USA poll of Oregon voters, Barack Obama has a 3 point lead over John McCain (48% to 45%) for President, down from many of the recent Oregon polls giving Obama a much greater lead and out of synch with Washington State polling. According to the June 23 survey of over 600 voters, independent- minded voters are still the "battleground." While each candidate leads handily amoung his own party's voters (and Democrats have a decided registration advantage) Obama has only a slight edge--again 3 points (Obama 44 - McCain 41) among self-identified “independents” Comparing this (imperfectly) to previous Survey USA polls, suggests the gap between the presidential candidates among Oregon independent-minded voters has closed somewhat, with a slight boost to McCain. Follow the links at Pollster.com
Perhaps Gordon Smith has other evidence, as he seeks closer identification with Obama and self-proclaimed “bi-partisans.”

In Oregon about 28% of voters do not choose to register with a political party (NAV) or are registered with minor parties. Similarly, 1/3 of Colorado registered voters are not affiliated with a political party. , Democrats outnumber Republicans by nearly 200,000 in New Mexico yet the state routinely votes for the GOP presidential candidate.