Late Wednesday, only about three-fourths of the expected vote had been counted, and the two candidates had swapped narrow leads. That raised the possibility the outcome of one of the nation's most-watched Senate races might not be known until today.
The counting in Multnomah County was going particularly slow.
Merkley, the Oregon House speaker, is a Democrat. He was expected to pick up strength as the returns came in from Multnomah, which includes Portland. It is the state's most populous county and a liberal bastion.
The McMinnville News-Register and The Oregonian newspapers projected Merkley the winner Wednesday, but neither Merkley nor Smith was ready to say the race is over.
Smith, though, is one of the better Republicans in the Senate. He is also a member of the Udall family, as his mother was a cousin of Mo Udall and Stewart Udall. Smith's second cousins are congressmen Mark Udall and Tom Udall, both of whom were elected to the Senate this year from their states.
Oregon has vote-by-mail, by the way.
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