The Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee has reserved more than $847,000 in cable advertising time for the fall in Oregon, presumably to boost state Speaker Jeff Merkley (D) in his bid to dethrone Sen. Gordon Smith (R).

The DSCC declined to comment, as is the committee’s custom when asked to discuss advertising. But according to information obtained by Roll Call, the DSCC plans to advertise on cable television Sept. 2 to Nov. 4 in five markets, including Bend, Eugene, Medford and Portland.

The DSCC’s buy also includes the Yakima, Wash., market, which hits only a small percentage of Oregon cable television viewers but includes Smith’s hometown of Pendleton. Among the cable networks included in the DSCC’s buy are CNN, Fox News, MSNBC, ESPN, ESPN2, TLC, the Food Network, Lifetime, TNT, TBS, MTV and VH1.

The National Republican Senatorial Committee predicted that the DSCC’s war chest would be unable to save Merkley.

“Jeff Merkley should serve as a cautionary tale for Democrats across the country,” NRSC spokeswoman Rebecca Fisher said. “No amount of money from the national party can compensate for a flawed candidate.”

The DSCC had nearly twice as much money on hand as the NRSC at the close of the second quarter. However, Smith’s cash lead over Merkley at the conclusion of that period was greater than 4 to 1.