Not much more to add here to the Oregon Senate Democratic campaign business of the Progressive Democrats of America, except about the way it seems to have ratcheted up the intensity and hard feelings in the race.
Short version: The PDA is (as indicated) a national Democratic group. There has been no Oregon chapter, but an effort just lately has been made to establish one. That effort was made by a paid staffer for candidate Steve Novick; within hours of seeking to set it up, she launched an endorsement process in the Senate race. When the Jeff Merkley campaign was informed of it and sent inquiries to the national PDA organization, things started coming unraveled. There's a piece on this in the Eugene Register-Guard political blog and a distinct version in Blue Oregon. The comment section at Blue Oregon gives a clear feel for how the campaign's partisans (not necessarily the candidates themselves; we haven't heard from them) feel about it.
A sample from Kari Chisholm (an editor at Blue Oregon and also working with the Jeff Merkley campaign), in the Blue Oregon comments section: "This is the dirtiest thing I've ever seen from a Democratic campaign in Oregon. The Novick people and the Oregonian went nuts when the Merkley campaign did a few still-legal robocalls. This is 1000 times worse. Someone needs to be held accountable."