SALEM, Ore. (AP) — Democratic U.S. Sen. Jeff Merkley is running for reelection against Republican Jo Rae Perkins, who made national headlines this year for her support of the wide ranging and baseless QAnon internet conspiracy theory.

The race will decide whether Oregon Democrats continue to hold the state's two U.S. Senate seats. Political experts predict reelection for Merkley due to Perkins' lack of funding, name recognition and “extreme" views.

Merkley, 64, has served in the Senate since 2009. Prior to that he was a five-term member of the Oregon House of Representatives, serving as speaker of the house for two years.

The Democrat considered running for president in 2020 but chose to run for reelection to the Senate instead. Merkley was the only U.S. Senator to endorse Bernie Sanders in the 2016 Democratic presidential primaries

Described as one of the most liberal members of the Senate, Merkley has been outspoken about topics surrounding climate change and recently criticized President Donald Trump for suggesting forest management is to be blamed for wildfires. He has created legislation that aims to eliminate carbon emissions by 2050.

Merkley's challenger, Perkins, is a staunch supporter of Trump, and ran for the Senate in 2014 and for the U.S. House in 2016 and 2018. She failed to win primary contests until this year when she won 49% of the Republican vote against three other challengers.

Perkins, who has had a career as a real estate agent, personal banker, financial advisor and insurance agent, holds views that largely align with Trump’s. She is in favor of expanding the U.S.-Mexico border wall and passing laws that limit or stop federal dollars to places that have declared “sanctuary" status against cooperating with federal immigration authorities.

She also supports the Second Amendment and is anti-abortion, receiving the endorsement of Oregon Right to Life PAC, a political action committee that raises money and makes contributions to campaigns of political candidates or parties.

Perkins made national headlines earlier this year for her references to QAnon in a now-deleted video that she posted after winning the primary election. QAnon is a baseless internet conspiracy theory that claims a shadowy cabal of liberal elites who are Satan-worshipping pedophiles runs a global child sex-trafficking ring. Many supporters of the theory say Trump is waging a secret campaign against enemies in the “deep state.”

The day after Perkins’ video was posted, her campaign released a statement saying that she was not a follower of QAnon. Perkins said that she uses QAnon message boards as merely a “source of information,” posting articles from various media outlets, tweets and unclassified government documents.

Currently, Oregon’s other U.S. Senator is Democrat Ron Wyden.

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