A new series of ads by the Oregon Democrats raises an interesting question: Is the state party trying to evade campaign finance rules by running so-called "issue ads" -- which ostensibly aren't supposed to be about the candidates -- that just so happen to star their nominee for Senate?

Since last week, the Oregon Dems have been running ads featuring Senate nominee Jeff Merkley, the state House speaker who is running against GOP Senator Gordon Smith. Here's one of them:

As you can see, this "issue" ad does showcase a candidate.

And since then, Smith's campaign has filed a complaint with the FEC, alleging that the Oregon Dems and Merkley are trying to circumvent campaign finance laws.

The response from Merkley and the Dems is rather intriguing: Even if the ads star a candidate, they aren't actually about the Senate race, nor do they reproduce his platform. And check out this quote:

"It's not a coordinated expenditure," Merkley spokesperson Matt Canter told Election Central. "It's an expenditure that's coordinated."

Canter elaborated by saying that Merkley is in the ads because of his work in the legislature, furthering bills on the issues that the party advocates. "The Democratic Party asked Jeff Merkley to participate in these ads because he's the natural spokesman on these issues that Democrats care about."

In an e-mail to Election Central, Smith spokesperson Lindsay Gilbride called that line of reasoning "laughable, ridiculous and illegal."

So what's the deal? Paul S. Ryan, associate legal counsel at the Washington-based Campaign Legal Center, said the key issue is whether the ads constitute the republication of Merkley's own campaign materials. If so, they would be subject to spending limits, which would mean the state Dems would have already broken the limit. Making this more ambiguous, these ads weren't run within 90 days of the election, when the rules are much more stringent, meaning that the Dems' explanation might just pass legal muster.

When there's a will, there's a way...