Okay, we've got some more news for you on the bizarre House race for the open Dem-held seat in Oregon, where GOP nominee Mike Erickson is facing allegations that he pressured a woman into getting an abortion back in 2000 and early 2001.

The latest: In a development that boosts Dem chances of holding the seat, The Oregonian has published a detailed story based on claims from the woman herself, whose damning accusations against Erickson are a must-read.

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National Dems are breathing a sigh of relief today, because the results of a GOP primary in Oregon yesterday suggest that Dems are now more likely to hang on to a key seat in an open Dem-held swing district.

That's because in last night's voting in Oregon's Fifth district, a conservative businessman named Mike Erickson prevailed over his GOP challenger -- and Erickson is alleged to have a rather colorful past that, well, makes him a less than ideal GOP candidate.

Specifically, Erickson has been accused of impregnating a younger woman and paying for her abortion back in 2000.

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Here at Election Central, we've been following the thrilling GOP primary for the Dem-held swing House seat in Oregon -- partly because it's a truly brutal affair, and partly because the worse it gets, the more likely it is Dems will hold the open seat.

Now the race has gotten even nastier.

Oregon Right to Life has released a statement calling for businessman Mike Erickson to quit the race, after his primary opponent spread a two-year old e-mail accusing Erickson of impregnating a younger woman and paying for her abortion. The statement contains a startling accusation: That when this matter first came up two years ago, Erickson privately admitted that key parts of the story were true.

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The Republican primary for the swing House seat in Oregon just keeps getting nastier -- a development that's cheering national Dems, because it improves the Democrats' chances of holding on to this key seat that could otherwise be at some risk of slipping into Republican hands.

Check out this vicious new attack ad that businessman Mike Erickson is airing -- it hits back at former state Rep. Kevin Mannix for spreading a two-year old e-mail that accused Erickson of impregnating a younger woman and paying for her abortion:

If things continue at this rate, the eventual Democratic nominee will be up against a badly bloodied GOP opponent, making it more likely that national Dems will hold the open seat.

We've obtained a copy of the campaign e-mail sent out to a reported 60,000 people by House candidate Kevin Mannix (R-OR), in which he re-distributes a 2006 e-mail accusing his primary opponent Mike Erickson of impregnating a younger woman and paying for her abortion in 2000.

The 2006 e-mail, written by a friend of the woman in question, doesn't hold back, accusing Erickson of "having wild parties involving cocaine use on his house boat," and being the sort of man who campaigns on family values but secretly drops a woman ten years his junior off at an abortion clinic, hands her some cash and then drives away.

Erickson has categorically denied the allegations contained in the woman's email.

"Sometimes a leader has to step forward and take responsibility for delivering difficult news," Mannix said in his email. He then added, "I cannot in good conscience allow this election to proceed without being open with you as to this sad situation which has been presented to me."

The full text of both emails is available after the jump.

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It doesn't get much nastier than this among Republicans. In a tightly fought GOP primary for a swing House seat in Oregon, one candidate is now openly accusing the other of paying for a younger woman's abortion.

Yesterday the campaign of former state Rep. Kevin Mannix sent out a 2006 e-mail in which a woman accused businessman Mike Erickson of impregnating her friend and then bringing her to an abortion clinic in 2000.

The two women first tried to air the complaint during Erickson's 2006 run for the seat, but declined further interviews until now.

Erickson is denying the story in the strongest terms: "These unsubstantiated and untrue allegations are from an e-mail from 2006 that no news media reported at the time. They are just as untrue today as they were then."

For his part, Mannix insists he didn't really want to talk about this. "Rarely have I been confronted with such a difficult decision as to whether to proceed with something of this nature," Mannix wrote in his letter. "But what is on the line here is the character of the person who will represent you in Congress."

The seat is currently held by Democrat Darlene Hooley, whose retirement could put at risk a district that voted narrowly for President Bush in 2004. Erickson has led in polls of the GOP primary.

In a rare development for this cycle, a House Democrat from a swing seat is retiring. Six-term Congresswoman Darlene Hooley (OR), aged 68, announced today that she is not running again because of a desire to move on after 32 years of public service.

The district might be a tough fight for the Dems to hold — President Bush carried it by one point in 2004, and her self-financing opponent from 2006 has been eyeing another run. However, Hooley said that the prospects of Dems picking up seats this November actually made her decision easier: "I think it will be easier to elect a Democrat this year, and I don't know about two years."