released May 11, 2008, showed Hagan leading Dole by a statistically insignificant margin, 48% - 47%, suggesting a competitive race. Hagan's poll numbers continued to best Dole's, however, and Hagan defeated Dole by a wider than expected margin of 53% to 44%. Oklahoma In Oklahoma, senator Jim Inhofe announced that he would seek a third full term. A September 2007 poll put Inhofe's approval rating at 47%, with 41% disapproving of his performance. Inhofe's opponent was State senator Andrew Rice. Inhofe was re-elected, 57% to 39%. Oregon Senator Gordon Smith of Oregon ran for a third term. He defeated ophthalmologist Gordon Leitch in the May 20 Republican primary. Smith faced Democratic Oregon House of Representatives Speaker Jeff Merkley in the November general election. Merkley beat longtime Democratic activist Steve Novick and three other candidates in a hotly contested primary. In a July 16, 2008, poll, Merkley overtook Smith for the first time 43% to 41%. On November 6, 2008, Jeff Merkley was projected the winner of the contest, with 48.9% to Smith's 45.6%. Gordon Smith formally conceded soon afterward. Rhode Island In Rhode Island, Democratic senator Jack Reed had an approval rating of 66% in November 2006. National Journal has declared that "Reed is probably the safest incumbent of the 2008 cycle". Reed's opponent was Robert Tingle, a pit manager at the Foxwoods Resort Casino in Connecticut, whom Reed defeated in his re-election campaign in 2002. Reed won the election, with 73% of the vote. South Carolina Senator Lindsey Graham, as a popular Republican incumbent in strongly conservative South Carolina, had been considered unlikely to be vulnerable to a Democratic challenge. Graham's support for a compromise immigration bill, however, drew an angry response from many South Carolina conservatives, who recruited Buddy Witherspoon, a former South Carolina Republican Party leader, to challenge Graham for the nomination. Graham easily bested Witherspoon in the June 10 primary. First-time candidate Bob Conley, an airline pilot, was the Democratic nominee. Conley, whose victory in the Democratic primary over Michael Cone was a surprise, is a former Republican who supported Ron Paul in 2008 and campaigned as the more conservative candidate on some issues, notably illegal immigration and the bailout of Wall Street. The South Carolina Working Families Party had also nominated Michael Cone. South Carolina's election law allows for electoral fusion. This was the first time the party nominated a candidate for statewide office. However,