POLITICO – Oregon Democrat Suzanne Bonamici scored a decisive win Tuesday night over Republican Rob Cornilles in the special election to replace disgraced former Rep. David Wu.

With 68 percent of precincts reporting, Bonamici, a former state senator, led Cornilles 54 percent to 39 percent. Cornilles is a sports business consultant who waged an unsuccessful bid for the northwest Oregon-based 1st District seat in 2010.

Democrats had been strongly favored to hold the seat, which has sent only Democrats to Congress since 1974. But party officials approached the contest with trepidation following an upset Republican win for a New York City-based congressional seat last fall.

National Democrats launched a furious TV assault designed to portray Cornilles as a tea partier who was too conservative for the liberal district. The Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee spent $1.2 million on TV ads. A group of third-party organizations, including EMILY’s List, joined in the ad assault.

“Democrats successfully held the Republican accountable for his extreme tea party roots and his commitment to protecting the ultra-wealthy at the expense of Medicare for seniors,” DCCC Chairman Steve Israel said in a statement. “This election is a win for middle-class Oregon families who want someone to fight for them.”

Cornilles struggled to gain his footing under the weight of the Democratic attack, consistently lagging behind Bonamici in public polling. National Republicans largely stayed on the sidelines, recognizing the challenges Cornilles faced. The National Republican Congressional Committee spent just $85,000 to help the candidate fund a single TV ad.

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