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As Republicans look to pick up Democratic-held seats in their bid to gain control of the U.S. Senate, some are targeting an unlikely state -- Oregon.

The Beaver State has not elected a Republican in a statewide election since 2002. But some believe first-term incumbent Sen. Jeff Merkley is vulnerable, partly because of his enthusiastic support for ObamaCare in a state that had a disastrous rollout of its failed health care exchange, Cover Oregon.

The Republican primary will be held Tuesday, and it appears to be a two-person race between Dr. Monica Wehby and Jason Conger, two candidates with compelling personal stories who are quite different on social issues.

Wehby is a pediatric neurosurgeon with 30 years in the business of saving young lives. She was the first woman to graduate from UCLAs neurosurgery program. But her claim to fame in this race, and a big reason why shes getting support from influential Republicans nationally, is she was an early critic of ObamaCare. She was on the board of the American Medical Association and was featured in a 2009 ad opposing the Affordable Care Act.

Its a 2,700 page law, 20,000 pages of regulations now -- its impossible to work with this law, Wehby said. I think the best way is to repeal and replace with a plan that will actually work.

Conger is a two-term representative in the Oregon State House. Hes also a practicing lawyer. While that might not seem so unusual, Congers path to the legal profession was anything but ordinary. His mother abandoned the family when he was young. So he lived with his father, often staying in trailer parks, and for stretches was homeless, sleeping in the back of his family truck.

From those humble beginnings in northern California, he graduated from Harvard Law School.

I feel extraordinarily blessed to have been able to go from barely graduating from an alternative high school to graduating from Harvard Law School and living what I would consider the American dream, Conger said.

Dr. Wehby has been endorsed by GOP heavyweights like Mitt Romney, Newt Gingrich and Dr. Ben Carson. She also received a major boost in the form of a $400,000 advertising campaign funded by the New Republican super PAC. Founded by Alex Castellanos, New Republican is attempting to pull the party more to the center. The groups ads highlight Wehbys credibility on ObamaCare, her sensitivity to issues important to women and her own professional background -- including a spot titled "Trust," which features the mother of a child whose life she saved with surgery many years ago.

Conger has raised far less money, and polls suggest hes trailing. But he does have plenty of support, especially from social conservatives. Oregon Right to Life endorsed his candidacy and former presidential candidate Rick Santorum recently endorsed him in a radio ad. Conger also has wide support among Republican lawmakers in Oregon. He is strong on the Second Amendment, is staunchly pro-life and opposes gay marriage.

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Republicans eye Senate pick-up in unlikely territory Oregon