PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) - With Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton paying so much attention to Oregon, who can even think about such pedestrian matters as the state Legislature?

Still, the candidates for the Oregon House and Senate are on the primary ballot too, down below the bold-faced names. Votes will be counted May 20

Most key legislative races won't be decided until November, but across the state a handful of contested primaries have already turned heated.

A few will yield certain winners in November: Deep in Eastern Oregon, the winner of the face-off between Ontario attorney Cliff Bentz and rancher-geologist Tim Smith of Hines will capture the Republican nomination, and certain victory in the deeply conservative district.

Likewise, in two inner-city Portland House districts, the winners of the Democratic primary will breeze into office in the fall.

Other races are less clear. In Yamhill County, three Republicans are battling for their party's nomination, including one bold-faced name, former U.S. Congressman Jim Bunn, who served only one term, then was ousted after getting a divorce, marrying his chief-of-staff and giving her a high salary.

He faces Yamhill restaurant owner Jim Weidner, who is running a campaign designed to appeal to social conservatives, touting his opposition to abortion, gay rights and gambling. There's also carpenter Ed Glad, who has worked for a union, the Pacific Northwest Regional Council of Carpenters, and has emphasized local schools and vocational education.

This week, a group of local Republicans sent out a mailer warning voters that Bunn's past could come back to haunt him in the fall, tipping the race to Democrats.

Whichever of the three emerges from the primary, it's no sure thing that they'll win in November - Yamhill County is generally GOP territory, but Democrats and non-affiliated voters have been making serious inroads there, as the wine industry has boomed.

In the Hood River-Corbett corridor, Republicans are coping with an increasingly nasty primary between bed-and-breakfast owner Phyllis Thiemann and mixed martial arts fighter Matt Lindland, with Lindland accusing Thiemann's political consultant of spreading false rumors about him.

The district has been in Republican hands for years, but the population center of Hood River is getting more liberal, and Democrats think they have a good shot at picking up this seat.

In Troutdale, Democrats would love the symbolism of picking off the seat long held by retiring Rep. Karen Minnis, the former speaker of the Oregon House. But first, they have to settle on a candidate, after a spirited primary between city council member Barbara Kyle and law student Nick Kahl.

In Lake Oswego, perhaps the GOP's best hope of snatching a Democrat-controlled seat, Democrats are picking between educator Linda Brown and attorney Chris Garrett; the winner will face lawyer Steve Griffith in November.

The picture in the state Senate is far less complicated, in both the primaries, and in November. The major competitive primary here is in Bend, where former city councilor and CPA Chris Telfer switched parties to run as a Republican for the seat vacated by Democratic state Sen. Ben Westlund, who is running for state Treasurer. She's opposed in the primary by property manager and horse breeder John Robbins, who is running a more low-key race.

Democrats control the state Senate 18-12, and the state House 31-29.

Democrats are defending their majority without House Speaker Jeff Merkley, who directed the effort to take over the chamber in 2006, after 16 years of GOP control, but is now running for the U.S. Senate. 

(Copyright 2008 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)