As the election season got underway, analysts from both major parties predicted that Packwood would have one of the toughest seats to defend in what was anticipated to be a volatile election year. Packwood was regarded as one of the nation's "most powerful elected officials" with "extraordinary political instincts." But the state's largest newspaper, "The Oregonian", had described AuCoin (Packwood's presumed main challenger) as having "persistence, imagination and clout have made him the most powerful congressman in Oregon and one of the most influential members from the Northwest."