Top of the ballot

The DCCC is releasing the names of its first 13 members of the Red to Blue program for challengers, and there aren’t many surprises. That’s probably because the committee already released a list of races it was targeting, and the 13 inductees to Red to Blue track closely with that list. In fact, of the 14 candidates it declared to be in “top races” in January, all but one of them are now Red to Blue. The only one who didn’t make the leap is attorney Jon Hulburd, who is running in a tough district being vacated by Rep. John Shadegg (R-Ariz.). Red to Blue is expected to expanded modestly, with Democrats waiting for a few primaries to play out in districts like Rep. Michele Bachmann’s (R-Minn.), Rep. Jim Gerlach’s (R-Pa.), and Rep. Joseph Cao’s (R-La.).

Massa implosion

Republicans hoping for a boost from former Rep. Eric Massa’s (D-N.Y.) appearances Tuesday on Glenn Beck and Larry King were sorely disappointed. Beck grappled for the entire hour with Massa, trying to get him to offer any specifics about what the White House had done wrong. Massa sat there like he basically didn’t understand the question, and kept spewing generalities. When he finally did offer an example, he actually suggested that whipping votes was somehow inherently corrupt. The performance left Beck completely frustrated, to the point where he apologized to his viewers on two occasions and suggested that, for the first time, he felt like he wasted their time. Then Massa went on King’s show and refused to say whether he was gay – which will play right into the allegations being lodged against him. It’s hard to see Republicans promoting this man with any great vigor in the coming weeks.

Wyden covering his bases

In this morning’s paper, I write about GOP efforts to go after Sen. Patty Murray (D-Wash.). Well, it appears not even her Northwestern neighbor, Sen. Ron Wyden (D-Ore.), is taking any chances at this point. Wyden’s campaign released a poll Tuesday showing him leading Republican Jim Huffman 53-23. It also, for the sake of comparison, showed him leading Rep. Greg Walden (R-Ore.) 52-24. Walden, who passed on a gubernatorial bid this cycle, has not shown any interest in running for the Senate.