Dem primaries

A political action committee (PAC) launched by liberal bloggers made its first endorsement Monday of a primary challenger to Sen. Blanche Lincoln (D-Ark.).

Accountability Now, the PAC founded in 2008 by firedoglake's Jane Hamsher and Salon's Glenn Greenwald to goad incumbent Democrats into maintaining party principles, endorsed Arkansas Lt. Gov. Bill Halter (D), who announced on Monday a primary challenge to Lincoln.

"As the head of the Agriculture Committee and a member of the Finance Committee, Blanche Lincoln has stood at the front of the line when it comes to repaying her corporate donors with political favors," Hamsher said in a statement. "Lincoln has personally been the recipient of big ag subsidies, and her continued tenure as Chairman of the Senate Agriculture Committee would mean the death of sustainable agriculture for a generation.  She's the prime target for an accountability campaign."

Democrats have griped over Lincoln's centrist record over the past year, especially on issues like healthcare reform and climate change legislation.

Accountability Now had sought to encourage Halter to get into the race, launching a "Draft Halter" website and campaign earlier this year. Halter's decision to get into the race is arguably the first visible victory for the newly-formed group.

Accountability Now had about $9,649 in cash on hand at the end of 2009, according to Federal Election Commission (FEC) filings, though it had disbursed just under $210,000 last year.

"We are delighted that our efforts to draft Bill Halter and organize institutional support for his campaign led to his decision to enter the race," Hamsher added. "We look forward to working with the groups in Accountability Now and the people of Arkansas to support him in this race and to see him sworn in as the next Senator from Arkansas."

Arkansas Lt. Gov. Bill Halter with a shocker this morning: He said he will challenge Democratic Sen. Blanche Lincoln (Ark.) in a primary this year.

Halter's name seems to come up whenever there is a major office up for election, but in a video on his website, he said he's taking the plunge.

Look for Halter to run more of an anti-Washington campaign, as opposed to going after Lincoln on ideological grounds.

She becomes the fourth incumbent Democratic senator to draw a primary challenge this cycle, joining Sens. Arlen Specter (D-Pa.) and Michael Bennet (D-Colo.) and likely Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand (D-N.Y.).

Democrats in the late Rep. John Murtha's (D-Pa.) district will recommend a candidate on March 6 for the special election to replace him.

The "recommendation convention" will be held at 10 a.m. in Delmont, Pa. The decision will be non-binding, with the final say resting in the hands of the state executive committee on March 8.

Counties in the district will have weighted votes, depending on their share of voters in the 12th district, with the big counties being Cambria, Fayette, Washington and Westmoreland.

Republicans will pick their nominee on March 11. In their case, the local counties will have the final say.

Sen. Arlen Specter’s (D-Pa.) campaign is bringing up a campaign issue we have long expected it to: staff turnover on Rep. Joe Sestak’s (D-Pa.) staff.

It’s well known that Sestak is one of the hardest people to work for in Congress. He requires long hours and he doesn’t pay well (he had the lowest payroll in Congress for an 18-month period, according to the L.A. Times).

He also doesn’t apologize for it.

In an interview Thursday with The Hill, before Specter’s camp hit Sestak with a press release on the topic, Sestak said he can’t compare his operation to other offices.

“We do what we have to do,” he said. “As Winston Churchill said, ‘Sometimes it’s not enough to do your best; sometimes you have to do what’s required.’

“This is a government that has boded so well in crises for its citizens. We’re in the middle of two wars overseas and one here at home with our economy.”

Sestak was then asked if he was hard on his staff, versus simply working them long hours.

“I ask a lot of my staff – no more than what I do,” he said.

Specter’s campaign pointed out Thursday that the three highest-paid staffers on Sestak’s campaign team are his three siblings, who all make at least $3,500 per month. According to numbers crunched by Specter’s campaign, about half of Sestak's staff makes less than $1,000 per month.

UPDATE: A tipster notes that Snarlin' Arlen isn't exactly Mr. Wonderful to his staff, either. Specter has frequently been ranked among the top three meanest bosses in the Senate by Washingtonian magazine, including at No. 1 in 2004. And that's not the only publication to bestow such a designation on Specter.

Despite not-so-gently nudging the White House over the past week, Rep. Joe Sestak (D-Pa.) says he wants to be President Barack Obama’s biggest ally in the Senate.

Sestak made waves last week when he disclosed that the White House had offered him a job in exchange for ending his primary challenge to Sen. Arlen Specter (D-Pa.). And this week, Sestak’s campaign launched a video in which Obama supporters express disappointment in the president’s decision to back Specter.

But Sestak said in an interview with The Hill that even though he is trying to change how politics is done, there is no ill will toward the president.

“The president actually, I believe, wants a real Democrat in this seat,” Sestak said. “The president is right, and I want to be one of his strongest allies – not a yes man – in effecting his policies.”

Sestak said he didn’t seek to hurt the president by saying he was offered a job. He said he was merely answering a question.

Sestak declined to elaborate on who offered the job or what job it was.

“Why would I want to harm anyone?” Sestak said.

Former Rep. James Traficant (D-Ohio) missed the filing deadline to return to Congress this week.

Traficant, a Youngstown-area lawmaker who was expelled from the House in 2002 after being convicted on corruption charges, missed the Thursday deadline for candidates to file to run for Congress, according to a local NBC affiliate.

But missing the filing deadlines doesn't forestall the possibility of a Traficant comeback still this cycle.

A spokesman for WFMJ that Traficant had prepared filings for both Ohio's 6th and 17th congressional districts, but declined to file as a Democratic candidate. He could still file to run as an independent candidate in those districts by May 3, however.

The 17th district, Traficant's old seat, is now held by Rep. Tim Ryan (D). The 17th district is held by Rep. Charlie Wilson (D), where Traficant could have more of an impact as an independent in the district, which is seen as marginally favoring Republicans.

Traficant has flirted with returning to Congress since being released from prison in September of 2009. The former lawmaker, long a centrist member of congress, vowed to settle some scores with old enemies on both sides of the aisle if he were to return to Washington.