GOP primaries

Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) will head to Iowa in July, intensifying speculation that the freshman lawmaker and Tea Party darling might be considering a bid for the White House.

Cruz will headline the state party's annual summer picnic on July 19, CNN reported on Friday.

The Texas lawmaker joins a bevy of other potential Republican hopefuls who have traveled to the Hawkeye State in recent months. Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.) addressed the Lincoln Day Dinner; Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker addressed party leaders in Des Moines; and Rick Santorum, who won the caucuses in 2012, is scheduled to attend the State Fair in August.

“Todd Akin and Richard Mourdock self-destructed last fall, and other candidates squandered important opportunities,” said Rove in a WSJ op-ed.

Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) is weighing a presidential run in 2016, according to a report in the National Review.

The freshman lawmaker has already made waves in conservative circles with his aggressive questioning of Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel and his willingness to filibuster the Senate's attempt at expanding background checks on gun purchases. According to the conservative magazine, GOP leaders in early voting states are already encouraging Cruz to consider a bid.

“Ted won’t be opening an Iowa office anytime soon, but he’s listening,” an anonymous source identified as a "longtime Cruz associate" told the National Review. “This is all in the early stages; nothing is official. It’s just building on its own.”

The Hill's Bob Cusack and Alexandra Jaffe preview Tuesday's Massachusetts Senate primary to fill the seat vacated by Secretary of State John Kerry. 

Sanford's opponent is showing some momentum in the closing days of the GOP primary for the state’s open House seat.

The former RNC chairman said the current chairman was "part of every major decision" for which he's now criticizing Steele.

The head of a conservative super-PAC called the RNC "ridiculous to spend $10 million on a ‘re-branding campaign.’”

Four of the nine House GOP lawmakers from Georgia are eyeing the Senate seat being vacated by Sen. Saxby Chambliss (R).

Matt Bevin, who is weighing a Senate bid, is under scrutiny for claiming ties to the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

Two South Carolina conservatives are preparing for possible primary challenges against Sen. Graham, accusing him of being insufficiently conservative.