GOP primaries

Marco Rubio will always have "The Hug" to tie Charlie Crist to President Obama. Now, Crist is calling Rubio "the Republican Obama."

Crist's new TV ad cites a New Republic article that labeled Rubio as such. It goes on to rehash the series of stories on Rubio's personal finance troubles.

It's a savvy commercial. Don't count Crist out just yet.

Former Rep. Mike Sodrel (R-Ind.) trails Rep. Baron Hill (D-Ind.) by just one point, 43-42, according to a poll conducted for Sodrel's campaign.

The Wilson Research Strategies poll also shows Sodrel in solid position in his May 4 primary with attorney Todd Young and activist Travis Hankins. Sodrel's name recognition from four previous campaigns in the district has spurred him to a 46-19 lead over Hankins. Young, who is a member of the NRCC's Young Guns program, is in third, at 13 percent.

In the general election, only 22 percent of voters say they will definitely vote to reelect Hill. That number was 28 percent in a Wilson poll in 2008, before Hill beat Sodrel 58-38 for a third victory in four matchups.

The more recent poll was conducted between Feb. 28 and March 3, before the healthcare vote and immediately after Hill declared that he wouldn't run for the state's open Senate seat.

The poll actually finds Sodrel a little worse-off than a SurveyUSA poll conducted for the liberal website Firedoglake.com in January. That poll had Sodrel leading 49-41.

Trey Grayson's Senate campaign is rolling out the big guns, but does an endorsement from Dick Cheney really help?

Things are getting very interesting in Michigan, where a crowded GOP primary field looks wide open at this point.

State Attorney General Mike Cox and Rep. Pete Hoekstra (R-Mich.) are now in an effective three-way tie with businessman Rick Snyder, whose personal money and “One Tough Nerd” campaign slogan have boosted him early on.

A new Inside Michigan Politics/Marketing Research Group poll shows the erstwhile frontrunner Cox at 21 percent, with Hoekstra also at 21 and Snyder at 20. Mike Bouchard, who you might recall challenged Sen. Debbie Stabenow in 2006, is at 10 percent.

This is Michigan, but it’s also a top takeover hope for the Republican Governors Association. Democrats have struggled with the economy going sour and the auto industry’s troubles.

Lt. Gov. John Cherry (D) found he couldn’t overcome those things and yielded to some lesser known Democratic candidates earlier this year.

The poll shows state House Speaker Andy Dillon leading Lansing Mayor Virg Bernero 21-9 in an undeveloped Democratic primary.

Former Rep. Rob Simmons's (R-Conn.) campaign continues to hammer away at the tawdry recent history of the WWE.

This web video plays off the recent revelation that Linda McMahon's husband, WWE Chairman Vince McMahon, has a yacht in Florida named "Sexy Bitch."

The McMahon camp responds: "This is why Rob Simmons has lost 38 points and his lead in the polls since Linda McMahon got in this race: he keeps talking about boats and wrestling while Linda is talking about putting people back to work."

The field for retiring Rep. Bill Delahunt's (D-Mass.) seat is filling out fast.

Former state Treasurer Joe Malone officially announced his candidate on Sunday. He joins a primary field that includes state Rep. Jeff Perry.

On the Democratic side, state Sen. Robert O'Leary is in and Norfolk District Attorney William Keating is considering a bid.

Malone served as state treasurer in the 1990s before losing campaign for governor in 1998. He lost the GOP nomination that year to acting Gov. Paul Celucci.

Republicans have made Delahunt's seat a top target ever since he announced his retirement earlier this month. it was their best district in the January special Senate election won by Scott Brown.

Florida Gov. Charlie Crist is indeed calling for a repeal of the healthcare bill.

Crist's primary opponent, Marco Rubio, has been out front on the repeal movement and accused Crist of not supporting repeal, but Crist's campaign points to two sets of comments the governor made in the last week.

Crist told the Associated Press that he would work to repeal the bill if he is elected senator in November, and he made similar comment to the National Review last week.

"We just need to get it right and do it right," Crist told the AP. "Do it right for the people."

Rubio has launched a petition for the repeal effort and has been all over the issue today. His campaign also pointed a month-old Palm Beach Post story in which Crist entertained the idea of keeping certain aspects of the healthcare bill.

"There may be parts of it that you don’t have to scrap," Crist said at the time.

Conservatives are emphasizing a full repeal, and Rubio's camp is looking to use Crist's comments against him.

So far, the following major Senate candidates have come out in favor of repeal: Crist, Rubio, Rep. Mark Kirk (R-Ill.), former New Hampshire Attorney General Kelly Ayotte, Kentucky Secretary of State Trey Grayson, Nevada businessman Danny Tarkanian, Arkansas state Sen. Gilbert Baker, former Rep. Rob Simmons and former Rep. Pat Toomey (R-Pa.).

Among those who haven't weighed in, former Colorado Lt. Gov. Jane Norton's campaign said it will be commenting shortly.

Something to keep an eye on: There seems to be a gap forming betwen those who want a full repeal of the healthcare bill and GOP leaders.

On the side of full repeal are conservatives (see: Club for Growth). RedState.com's Erick Erickson put it this way: "Let me be blunt: any Republican who says we will repeal and replace will themselves be replaced. We want repeal, period."

NRCC Chairman Pete Sessions (R-Texas), meanwhile, seemed to suggest a more incremental approach.

"I would be hard pressed to say repeal the whole thing,” he told the Daily Caller, pointing to the GOP proposals that were included in the bill.

The chairman of the NRSC, Sen. John Cornyn (R-Texas), has also suggested that repeal would be difficult.

Because of the realities of the process, GOP leaders have to be careful about promising too much. But they've got a fired up base to deal with, too, so it's going to be a balancing act.

North Dakota state Rep. Rick Berg will face Rep. Earl Pomeroy (D-N.D.) in November, after defeating state Public Service Commission Kevin Cramer for the GOP nod.

From the Bismarck Tribune:

The Republican Convention has given its endorsement to Fargo Rep. Rick Berg for the U.S. House race.

Berg will face Rep. Earl Pomeroy, D-N.D., in the general election.

“We are unified in our belief that our representative in Congress is not representing us and must be changed,” said Berg on Saturday. “It’s time to give North Dakota’s representational seat back to the people.”

Berg beat out the other likely front runner, Public Service Commission Chairman Kevin Cramer, as well as candidates J.D. Donaghe of Kenmare and DuWayne Hendrickson of Minot.

Berg beat Cramer by 972 to 442 votes.

Former Rep. Bill Sali (R-Idaho) will not seek a return to Congress, he announced Friday.

But before exiting the scene, he endorsed the outsider candidate in the race, state Rep. Raul Labrador, over Iraq veteran Vaughn Ward.

Sali has been toying with a return bid ever since losing his seat after one term in 2008. In the end, his decision not to run again was a sigh of relief for the party, who wanted to go in a different direction.

But if Labrador can turn Sali's support into some real momentum, a tough primary could be in the making for Ward. Ward is a part of the NRCC's Young Guns program; Labrador is not.

Idaho's filing deadline is today.

UPDATE: The Idaho Statesman reports Sali had some choice words about Ward:

"Vaughn has served our country with distinction and we owe him a debt of gratitude for that, as we do all of our veterans. But I have to tell you, sending Vaughn Ward to Washington, D.C., is a little bit like sending a Boy Scout to Iraq. He doesn't have any experience casting tough votes. He doesn't have experience in the political arena."