Governor races

Former Sen. Scott Brown (R-Mass.) confirmed on Monday that he is considering a run for governor in 2014, considered by Republicans in the state to be his likeliest path back to public office after he declined to run in Massachusetts' special Senate election.

President Bill Clinton will host a campaign fundraiser for Virginia gubernatorial candidate Terry McAuliffe (D) in March, stepping in to help his close friend, who ran the Democratic National Committee during Clinton's time in office.

Clinton will headline the fundraiser in New York City in mid-March, according to the New York Daily News.

McAuliffe is facing off against Tea Party favorite and Virginia Attorney General Ken Cuccinelli (R). Virginia Lieutenant Gov. Bill Bolling (R) may also run as an independent, saying over the weekend in a radio interview that he's leaning toward a run.

“The reason Obama is the president ... is Republicans failed to lead," says Virginia's Republican candidate for governor.

Rep. Allyson Schwartz (D-Pa.) is "80 percent of the way in" toward running for governor, Marcel Groen, the chair of the Democratic Party in Schwartz’s home county and a top Pennsylvania Democrat told reporters on Friday.

Nebraska Governor Dave Heineman (R) announces Rick Sheehy's resignation, saying "a trust was broken."

Virginia Attorney General Ken Cuccinelli (R) is the only Republican who filed to run for the Virginia governor's race as of the state GOP's Monday evening deadline, making him the party's de facto nominee for the race.

Cuccinelli, a Tea Party favorite and vocal social conservative best known for challenging the constitutionality of President Obama's healthcare law, has been the odds-on favorite for the nomination since Virginia Lt. Gov. Bill Bolling (R) said he would not run as a Republican. With the filing deadline for the Republican nomination in the past, he's now guaranteed the nomination.

Cuccinelli is all but guaranteed to face former Democratic National Committee Chairman Terry McAuliffe in the 2013 election, and early polls show a close race, though McAuliffe has led in most. Bolling is still mulling a run as an Independent.

Rep. Raul Labrador's (R-Idaho) decision on whether to run for governor will hinge on whether Congress implements immigration reform, he told the Idaho Statesman.

Virginia's governor's race is statistically tied, according to a new poll from Quinnipiac University.

Former Democratic National Committee Chairman Terry McAuliffe leads Virginia Attorney General Ken Cuccinelli (R) by 40 to 39 percent, well within the poll's margin of error. The two are all but guaranteed to be their parties' nominees.

Results don't change much when Virginia Lt. Gov. Bill Bolling (R), who hasn't ruled out running as an Independent, is included. McAuliffe and Cuccinelli are tied at 34 percent apiece, with Bolling at 13 percent. None is well-known, according to the poll: Cuccinelli, the best-known, has an approval rating of 33 percent, to 25 percent disapproving.

Virginia's 2013 gubernatorial election is one of just two gubernatorial races this year, and the swing state could hint at the national political mood. Virginia voters have for 30 years elected a governor of the opposite party from the president.

Virginia's other politicians fare well. Sen. Mark Warner (D-Va.), long the state's most popular politician, has an approval rating of 59 percent, with 27 percent disapproving. He's up for reelection in 2014 but is unlikely to face a tough race.

The Quinnipiac poll found a markedly different result from one released by the Democratic firm Public Policy Polling on Tuesday. PPP found McAuliffe with a 5-point lead, not a huge difference — but it also found Cuccinelli was much better-known among voters, with much higher approval ratings.

Quinnipiac's live-caller poll of 1,134 registered voters was conducted from Jan. 4-7 and has a margin of error of plus or minus 2.9 percentage points.

“If my party’s not putting it above politics, they’ll hear from me,” he said, defending his push for relief aid.

Former Democratic National Committee Chairman Terry McAuliffe leads Virginia Attorney General Ken Cuccinelli (R) by 5 percentage points in their gubernatorial race, according to a poll conducted by Democratic-affiliated Public Policy Polling.

McAuliffe leads Cuccinelli by 46 percent to 41 percent. His lead is due mostly to Cuccinelli's unpopularity: The Tea Party favorite's approval rating is underwater, with 29 percent of voters approving of him and 45 percent in opposition. McAuliffe, who lost a 2009 primary for governor, isn't well known: About a quarter of voters approve of him, and the same percentage disapproves.

The two have no primary opponents and are all but guaranteed to face off in Virginia's 2013 general election. Lieutenant Gov. Bill Bolling (R), a centrist Republican who hasn't ruled out running as an independent, gets 15 percent when included in the poll, with McAuliffe's lead expanding to 8 points.

The automated poll of 602 registered voters was conducted Jan. 4-6 and has a margin of error of plus or minus 4 percentage points.