Governor races

Iowa Republicans will hear from Sarah Palin at the party's annual Ronald Reagan Dinner in September.

"The Iowa GOP is pleased that Gov. Palin is traveling to Iowa to join the battle to return principled, conservative leadership to Iowa," Matt Strawn, the party chairman, said in a statement. "Our economic and personal freedoms are under attack in Washington, DC and Des Moines. I know Iowa Republicans will be energized and motivated by Gov. Palin to stand up and fight for these principles all the way to Election Day and beyond."

There are at least two competitive House races and the gubernatorial contest happening in Iowa this cycle. The dinner, dubbed "A Salute to Freedom," will take place Sept. 17.

The candidates seeking to become Georgia's next governor sparred over tort reform, embryonic stem cell research and healthcare reform during their first debate since the primaries earlier this month, according to a report from the Atlanta Journal Constitution.

Former Republican Congressman Nathan Deal, Democratic nominee Roy Barnes and Libertarian candidate John Monds appeared together for the first time Saturday in Atlanta, where the discussion centered heavily around healthcare issues. Barnes previously served as the state's governor from 1999 to 2003 before losing his re-election bid to Republican Sonny Perdue. Perdue, a two-term incumbent, is term-limited.

Barnes and Deal agreed on the need to create incentives to attract physicians to the rural portion of the state, but differed over a March state Supreme Court ruling that struck down a limits on jury awards in medical malpractice cases. Deal said he favors amending the Constitution to re-institute the limits. Barnes, an attorney who has tried medical malpractice cases in the past, said he is strongly opposed to such a measure.

"Generally, the jury does the right thing," Barnes said. "Occasionally, they get cranked up and don't. And in those cases we give judges the right to correct that."

Former Rep. Tom Tancredo (R-Colo.) defended his third-party run for Colorado governor at a recent campaign stop in Denver.

New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie (R) will stump for former Philadelphia Eagle Jon Runyan (R) at an Ocean County barbecue in September.

It's the kind of move Republicans had been hoping for from the popular governor. Christie beat former Gov. Jon Corzine (D) 56 to 39 percent in 2009 in Rep. John Adler's (D) district. Runyan is vying to unseat the freshman Democrat in November.

A recent poll showed Christie with a 51 percent approval rating — higher than President Obama in Democrat-leaning New Jersey. Christie gets a 75 to 13 percent thumbs up from Republicans and a 61 to 29 percent approval/disapproval from independents, according to the recent Quinnipiac University poll.

But his approval rating could drop before the Sept. 5 event with Runyan. Christie acknowledged Wednesday that a clerical error blew the state's chance at winning $400 million in federal money for schools.

Establishment candidate Bill McCollum loses to self-funder Rick Scott in Florida's Republican gubernatorial primary.

In a departure from previous primary days this cycle, it's former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee (R) who has the most on the line in Tuesday's Republican primaries in Florida.

Huckabee has endorsed in three competitive GOP primaries — he's backing Attorney General Bill McCollum in the primary for governor, Daniel Webster in the race for Rep. Alan Grayson's (D) seat and Karen Diebel in the primary to face Rep. Suzanne Kosmas (D).

In the governor's race, three potential 2012 hopefuls are behind McCollum — Huckabee, former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney and former House Speaker Newt Gingrich. The primary between McCollum and Rick Scott was in a dead heat heading into Tuesday. 

But Huckabee is the only one who came to the state to rally for McCollum the weekend before the primary. He is also the only one who has waded into the most competitive congressional primaries in the state. Huckabee headlined a rally for congressional candidate Daniel Webster over the weekend. 

For the former governor, the endorsements in competitive congressional primaries mark a change in his political activity from earlier in the season. 

Along with a handful of endorsements in Florida, Huckabee offered last-minute backing to former Rep. Nathan Deal (R) in Georgia's gubernatorial runoff — Deal won — and released a new slate of endorsements in Iowa, the first state to hold a 2012 caucus.

It has increased speculation that Huckabee is mulling another presidential run in 2012.  

Elsewhere in Florida, the Republican primary for attorney general pits two potential GOP presidential contenders in 2012 against one another. 

Former House Speaker Newt Gingrich is backing former state Rep. Holly Benson, while former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin is behind Pam Bondi. Both Gingrich and Palin recorded robocalls for their endorsed candidates.  

Former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee (R) is denying an accusation from a Florida blogger who wrote over the weekend that Huckabee offered his endorsement to Florida gubernatorial candidate Rick Scott for $250,000. 

The blogger said the information came from a source inside the Scott campaign, and claimed the candidate rejected the offer.

Scott, who is largely self-funding his campaign, is locked in a tight primary with Florida Attorney General Bill McCollum (R). Huckabee has publicly backed McCollum, and headlined a rally with him ahead of Tuesday's primary.

HuckPAC responded forcefully Monday, calling the claim an outright lie and denying any contact between Huckabee and Scott. 

"Governor Mike Huckabee has never had a conversation with Rick Scott or anyone on his staff about such matters," HuckPAC's Hogan Gidley said in a statement Monday. "In fact, at the time the Scott campaign claims this was being discussed, Governor Huckabee had already early voted for Bill McCollum." 

"This lie from a mysterious source within the Rick Scott campaign shows how dishonest and desperate his campaign is," Gidley continued. "If Rick Scott made this claim, he needs to publicly and immediately admit this is total lie — and if he didn’t say it, he needs to fire whichever member of his campaign staff said it."

Ahead of Tuesday's primary, polls in the state show the McCollum-Scott race is too close to call. 

For the second time in five days, the administration will be lending a helping hand to Ohio Gov. Ted Strickland (D).

On Monday, Vice President Joe Biden will be in Toledo to visit the Chrysler Toledo Assembly Complex, and he's scheduled to be joined by Strickland. Biden will also host a fundraiser for the governor.

President Obama was in Ohio Wednesday to raise funds for Strickland, who endorsed Hillary Clinton in the 2008 presidential race.

But the Democratic governor is trailing Republican candidate John Kasich in the polls, and his victory is important to the White House for two reasons: the redistricting process and the 2012 presidential race. Ohio could lose two House seats after the Census is complete, and it's a bellwether state in a presidential year.

Biden held fundraisers for Strickland in January and March of this year. Former President Clinton has also raised funds for the governor.

A pro-military group that typically supports Iraq and Afghanistan war veterans running for office is promoting a civilian gubernatorial candidate in Connecticut.

Iraq Veterans For Congress on Monday expressed "deep appreciation" for Republican Tom Foley's service in Iraq and encouraged supporters to consider voting for him. 

Foley was the Bush administration's director of private sector development in Iraq from 2003-04. Critics charge he was responsible for the hurried privatization of Iraq's state-owned businesses, which resulted in thousands of layoffs. By adding more unemployed men to the ranks of those disaffected by the American occupation, the measures may have helped fuel the insurgency.

Foley has talked up the daunting aspects of his time there. "Donning bullet proof vests, dodging rockets and mortars, and avoiding IED's became regular parts of the routine," according to his website biography. 

And that's apparently what got the attention of IVC.

"I don't know any other Harvard grads in their fifties with no military experience who left comfortable executive positions to answer the call when the country needed them to serve in a ferocious combat zone," Kieran Michael Lalor, the group's founder, wrote in an e-mail to supporters. "Foley spent a year in country laying the foundation for economic growth by helping Iraqi entrepreneurs and small merchants build and expand their businesses."

Foley, who later served as ambassador to Ireland, faces Democrat Dan Malloy in November.

Bill McCollum (R), who is running for governor, is championing a proposal that goes even further than Arizona's law.