House races

Centrist supporters of the measure say they hope it will weaken voters' allegiance to political parties.

The Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee launched its "Frontline" program on Tuesday, an effort to protect vulnerable incumbents going into 2014.

A new video from the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee uses voter testimonials to rip House Republicans for their "Tea Party Sequester."

The video features voters expressing worry and frustration over sequestration, which began to take effect on March 1.

"Tea Party House Republicans refused to find solutions to sequestration -- preferring instead to protect tax breaks for Big Oil companies and cheer on the damage to our economy," said Emily Bittner of the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee. "Voters are standing with Democrats and demanding this Tea Party Congress get back to work finding solutions with a balanced approach that cuts spending and ends tax breaks for the well-off and well-connected."

Former South Carolina Gov. Mark Sanford (R) asked Jenny Sanford, his ex-wife, to run his campaign for South Carolina's 1st Congressional District.

The National Republican Congressional Committee has launched Web ads targeting 20 Democrats by tying them to the sequestration cuts and spending the NRCC calls "wasteful."

The Club for Growth is targeting Rep. Aaron Schock (R-Ill.) with a letter in response to his push-back on being named as one of the group's targets for a primary challenge in 2014, with Club President Chris Chocola charging he's "pretending to be something" he's not.

The Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee has picked Rep. Jim Himes (D-Conn.) to be its new finance chairman.

Himes replaces Rep. Allyson Schwartz (D-Pa.), who is planning to run for governor.

"The DCCC is in our best financial position in years, and Jim Himes is the right person to build on our terrific operation so that we can wage a strong battle to roll back the Tea Party Republican House," DCCC Chairman Steve Israel (D-N.Y.) said in a statement. "Over his career, Jim Himes has proven that he's deeply committed to strengthening the middle class — and he'll work relentlessly to elect more people to Congress who share our middle class values and defeat people who want to give more tax breaks to the well-connected."

The conservative super-PAC says the GOP lawmakers have "repeatedly voted against fiscal conservatives" in Congress. 

Rep. Mike McIntyre (D-N.C.), who's likely to face another tough race in a heavily Republican district, now has one more thing to worry about: A challenger in the primary election.

New Hanover County Commissioner Jonathan Barfield (D) announced he'd run for McIntyre's seat on Tuesday, saying the "timing is right" for a campaign.

McIntyre, a Blue Dog Democrat, pulled out a narrow victory in 2012 after Republicans redrew his district to be much more conservative. He's once again a top GOP target this election, and without President Obama's ground game in the state, McIntyre could face a tougher road to victory.

It's unclear whether Barfield will be much more than a distraction for McIntyre. Barfield said he didn't talk to the congressman about entering the race, and he didn't criticize McIntyre in his announcement, a sign that he may not be planning to run hard against him. 

But any distractions can drain resources ahead of the general election. And if the primary forces McIntyre to shift left politically, that could hurt the longtime congressman in 2014.

Robin Kelly (D) cruised to victory over former Rep. Debbie Halvorson (D-Ill.), who favors gun rights, in the Illinois race.