Utah Senate candidate Mike Lee (R) unveils his own big endorsements, Illinois adds a big spender to the Senate race and Rep. Steve King (R-Iowa) won't be going to Colorado after all.
I'll see your senator and raise you a congressman
Lee was thought to be losing momentum in his bid for the Utah GOP Senate nomination after his rival, Tim Bridgewater, rolled out endorsements from Sen. Bob Bennett (R-Utah) and fourth-place convention finisher Cherilyn Eagar (R).
But Lee was able to fire back this week with endorsements from Rep. Ron Paul (R-Texas) and the Tea Party Express, which helped Republican Sharron Angle with the Nevada Senate primary.
Lee didn't know too much about Paul's endorsement before his political action committee released a statement, but he flaunted it all the same.
“It's another indicator that Mike is the true fiscal conservative in the race. Is it a game-changer? Not by any means. But I'm sure it will help open up some fundraising ability," a Lee spokesman told the Salt Lake Tribune.
They better rake that money in quickly; the primary vote is next Tuesday.
What recession?
Banker Mike Niecestro is set to run as an Independent for Senate in Illinois, competing with Democrat Alexi Giannoulias and Republican Mark Kirk for President Barack Obama's old seat.
House Majority Whip James Clyburn (D-S.C.) expands on his conspiracy accusation regarding the South Carolina Democratic Senate primary, "The Daily Show" pokes fun at Democrats for making such claims and Rep. Steve King (R-Iowa) gets cut from a Colorado funder.
The Democrats unveil a new set of House prospects, Harry Reid goes up with his first negative TV ad as Republican Sharron Angle hits the East Coast and Mike Huckabee is reconsidering his plans for 2012.
Red to Blues
The Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee unveiled 11 prospects it believes are part of a "growing number of offensive opportunities."
Promoted to the DCCC's "Red to Blue" program Monday, the group includes some interesting selections, such as state Sen. Joyce Elliot (D) in Arkansas's 2nd district. She "doesn't know" whether she'd vote for Rep. Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) as Speaker.
Then there's state Sen. Colleen Hanabusa (D), whom the DCCC suggested drop her bid in the May special election in order to give former Rep. Ed Case (D) a better shot at defeating Republican Charles Djou.
Another notable inclusion is Tarryl Clark (D), who's vying to challenge Rep. Michele Bachmann (R-Minn.). She had been facing Democrat Maureen Reed in the primary, but Reed recently dropped her bid, clearing the way for Clark to become the nominee.
"The Red to Blue Program will give these strong candidates the financial and structural edge they need to win in November and become strong advocates in Congress for middle-class families back in their districts," DCCC Chairman Chris Van Hollen (Md.) said in a statement.
Reid tries to put Angle in a lockbox
The Senate majority leader's campaign has taken the lesson "define your opponent early" to heart. It went up over the weekend with a new 30-second TV ad hitting Angle for wanting to "wipe out" Social Security. It also mentions a "Scientology plan to give massages to prisoners." The spot closes by asking, "what’s next?"
Angle, meanwhile, is coming East to raise money, meet with strategists and make Fox News appearances.
Yeah, about that …
Huckabee wasn't included in the recent Iowa Poll released by the Des Moines Register because he was purportedly not going to run for the presidency in 2012. Turns out he's still thinking it over. That's according to Hogan Gidley, the executive director of Huckabee's PAC, who contacted the paper after the story about the poll ran last Friday.
"I'm in no way saying he is going to run, but he's definitely in the conversation," Gidley said.
Mitt Romney leads in Iowa, Jerry Brown accuses Meg Whitman of wanting to be president and of being a Nazi propagandist and Utah Senate candidate Tim Bridgewater picks up another endorsement.
Iowa's top three
There's still a long way to go before the next Iowa caucuses, but the field is already starting to take shape. Romney, Sarah Palin and Newt Gingrich are Hawkeye State Republicans' top picks for the 2012 GOP White House nod, according to the Des Moines Register's latest Iowa Poll.
The survey out Friday has 62 percent of Republican primary voters "very or mostly favorable" toward Romney. Palin's next with 58 percent "very or mostly favorable" about her and Gingrich is in third at 56 percent. Mike Huckabee, who won the 2008 GOP caucuses, wasn't included in the survey because he said he doesn't plan to run again.
Meanwhile, conservative darling Gov. Mitch Daniels (R-Ind.) is a relative unknown in Iowa — 80 percent said they don't know enough about him to have a favorable or unfavorable opinion. Sen. John Thune (R-S.D.) is also a wild card: 71 percent say they're not sure how they feel toward him. And 53 percent are unsure about Minnesota Gov. Tim Pawlenty (R).
Where will it go from here?
California's gubernatorial races have become famous for their outlandishness, and this cycle won't disappoint.
Brown, the Democratic nominee, told KCBS radio reporter Doug Sovern this week that his Republican oppponent was "like Goebbels" — Hitler's propaganda mister.
Brown: "Goebbels invented this kind of propaganda. He took control of the whole world. She wants to be president. That's her ambition, the first woman president. That's what this is all about."
The Whitman camp called the remarks "deeply offensive."
Bridgewater builds momentum
Bridgewater picked up the endorsement of former Senate rival Cherilyn Eagar (R) this week, adding to the sense of momentum he got from Sen. Bob Bennett's (R-Utah) backing.
Meanwhile, Mike Lee, Bridgewater's rival in the June 22 primary, released some internal poll results that show him up by nine points. The poll shows Lee leading Bridgewater 39-30 percent with 30 percent still undecided.
The fallout from the oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico continues to flow over into various political campaigns.
As my colleague Ben Geman notes, House Natural Resources
Committee Chairman Nick Rahall (D-W.Va.), who's a GOP target this cycle, is pressing the Interior
Department for information about federal offshore drilling regulators
who have worked for the oil-and-gas industry in the past.
The
request, in a June 8 letter to Interior Secretary Ken Salazar, is part
of a wider committee probe of the Gulf of Mexico oil spill and offshore
drilling policy.
And my colleague Jordan Fabian reports Rep. Charlie Melancon (D-La.), who's challenging Sen. David Vitter (R-La.), called the spill a worse disaster than Hurricane Katrina.
Melancon told Fox News the uncertainty about the future makes the BP oil spill
more difficult to deal with than the 2005 hurricane that flattened
entire sections of New Orleans.
Katrina destroyed New Orleans and large swaths of property in
Louisiana and its neighboring states. Nearly 2,000 people were recorded
dead and property damage totaled about $81 billion.
Eleven
workers were killed and 17 were injured aboard the Deepwater Horizon
oil rig due to the explosion that caused the spill more than 50 days
ago. Up to 100,000 barrels are estimated to be spilling into the Gulf
every day from the damaged pipe a mile underwater.
Over the weekend, The Hill examined how the spill has moved inland, becoming an issue in the Missouri Senate race, which is a tight matchup between Rep. Roy Blunt (R-Mo.) and Democrat Robin Carnahan, the Missouri secretary of state.
It's also a big issue in Florida, where Gov. Charlie Crist, the independent candidate, has asked BP for $100 million to help with the spill's fallout, and Democratic candidate Rep. Kendrick Meek has asked Crist and Republican candidate Marco Rubio to back a moratorium on new oil-and-gas drilling in the Gulf
of Mexico.
Expect the spill to become an issue in other races as voters are flooded with more images of oil on beaches and animals covered in the goo.
Nevada Senate candidate Sharron Angle goes missing after win, Carly Fiorina channels Gordon Brown in California and politics gets a little weirder down in South Carolina.
What would Rand do?
Angle is challenging Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (Nev.), one of the top targets for the Republicans this cycle, but she hasn’t been seen or heard from since Tuesday.
The Las Vegas Review-Journal reports Angle "went into bunker mode the day after her victory. She shut down her website, except for a fundraising plea, ignored interview requests and avoided questions. Meanwhile, the Democrats and the Reid campaign unleashed a stream of attacks aimed at giving her a shock-and-awe jolt and painting her as a fringe candidate."
Angle has views that are in line with those of Kentucky Senate candidate Rand Paul (R), another surprise primary winner, and she's likely being told by national operatives to stay off the air until she's up to speed on the party's actual positions.
In the meantime, Reid is expected to release two new TV spots Thursday and in the evening to hold a campaign rally with Bill Clinton.
At least she didn't say 'bigoted'
Republican Senate nominee Fiorina made national news for offering some candid remarks before an interview Wednesday.
Turns out the CNN microphones were on and captured what she said. "I find it really surprising that on the first day of the general, Meg Whitman's going on 'Sean Hannity,' " she says in the recording. "I think it’s bizarre. She's never been on 'Sean Hannity.' I think it's a very bad choice, actually. You know how he is. … Sean Hannity is not an easy interview."
She later criticizes Sen. Barbara Boxer's (D-Calif.) hair as "so yesterday."
Meanwhile, the Los Angles Times has a piece with the headline, "Republicans seek early momentum for general election." This won't help.
They've got the wrong man
South Carolina Democrats may have nominated a "plant" for Senate, according to House Majority Whip James Clyburn (D-S.C.).
He's calling on the U.S. attorney's office in South Carolina to investigate the unusual circumstances that led to Alvin Greene winning the Democratic nod on Tuesday.
"There were some real shenanigans going on in the South Carolina primary," Clyburn said during an appearance on the liberal Bill Press radio show. "I don't know if he was a Republican plant; he was someone’s plant."
Clyburn said he found it strange that the relatively unknown Greene was able to produce the money to register and run for Senate despite being unemployed. Greene allegedly tried to pay in cash, and Clyburn said he wondered whether or not an outside party might have funded both that and Greene's campaign, in violation of federal campaign finance laws.
The news that Greene is facing felony charges for allegedly howing obscene photos to a college co-ed is a growing embarrassment for South Carolina Democrats.
Greene told The Associated Press he's the people's choice and will not step aside. He faces the nearly impossible task of trying to unseat Sen. Jim DeMint (R-S.C.).
Iowa Gov. Chet Culver (D) should start updating his resume, the Reid family has a few things to celebrate in Nevada and Prop 14 passed in California, clearing the way for two people to ... appear on the same ballot after a primary.
What's old is new again
Former Gov. Terry Branstad won a comfortable victory in last night's Republican gubernatorial primary, setting up a general-election contest with Culver.
Having taken a comfortable 50 percent of the vote in the primary, Branstad should have little trouble consolidating his base and mounting an aggressive campaign against the first-term Democrat.
Culver is considered one of the most endangered governors in the country. A recent Public Policy Polling survey had Branstad leading the Democrat 52 to 37 percent among Iowa voters.
The former four-term governor is billing himself as a change agent. "To those businesses struggling to make the next payroll; to workers hunting for good work, for good jobs; to those communities fighting to stay alive; to those families hoping for a better education for their kids, I say, change is coming," Branstad said Tuesday night.
Reid 'em and weep
Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) wasn't the only member of his family celebrating Tuesday.
Reid's son Rory, chairman of the Clark County Commission, secured the Democratic gubernatorial nomination in Nevada. He'll face former federal Judge Brian Sandoval (R) in the general.
Gov. Jim Gibbons (R) became the first incumbent governor in Nevada history to lose reelection in his party primary. He was burdened by low approval ratings and personal scandal.
Meanwhile, Harry Reid gets to face Republican Sharron Angle in November. Of the three front-runners for the GOP Senate nod, Angle raised the least in the first quarter of this year.
Sure, that can pick up, and she'll have the support of outside groups. But Reid has to be pleased he avoided a better-funded challenger.
Two for one
California voters passed Proposition 14 with 54percent of the vote Tuesday, dramatically altering how party nominees will be picked in the next cycle.
Known as the open primary measure, it will give every voter the same ballot in primary elections for most state and federal offices, except the presidential race, according to the San Francisco Chronicle.
The two candidates with the most votes would advance to the general election, regardless of party affiliation.
Supporters of the measure said it will give voters more choice — the same practice is used in Louisiana — but opponents said they plan to fight it in court.
One downside: It may make campaigns more expensive, although that sounds hard to imagine after Steve Poizner and Meg Whitman burned through more than $100 million in the GOP gubernatorial primary.
California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger's (R) first ballot didn't count in Tuesday's primary election, theAssociated Pressreports.
The scanning machine at his Los Angeles polling place rejected the ballot because he selected two
Senate candidates instead of one, according to reports.
No word on which two candidates he voted for, but former Hewlett-Packard CEO Carly Fiorina, former Rep. Tom Campbell, and state Assemblyman Chuck DeVore have been running a tough campaign.
Poll worker Keta Hodgson told the AP the governor was given the choice of filling out a new ballot or not having
his Senate pick count. He cast a new ballot.
There's also a competitve GOP primary for Schwarznegger's job. Former eBay CEO Meg Whitman and state
insurance commissioner Steve Poizner have sunk up to $100 million total into the race.
Polls close at 11 p.m. EST.
And Schwarzenegger isn't the first politician to have trouble voting.
When Sen. Blanche Lincoln (D-Ark.) tried to vote for herself in the May 18 Democratic primary it turns out she had already voted. She and her husband had requested absentee ballots in case she was called to Washington for Senate business. They cast provisional ballots to make sure their votes counted.
That won't be a problem for Lincoln in today's runoff. She will vote "in person" at her polling place in Little Rock with
a traditional ballot, according to a spokeswoman for her campaign.
She faces Lt. Gov. Bill Halter (D). Polls close at 8:30 p.m. EST.
Twelve states are voting Tuesday — here's a quick cheat sheet for when polls close and what races to watch:
7 p.m. EST: The first round of polls closes, with races being decided in Georgia, South Carolina and Virginia.
Georgia will decide which Republican it will send to Congress in the special election to replace Rep. Nathan Deal (R-Ga.), who has resigned to run for governor. Former state Rep. Tom Graves and state Sen. Lee Hawkins advanced to Tuesday's runoff after last month's election failed to produce a majority-candidate. It's no surprise Republicans will hold on to this district, one of the most conservative in the country.
In South Carolina, all eyes will be on the governor's race, where state Rep. Nikki Haley is fighting for the Republican nomination. She's the favorite in the race and has the support of both Sarah Palin and Jenny Sanford, but a few weeks ago a conservative blogger alleged he had an extramarital affair with Haley — a charge she denied. A Public Policy poll released Monday had her leading her nearest GOP competitor by 20 points.
In Virginia, Republicans will be waiting to see who wins the nomination to face freshman Rep. Glenn Nye (D-Va.), who is a top GOP target. Scott Rigell is the party favorite but he's been under attack by the Tea Party. It'll be interesting to see if this primary goes the way of GOP primaries in Idaho and Kentucky, where the Republican Party favorite lost to a Tea Party candidate in both races. And seven candidates are vying for the GOP nomination to take on Democratic Rep. Tom Perriello, another leading GOP target.
The Hill's Kris Kitto offers career advice to congressional staffers every week in his column, A Second Opinion. As campaign season heats up, this question is likely to be asked in more than a few offices on Capitol Hill.
Dear A.S.O,
I’ve been asked to "volunteer" for my boss’s campaign "in my free time." I already spend enough of my life at work, but feel obligated to say yes. But then that strikes me as being against some ethics rule. What can I do?
Most Viewed RSS Feed »
