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?
Sen. Blanche Lincoln (D-Ark.) will make sure she gets at least one vote Tuesday when she casts her ballot in Little Rock, the Tea Party vote may splinter in Nevada and Illinois Senate candidate Mark Kirk continues to lose friends and alienate people.
Will the unity rally get canceled?
Twelve states vote Tuesday, but attention will be focused on Arkansas, where the Senate runoff between Lincoln and Lt. Gov. Bill Halter (D) will be settled.
To avoid any confusion, Lincoln will vote "in person" at her polling place in Little Rock with a traditional ballot, according to a spokeswoman for her campaign.
Her vote may be one of the few she gets from a female Arkansan, reports the Christian Science Monitor. Arkansas Democrat Nancy Baker tells the paper: Lincoln "has forgotten the Democratic party. We refer to her as the plantation princess. She's gone completely to the right."
Lincoln's centrist credentials may help her in a general election against Rep. John Boozman (R-Ark.). But she's first going to have to defeat Halter, champion of the fired-up progressive wing of her party. And that victory may sap the energy of the Arkansas Democratic Party.
And then there were two
Sources tell the Ballot Box that Republican Senate candidate Sharron Angle is all but assured of capturing an Election Day victory Tuesday. But in order for her to secure the nomination, she'll need to run up big margins in rural Nevada, home to much of her Tea Party base. If she can do that, it will offset the vote totals that former state Sen. Sue Lowden (R) and Las Vegas businessman Danny Tarkanian (R) will rack up in Clark County.
But late Monday the Tea Party Nation, a national umbrella group for the movement, sent an e-mail to supporters saying that Angle was "not the only conservative" in the race.
The group said Tarkanian "is every bit a conservative and constitutional patriot." If Tarkanian can siphon Tea Party votes from Angle, it may give Lowden a path to victory.
Enviros give Kirk the red light
The Sierra Club and the League of Conservation Voters are expected to announce Tuesday they've decided to endorse Democrat Alexi Giannoulias in the Illinois Senate race.
Environmental groups passing over a Republican to endorse a Democrat isn't typically big news, but this is significant because both groups have in the past endorsed Kirk. The issue this time: cap-and-trade.
Kirk voted for the House cap-and-trade bill last June, but has since moved away from supporting the legislation. "We can no longer depend on how he is going to vote," Tony Massaro, a spokesman for the League of Conservation Voters, told the Chicago Sun-Times.
The new front-runner in Nevada's GOP Senate primary faces questions about where she taught school, former Rep. Tom Campbell's (R) electability argument takes a hit in California and Democrats are set for "Palin’s primaries" on Tuesday.
Getting schooled in Nevada
Republican Sue Lowden was expected to cruise to her party's Senate nomination in Nevada, but 24 hours before the polls open, a Mason-Dixon survey for the Las Vegas Review-Journal shows the former state senator nine points behind. Instead, it's former State Assemblywoman Sharron Angle who's poised to clinch the nod. The Mason-Dixon poll did, however, have 13 percent of respondents as undecided.
With that in mind, the Lowden camp has been trying to poke holes in Angle's bio. It recently tried to discredit her claim she was a teacher at a one-room Christian school in Winnemucca, Nev.
Angle said she taught there from 1983-84, but the Lowden camp has called those "The Missing Winnemucca Years." Meanwhile, the Las Vegas Review-Journalinterviewed Glenda Haley, who remembered working with Angle.
Not buying it
Former Hewlett-Packard CEO Carly Fiorina leads Campbell by 15 points and also has the better chance of beating Sen. Barbara Boxer (D-Calif.), according to the final Field Poll before Tuesday's vote.
Fiorina has the support of 37 percent of GOP primary voters, with 22 percent backing Campbell. State Assemblyman Chuck DeVore came in third with 19 percent support. Notably, there were 20 percent who remain undecided.
Moreover, 42 percent of GOP respondents said Fiorina was the best bet for defeating Boxer in November, which undercuts Campbell's main argument.
He'd recently been pointing to his performance against Boxer in a USC-Los Angeles Timespoll as the best reason for him to be the GOP nominee. Palin for Congress
The Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee is dubbing Tuesday's primaries in Virginia's 2nd, 5th and 11th districts "Palin’s primaries." It's their way of saying these are races where establishment Republicans are embroiled in contests with upstart, grassroots challengers. They've put up a website for anyone interested.
But The Daily Caller's Alex Pappas makes the point that despite some recent losses for Palin-backed candidates, she could get "her groove back" if her "mama grizzlies" win Tuesday. She's backed Fiorina in California and Republican Nikki Haley to win her party's gubernatorial nod in South Carolina, among others. Haley has a large lead in the latest Public Policy Polling survey.
New polls show a top Nevada Republican trailing in her party's Senate primary, Sen. Blanche Lincoln (D-Ark.) closes with Bill Clinton ahead of Tuesday’s runoff and Sarah Palin endorses former Gov. Terry Branstad (R) via — what else? — Facebook.
Tea party for one
Former state Assemblywoman Sharron Angle leads the GOP field in two recent polls. In a Suffolk University survey out Thursday, Angle garnered 33 percent support while Las Vegas businessman Danny Tarkanian got 26 percent and former state Sen. Sue Lowden got 25 percent.
In a recent Daily Kos/Research 2000 poll, Angle’s lead was a point higher, with Lowden in second with 25 percent and Tarkanian in third with 24 percent.
The Lowden camp remains upbeat.
"According to the most recent internal exit polling, our get-out-the-vote efforts are paying off," Robert Uithoven, Lowden's campaign manager, wrote to supporters. "People are truly starting to think about November as they head to the polls."
The primary vote is June 8.
Closing time
Lincoln's campaign released a TV ad Friday that features former President Bill Clinton defending the incumbent senator at a rally in Little Rock last week. In the footage, Clinton is seen talking about how unions wanted to make Lincoln the "poster child" for when a Democrat crosses them.
"This is about using you and manipulating your votes," Clinton says in the ad (watch it below).
Meanwhile, Lincoln continues to travel around the state on what she’s calling her "countdown to victory tour."
Terry gets a friend request from Sarah
Palin posted a brief note on her Facebook page Thursday expressing support for the former governor ahead of Tuesday’s gubernatorial primary. "Please join me in supporting Governor Branstad’s campaign," Palin wrote.
The Branstad camp trumpeted the backing later in the day.
"This latest endorsement further demonstrates the broad base of support that Gov. Branstad continues to build in his campaign for governor," said a spokesman for Branstad.
No word yet on whether the two will campaign together.
Colorado Senate candidate Andrew Romanoff (D) hasn’t bolstered his outsider credentials by confirming the White House “suggested three positions” he might be qualified for, South Carolina Republican Nikki Haley faces more accusations of infidelity, and a record number of candidates are taking the field this cycle.
E-mail me the details
Romanoff confirmed Wednesday what the Denver Postreported last fall: that the White House contacted him in September about possibly taking a job in the administration. He was preparing to challenge Sen. Michael Bennet (D-Colo.) at the time and subsequently decided not to pursue a position.
Rep. Joe Sestak (D-Pa.) made a similar claim in February, which may have helped solidify his outside-the-establishment bona fides in the minds of some Pennsylvania Democratic primary voters. In Colorado, however, Democrats are looking at Romanoff as just another administration job-seeker (he even applied online, like countless field organizers).
Some Colorado Democrats said Romanoff's account ignores the fact the former Colorado House speaker had been seeking jobs at the same agency, elsewhere in the Obama administration, and in Denver for much of 2009.
One Colorado Democratic leader said Romanoff had encouraged people to show his résumé to the State Department and USAID specifically, earlier in 2009.
Romanoff frustrated many state Democratic leaders with half-hearted pursuits of public and private jobs while still flirting, over their objections, with a primary challenge of Bennet. Romanoff was also considered for the vacant Colorado secretary of state position in late 2009, and to be Gov. Bill Ritter's lieutenant governor if Barbara O'Brien stepped down.
The story may wind up hurting Romanoff's chances of defeating Bennet in their August primary.
An affair to remember
Haley is now the front-runner in the race for the Republican gubernatorial nomination, and with less than a week before the vote, her opponents are trying to slime her, or so she says. On Wednesday, Haley accused Lt. Gov. Andre Bauer, her primary rival, of raising new questions about her marital fidelity in an effort to undermine her campaign, according to The State.
With the announced closure of the Guantanamo Bay terrorist
detention center stalled, a group of retired military leaders is trying to
inject the issue into the midterm election campaign.
Thirteen retired generals and Navy admirals plan to meet
with congressional candidates in Pennsylvania and Delaware on Thursday, hoping
to build support for shuttering the Guantanamo prison and trying its prisoners
in civilian courts.
Supporters of trying suspected terrorists in civilian courts
have suffered several setbacks in the first 16 months of the Obama
administration, most notably when its plan to try alleged 9/11 master Khalid
Sheikh Mohammed in a federal court in Manhattan ran into a wall of opposition
from political leaders in New York.
The group of military leaders, convened by Human
Rights First, acknowledges it faces an uphill battle in turning the political
tide.
“We have, to some extent, succumbed to the politics of fear,”
said Rear Adm. John Hutson, a former Navy Judge Advocate General who
appeared at the White House in January 2009 when President Barack Obama signed
an executive order ordering the closure of the Guantanamo prison.
“That’s no reason to just throw in the towel and stop the
campaign,” Hutson said.
Voting is under way in competitive primaries in Alabama, Mississippi and New Mexico, it seems New York Democrats have a burn book for Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand (D-N.Y.), and former Iowa Gov. Terry Branstad (R) may not get a coronation after all.
Who can it be now?
In Mississippi most attention will be on the first district House primary where Republicans Angela McGlowan, Henry Ross and Alan Nunnelee are vying to take on Rep. Travis Childers (D-Miss.). The primary left a bad taste in Republicans' mouths last cycle, but this time officials are hopeful the base will unite after Tuesday.
In Alabama, Rep. Artur Davis (D-Ala.) is bidding to become to the first African-American governor. He faces state Agriculture Commissioner Ron Sparks in the Democratic primary, but whoever emerges from the crowded GOP primary is favored to win the governorship.
On the House side, Rep. Parker Griffith (R-Ala.), once a member of the Democratic party, faces Republican primary voters for the first time. He's up against Republicans Mo Brooks and Les Phillip for the nod.
Meanwhile, freshman Rep. Bobby Bright (D-Ala.) will find out whether he'll face a Tea Party candidate in November. Marine veteran Rick Barber (R) had claimed that mantle but primary rival Martha Roby has establishment support and a financial advantage.
In New Mexico, former Rep. Steve Pearce (R-N.M.) is expected to brush past farmer Cliff Pirtle (R) and earn the chance to challenge Rep. Harry Teague (D-N.M.).
Republicans have five choices for governor in the state, which include Susana Martinez, Allen Weh, Doug Turner, Janice Arnold-Jones and Pete Domenici Jr., the son of the former New Mexico senator.
The winner of the GOP nod will face Lt. Gov. Diane Denish (D), who doesn't face a primary challenge. Gov. Bill Richardson (D) is term limited.
While Rep. Carolyn Maloney (D-N.Y.) toyed with challenging Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand (D-N.Y.) in the primary last year, her campaign developed an "oppo book" on the appointed senator, according to the New York Daily News. After the congresswoman dropped the idea of a challenge and former Rep. Harold Ford Jr. (D-Tenn.) "took up the cause," Maloney apparently gave him the book. Ford ultimately decided to forgo a run.
The Daily News reported that Maloney's campaign spokeswoman, Alix Anfang, didn't deny the story, but noted: "Congresswoman Maloney fully supports Senator Gillibrand. She has been a remarkable leader, fighter and a strong partner on the 9/11 Health and Compensation Act, which they have co-sponsored."
On Tuesday, however, Anfang told The Ballot Box the paper's story is incorrect. "We did not have an oppo book at all," Anfang said. "And nothing was given." The campaign has asked for a correction to the Daily News story, she added.
A source close to Ford also denied an "oppo book" was ever exchanged. "Maybe she put it in the mail. We never got it," the source said.
Iowa surprise?
With only a week to go before the Iowa gubernatorial primary, businessman Bob Vander Plaats is starting to catch up to former Gov. Terry Branstad (R). Vander Plaats had 31 percent support in a new Public Policy Polling survey released Tuesday, while Branstad currently stands at a "surprisingly low" 46 percent. Republican Rod Roberts rounds out the field at 13 percent.
California Republicans could be setting a new record for spending, White House jobs are an issue in Colorado, and with Vito Fossella out of the picture, the race for the GOP nod to take on Rep. Mike McMahon (D-N.Y.) appears all wrapped up.
Going on a spender in California
California Republican Steve Poizner spent more than $17 million on his gubernatorial effort between March 18 and May 22, according to his pre-primary financial report.
Poizner had only $3 million cash on hand as of May 22 after spending some $24 million from his own fortune. His GOP rival for the nod, former eBay CEO Meg Whitman, has yet to release her numbers.
Democratic gubernatorial candidate Jerry Brown only spent about $320,000 through May 22. But Brown has a whopping $20.6 million in cash on hand and doesn't face major competition in the June 8 primary.
Meanwhile in the GOP Senate race, former Rep. Tom Campbell (R-Calif.) has a cash-on-hand edge over Republican rival Carly Fiorina. He's got $975,271 in the bank compared with her $620,460 ahead of their June 8 primary. State Assemblyman Chuck DeVore has $276,614 left to spend.
What works in Pennsylvania...
The Colorado Democratic Senate primary has its own story of White House job-offer intrigue.
Last September, the Denver Post reported that former state House Speaker Andrew Romanoff was told a job "might be found" in the executive branch for him if he dropped his challenge to Sen. Michael Bennet (D-Colo.). Romanoff stayed in the race and now the GOP is trying to use the reported offer against him the same way the Pennsylvania GOP is hitting Rep. Joe Sestak (D-Pa.) on the issue.
"It's reprehensible to have an administration, especially the one that has set itself up as the paragon of ethical virtue, to run around trying to buy off candidates to get out of these competitive primaries," said Colorado Republican Party chairman Dick Wadhams. "Buying them off with taxpayer-funded jobs. It's reprehensible, it shouldn't happen, and it's clear we now have two very clear examples of where the administration attempted to do that."
Romanoff today declined to comment on the issue.
The man who united Brooklyn and Staten Island
Republican House candidate Michael Allegretti got the backing of the Staten Island Republican Party Thursday night, although the win was marred by the withdrawal of his GOP rival.
Former FBI agent Michael Grimm took his name out of consideration and blasted the endorsement process. "The charade is not one in which I want to be a part of," he said. Grimm is expected to continue running as an outsider candidate.
The Staten Island GOP's executive committee had endorsed Fossella last week, but he announced on Wednesday he wouldn't run.
Allegretti now has the Brooklyn and Staten Island Republican Party endorsements. Rep. Mike McMahon (D-N.Y.) released a statement Thursdaty night that reaffirmed his plan to be reelected but it didn't mention Allegretti by name.
Sen. Blanche Lincoln (D-Ark.) issues an "ultimatum" to Lt. Gov. Bill Halter (D), Washington state Republican Dino Rossi's entrance into the GOP Senate primary doesn't clear the field and Newt Gingrich is still putting his money on a Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio).
Lincoln: Come clean, Bill
Lincoln's refusal to support the Employee Free Choice Act (EFCA) was one of the issues that prompted labor groups to back Halter's primary bid. "My stand on this legislation is the reason D.C. unions are in Arkansas spending nearly $10 million attacking me and misrepresenting my record," Lincoln said in a statement Wednesday.
Before she agrees to another debate with Halter before the June 8 runoff, Lincoln wants her opponent to say definitively whether he supports the legislation. "Arkansans know my record, and they deserve to know where Bill stands. If we are going to debate the issues, we both have to be willing to take a stand on the issues," she said.
The Halter camp called the tactic "typical Washington hypocrisy."
Halter spokesman Garry Hoffmann: "This is exactly why we need to have a debate and exactly why she’s trying to avoid one."
Everyone's accounted for
At least five active Washington state GOP Senate candidates said they'll stick in the race after Rossi's entry, including former NFL player Clint Didier (R).
In fact, shortly after Rossi's Web rollout, the Sarah Palin-backed Didier hit him for being a party insider. Voters will now have a choice between a "GOP established candidate or a citizen statesman who is a part of the grassroots movement," Didier said in a statement published by the Spokane Spokesman-Review.
One candidate decided to get out. Ed Torres (R), a general superintendent for a plumbing firm, said he would put his support behind Rossi.
What are the odds?
Gingrich told reporters in Des Moines on Wednesday that Republicans still have a "great chance" to regain control of the House.
"I think the odds are at least even money that you're going to get John Boehner as Speaker," Gingrich said, according to the Des Moines Register. "The Democrats are going to run this fall with the worst unemployment record since the Great Depression, they're going to run this fall having failed in the Gulf, having failed to control the border, having failed to stop Iran and having failed to keep spending under control."
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