Senate races

Republican California Senate candidate Carly Fiorina said Sunday she regretted comments she'd made mocking incumbent Sen. Barbara Boxer's haircut but stopped short of apologizing.

"God, what is that... so yesterday," she was caught saying on an open microphone during a Sacramento TV appearance Wednesday.

Fiorina, on "Fox News Sunday," also defended her tenure as CEO of Hewlett Packard, during which 30,000 American workers were laid off, saying she ran the company during the worst technology slump in 25 years.

Asked about whether she would tack to the center on issues such as abortion now that the primary's over, Fiorina said she wouldn't change who she was on social issues but that the election would be fought over jobs and the economy.

And she did not back off from her controversial statement that people on the federal no-fly list should not be denied the right to buy guns, saying the list is much too broad and people shouldn't have their rights curtailed because of "government incompetence."

Alvin Greene, a 32-year-old unemployed veteran, says he spent less than $12,500 on his primary campaign.

Gov. Charlie Crist (R) vetoed a controversial abortion bill Friday, prompting an outcry from his opponents in Florida's Senate campaign.

The legislation, known as HB 1143, would have required women seeking an abortion during their first trimester to have an ultrasound and cover the cost themselves.

Crist said it placed an undue burden on women seeking an abortion, according to the Associated Press.

Crist's veto is the latest chapter in what's become a running feud with the Republican-controlled Legislature.

Crist's opponents in the Senate race were quick to react.

Republican Marco Rubio said Crist's decision "clears the way for taxpayer funding of abortion in Florida."

"Once again, Charlie Crist has put politics ahead of principled policy-making," he said in statement. "Not only would this commonsense measure have provided women with vital information as they make a critical decision, but now Governor Crist’s veto also clears the way for taxpayer funding of abortion in Florida."

Democrat Kendrick Meek called the decision a "no-brainer" but pointed out Crist's not necessarily pro-choice.

"The governor can never escape his anti-choice past however hard he tries to run away from it," he said in a statement.

Meek's rival for the Democratic nod, real estate mogul Jeff Greene, had a similar reaction. "The fact that Charlie Crist even had to think about whether or not to veto this bill is just more evidence that Crist is a flip-flopper," he said in a statement.  

Bennet can't remember how he was made aware, but knew the White House contacted Romanoff.

The White House is fighting back against Rep. Mark Kirk's (R-Ill.) allegation that the administration leaked information about Kirk's military record.

Kirk made the accusation with "no evidence," the Chicago Sun-Times reports, and White House adviser David Axelrod said Thursday is not true.

"Obviously, Congressman Kirk has some problems that are of his creation, and he can't download them on us," Axelrod told the paper. "I assure you that everyone here has plenty to do. No one is trafficking in revelatory records about him."

Kirk, who's running for President Barack Obama's former Senate seat, has been damaged by a series of revelations about his military career.

The White House has come under fire for involvement in other Senate races, including allegations it made job offers to candidates in Pennsylvania and Colorado to encourage them not to run. Administration officials also got involved in the New York Senate race, helping to clear the primary field for Sen. Kristen Gillibrand (D-N.Y.)

The Kirk campaign told the paper they will file a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) for all correspondence between "administration officials and Democratic campaigns or political operative regarding Mr. Kirk's personal military records."

The White House isn't covered by FOIA and neither are the campaign committees, the Sun-Times points out.

The latest poll on the race, released Wednesday, shows it's a close one. Kirk leads Democrat Alexi Giannoulias by three points, according to Rasmussen Reports.

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) is confident voters will reelect him after learning of the "distinct difference" he has with Tea Party-backed challenger Sharron Angle (R).



"I think there's a distinct difference between her and me," Reid told The Ballot Box in one of his few comments about his reelection race since Angle won Tuesday's GOP primary in the Silver State. Asked to elaborate, Reid demurred.

But spokesman Jon Summers did not; he rattled off a list of "clear" policy differences. 



New Hampshire Senate candidate Kelly Ayotte has a new TV spot that hits on government spending. In the 30-second ad released Friday, Ayotte calls herself "a fiscal conservative who will cut spending."

Ayotte, a former attorney general, recently agreed to testify before a "legislative committee reviewing the state's securities and investments regulatory structure in the wake of the Financial Resources Mortgage scandal," according to the New Hampshire Union Leader.

Ayotte's expected Democratic opponent, Rep. Paul Hodes (D-N.H.), is hoping her testimony next week becomes campaign fodder. Ayotte is the front-runner for the GOP Senate nod.

The Pennsylvania Republican Party is bringing in some artillery to blast Rep. Joe Sestak (D-Pa.).

Rep. Darrell Issa (R-Calif.) will give the keynote address at the party's summer meeting Friday in Hershey, Pa.

Issa, the ranking Republican on the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee, has been doggedly calling for investigations into alleged White House jobs offer to Democratic Senate candidates.

The issue has died somewhat in Pennsylvania since the White House released its memo on the subject, but the state's GOP hopes to keep it alive so as to help its Senate nominee, former Rep. Pat Toomey (R-Pa.).

In a preview of his remarks, Issa also mentions Colorado Senate candidate Andrew Romanoff. Romanoff is another Democratic challenger the White House is alleged to have tried to lure out of a primary using the bait of an administration job.

"After pledging to change the business-as-usual culture of Washington during his campaign, the Sestak-Romanoff controversies have lifted a veil on this presidency that has revealed a Chicago-style politicking that is the antithesis of what candidate Obama campaigned on," the Californian said in a statement.

"For all the talk — and that's what it is: talk — of transparency and accountability that this administration likes to engage in, we still have yet to see this president address the American people directly on if he supports what his White House is doing and if not, what will he do about it?"

Nevada Senate candidate Sharron Angle (R) spent Thursday doing a round of conservative talk radio interviews.

She was heard on Rush Limbaugh's show and also spoke with conservative talkers Lars Larson and Heidi Harris.

But Angle has been dodging reporters from traditional news outlets since winning a resounding victory in Tuesday's primary.

Her lack of availability following her big win prompted Las Vegas TV reporters to stake out her campaign headquarters Wednesday.

A crew from KLAS-TV got a couple of questions in before Angle was whisked away by her staff.

Asked what she was doing to reorganize her campaign to prepare for "massive national attention," Angle smiled.

"You want me to tell you my strategy?" she said, bursting out laughing. "You're so interested in that, but these guys right here are so interested in my job and my home."

She left promptly afterward for Reno.

Angle was more accessible to a conservative talk radio host.

Colorado Senate candidate Jane Norton could become the latest Republican to lose a primary to an upstart, Tea Party-backed challenger.