Senate races

Rep. Joe Sestak (D-Pa.) went up Tuesday with his first TV ad of the Senate primary campaign.

The minute-long spot doesn't attack his rival, Sen. Arlen Specter (D-Pa.), directly but instead focuses on his biography and his support for healthcare reform.

The ad opens with the implication that Sestak is the only real Democrat in the race. It closes with him saying, "If we want real change in Washington, we can't keep sending the same career politicians to represent us."

The ad is airing "throughout" the state and was produced by The Campaign Group, according to a Sestak spokesman. Specter launched three TV spots last week. [Update: Specter is also up with a new attack ad hitting Sestak as "no-show Joe" and saying he was "relieved of duty" in the Navy.]

Here's the script of Sestak's ad:

Announcer: "Meet Joe Sestak, he's the Democrat running against Arlen Specter. Sestak has been called Pennsylvania's most effective new congressman. But he's not a career politician. Sestak served in the Navy for 31 years and became a three-star admiral. He commanded an aircraft carrier battlegroup in Afghanistan and served in President Clinton’s White House. Democrat Joe Sestak."

Sestak: "Five years ago, my daughter was diagnosed with a brain tumor. We had great healthcare and my daughter made a full recovery. But the experience changed my life. I decided to run for congress because every American deserves the healthcare I got from the Navy. When I got to Washington, I found that too many politicians are more concerned about keeping their jobs instead of serving the public, instead of helping people. If we want real change in Washington, we can't keep sending the same career politicians to represent us. I'm Joe Sestak. And I authorize this message because it's time for a new generation of leadership."

Watch the video after the jump.

Gov. Charlie Crist said he'll stay in Florida's Senate race -- but didn't say it would be as a Republican.

An international investigation is underway into whether Hewlett-Packard executives paid million in bribes to win lucrative overseas contracts. The alleged illicit activities are reported to have taken place while Carly Fiorina (R), now a California Senate candidate, was CEO.

Fiorina has made her business acumen central to her campaign. If the investigation remains in the news, it could cause problems for her bid to challenge Sen. Barbara Boxer (D-Calif.).

She denied any knowledge of the alleged misdeeds, but one of her primary opponents is claiming she must've known what was happening.

"I had no knowledge of any of these allegations," Fiorina told Northern California radio station KQED-FM on Friday. "I certainly welcome, as I'm sure the company does, I welcome the government's investigation. I mean, these are serious allegations. I have a long track record of firing people who are engaged in illegal or unethical behavior. And certainly had this occurred and I had been aware of it, I would have done the same."

State Assemblyman Chuck DeVore (R) told the Los Angeles Times he was skeptical of Fiorina's explanation.



"When confronted with this news, Fiorina will do what she always does: deny knowledge despite having been a famously micromanaging and bottom-line-oriented CEO," DeVore said.

He added, "Now that she aspires to constitutional high office, she owes Californians -- and herself -- something more. It's the one thing we have yet to see when she addresses her rocky and increasingly questionable corporate past: honesty."

Sen. Jim DeMint (R-S.C.) said he likes the former senator but that "we need new faces here."

Sen. McCain said he won't support Florida Gov. Crist in his Senate race if he runs as an Independent.

An ethics watchdog group is preparing to file a complaint against a major donor to Sen. David Vitter’s (R-La.) campaign.

Nevada Senate candidate Sue Lowden (R) sought to capitalize on an obscure anniversary Monday.

Her campaign noted April 19 marked the three-year anniversary of Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (Nev.) declaring the Iraq war "lost."

Lowden, one of the leading contenders for the GOP nomination, said Reid "turned his back on U.S. soldiers."

"If Harry Reid had his way over the Commander in Chief and the commanders in the war zone, we would have withdrawn from Iraq in defeat and the region would be a much different place today,” she said in a statement.
 
The Reid camp was quick to point out that the four-term Democrat was saying there was no military solution to the conflict, an opinion many others shared at the time. "As long as we follow the President's path in Iraq, the war is lost," Reid said on the Senate floor three years ago. "But there is still a chance to change course -- and we must change course. No one wants us to succeed in the Middle East more than I do. Our brave men and women overseas have passed every test with flying colors. They have earned our pride and praise, more importantly, they deserve a strategy worthy of their sacrifice."
 
His campaign shot back at Lowden with its own attack, accusing her of supporting "a special burial tax for Nevada veterans."
 
"Sen. Reid has long been recognized as a champion for the needs of Nevada's troops and our veterans and it's disgraceful that someone who supports a death tax on veterans and opposes millions in funding for VA healthcare right here in Nevada has chosen to make this a campaign issue," Kelly Steele, a spokesman for the Reid campaign, said in a statement.
 
Meanwhile, the Iraq war re-entered the headlines Monday. Vice President Joe Biden announced the killing of two top leaders of al Qaeda Iraq, crediting Iraqi Security Forces supported by American troops with the successful operation.

The National Republican Senatorial Committee now believes there's "zero chance" Florida Gov. Charlie Crist (R) will stay in the GOP Senate primary. It's calling on his supporters to urge him to "drop out of the race and wait for another day."

"We have communicated this message indirectly and would have given it to the Governor directly had he returned Senator Cornyn’s phone call," Rob Jesmer, the committee's executive director wrote in an email that the committee leaked Monday. "If any of you have influence with Governor Crist, we hope you will call his campaign and encourage him to do the right thing."

The committee will throw its full backing behind former state House Speaker Marco Rubio (R) if Crist launches an independent bid. "[I]f the Governor decides to run independent, regardless of any public commitments he makes regarding organization, we will support Marco Rubio in any way possible," Jesmer said.

NRO's Rich Lowry makes the case for why Florida Gov. Charlie Crist (R) shouldn't run for Senate as an independent.

It's all about "liv[ing] to fight another day," according to Lowry, who's supporting former Florida House Speaker Marco Rubio (R).

St. Petersburg Times's Adam Smith boils down Lowry's argument into five points: 

_{1. It would reinforce the image of Crist having no principles. 2. He'd lose GOP support. 3. He couldn't raise money. 4. Donors would demand money back. 5. He'd probably lose any way.}

Crist has until noon on April 30 to decide.

Ohio Secretary of State Jennifer Brunner (D) has accused her Democratic primary opponent of intimidating donors and officials so as to discourage them from supporting her Senate campaign. To make the point in a recent interview with the Columbus Dispatch, she likened herself to figure skater Nancy Kerrigan and Lt. Gov. Lee Fisher (D) to Kerrigan's infamous rival, Tonya Harding. 

From the Columbus Dispatch:

_{Fisher has attracted support from influential Democrats, most notably Gov. Ted Strickland and U.S. Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid. Brunner has accused Fisher and his supporters of heavy-handed tactics to thwart Democrats from endorsing her or contributing money to her campaign.}

_{"If you're running a footrace, you can just run faster and run like the wind because you're better conditioned and you're a better athlete, or you can do the, you know, the Tonya Harding-Nancy Kerrigan thing ... have somebody go in and beat 'em up or elbow or kick 'em," Brunner said, a reference to the infamous attack arranged by Harding against Kerrigan before their figure-skating competition at the 1994 Winter Olympics.}

_{Fisher denies such allegations, challenging Brunner to provide proof. She replies that people afraid to contribute to her won't admit being intimidated.}