Democrat Ami Bera wants another shot at defeating Rep. Dan Lungren (R-Calif.) in 2012, announcing Wednesday that he will be a candidate again next year. 

In an otherwise dismal year for House Democrats, Bera came within striking distance of the incumbent in the Republican district, and he's likely betting that he'll have an easier time next year given a more favorable turnout forecast for Dems.   

"After a period of honest reflection and consultation with my family and members of the community, I have decided to run again for Congress in 2012," Bera wrote in an e-mail to supporters. "I am running because the issues we care about are no less important today than they were last November, and the dysfunction in Congress is only getting worse." 

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The head of the National Republican Congressional Committee is still doing damage control following reports last month about members being behind on their dues.

NRCC Chairman Pete Sessions (Texas) said he's offered "apologies to several people" on account of their dues information appearing publicly, and took aim at the source of the information. "So whoever thinks they were going to leak falsified information should know that I'm disappointed in their behavior," Sessions said.

From our colleague, Molly K. Hooper's, story: 

The Texas Republican’s face grew red as he told The Hill, “It was inappropriate, whoever got the story in the paper. It was not factually correct and it did not represent the essence of anything that I said. It was a complete fabrication. Why would I release that? I didn’t. I didn’t. I didn’t!” 

Sessions is working to reassure the GOP caucus after several members complained publicly about the dues stories.

Nevada Republican Sharron Angle will continue to court Tea Party activists outside her home state as she makes a run for the House.

Angle became a national figure last year during her race against Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (Nev.), which helped her raise some $28 million for the campaign. With an eye toward maintaining that donor base, Angle is set to appear at a March 24 event billed as "an evening with the Joes."

Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio, Samuel "Joe The Plumber" Wurzelbacher and former Alaska Senate candidate Joe Miller are coming together at a Montara, Calif., fundraiser.

Tickets range from $212 to $2,012. It's unclear if Angle will benefit directly from the event. According to a release, the money raised goes to the Campaign to Defeat Barack Obama, a group organized by the California-based Tea Party Express, which backed Angle in her Senate bid.

Angle announced Wednesday that she is entering the race to succeed Rep. Dean Heller (R-Nev.), who is running for Senate. 

--Updated at 1:10 p.m.

Democrats could reverse the results of the 2010 election in North Carolina and win the state in 2012 thanks to hosting the Democratic National Convention, Sen. Kay Hagan (D-N.C.) said Wednesday night.

“I think that’s going to bode well for North Carolina as a whole and I personally think it's a positive move for the Democrats to have our convention in North Carolina,” Hagan said.

Hagan said that she expected the convention to help boost Democratic candidates’ chances in the Tar Heel State. She said that the national attention North Carolina would get would help Democratic candidates.

If Democrats do win North Carolina cleanly, it would be a reverse of the results in 2010, when incumbent Sen. Richard Burr (R-N.C.) beat Secretary of State Elaine Marshall (D-N.C.) to keep his Senate seat, winning 55 percent of the vote to Marshall's 42. The only incumbent North Carolina member of the House to lose in 2010 was Rep. Bob Etheridge (D), who lost to Republican challenger Renee Ellmers.

In 2008, the year that Hagan won her Senate seat, North Carolina trended toward the Democrats. President Obama won the state’s electoral votes by fewer than 20,000 votes.

As Rep. David Wu (D-Wash.) continues to deal with the political fallout from revelations of erratic behavior on the campaign trail last year and concern over his mental health, new details emerged Wednesday about a 2010 car crash involving the congressman.    

The previously unreported incident could raise additional questions about Wu's judgment. 

In February of last year, Wu crashed into a parked car in Portland and initially asked the owner of the vehicle to not report the incident to police. That request was declined and in a call reporting the incident, a woman said that Wu was driving on the wrong side of the road and that he claimed to have fallen asleep at the wheel.  

"I'm assuming that there was some kind of disability if he was driving on the wrong side of the street," the caller said to a police dispatcher when asked whether she thought Wu was intoxicated. "He says he fell asleep. I don't believe him." 

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At DNC event the president told top donors his administration has kept the promise his 2008 campaign made.

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Former Minnesota Gov. Tim Pawlenty (R) will headline a Tea Party rally in New Hamsphire next month alongside former Sen. Rick Santorum (R-Pa.).  

The "taxpayer Tea Party rally," sponsored by Americans for Prosperity-New Hampshire, will take place at the state house in Concord on April 15.  

Pawlenty is also the third rumored 2012 hopeful to confirm his attendance at an event AFP is billing as a "presidential summit on spending and job creation," according to the group's state director Corey Lewandowski. That event will take place on April 29 and includes a dinner honoring New Hampshire Republican Ovide Lamontagne. 

Santorum and conservative talk host Herman Cain are also slated to attend, but Lewandowski warned potential 2012ers Wednesday that they better RSVP fast, because the event only has room for five rumored contenders. 

The group expects more than 500 people to attend the gathering in late April, making it the biggest crowd at a 2012 event in New Hampshire to this point and the guest list includes scores of key Granite State activists and donors.  

"They should respond quickly," Lewandowski said of other rumored 2012 hopefuls. "Because once we've reached our limitation of five, we won't waver on it." 

Other invited guests include former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney, former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin, former House Speaker Newt Gingrich and former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee.

Oregon Rep. David Wu (D) will resume his reassurance tour when the House recesses next week.

Facing a potential primary challenge, Wu has increasingly sought to reassure Democratic activists that he's still able to serve. The Portland Democrat has been under pressure since it emerged that days before the midterm vote last November he sent staffers a picture of himself wearing a tiger costume and e-mails written in the voices of his children.

Wu announced Wednesday he would hold six public meetings with constituents across the 1st district next week. According to The Oregonian, Wu's announcement indicated he would focus on "the economy and ways to create jobs" and made no mention of his struggle with mental illness -- a sign he's looking to move past his recent public difficulties.

Wu has filed a statement of organization with the Federal Election Commission and he met with activists back in the district last month before returning to Washington for the latest House session.

As Wu has been making the rounds, some activists have begun floating the names of several Democrats who could potentially challenge the congressman, including former labor commissioner Brad Avakian, state Sen. Suzanne Bonamic and former state Attorney General candidate Greg Macpherson.

Whether the seven-term lawmaker gets a challenge may depend, in part, on his next fundraising report. The April quarter deadline is March 31. At the start of the year, Wu reported having only $7,500 in his campaign account and $60,656 in debt.

The House district of Rep. Michele Bachmann (R-Minn.) must shed close to 100,000 voters ahead of 2012, the single biggest change that any of the state's eight Congressional districts will see in this year's redistricting process.  

Minnesota will remain at eight House districts, but detailed Census data for the state just released show that the districts of Bachmann and Rep. John Kline (R-Minn.) must shed substantial numbers of voters. 

It's the scenario that political observers in the state expected from the start given the population estimates, but the release of the detailed data officially sets off a redistricting battle that could mean fewer Republican voters in Bachmann's district and stands to shift her 2010 opponent into a neighboring district.    

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