Self-funding businessman Ned Lamont has lost another bid for public office in Connecticut.
Lamont fell short is his bid for the Democratic nomination for governor Tuesday. Stamford Mayor Dan Malloy bested Lamont easily--58 percent to 42 percent.
Lamont, who defeated then-Democratic Sen. Joe Lieberman in the 2006 Senate Democratic primary but lost to him in the general when Lieberman ran as an independent, opened his wallet big for this race, too.
He spent more than $9 million of his personal funds on the primary. Back in 2006, Lamont spent upwards of $17 million in his race against Lieberman.
Lamont was running on his business credentials, a stark contrast from the fire-breathing anti-war rhetoric he employed in 2006 to win the Senate primary.
On the Republican side, former ambassador Tom Foley defeated Lt. Gov. Michael Fedele, but the race was closer than anticipated a few weeks ago. Foley won with 42 percent of the vote to Fedele's 39 percent.
The former chief of staff to retiring Rep. John Linder (R-Ga.) won the GOP primary runoff Tuesday, securing 55 percent of the vote.
Rob Woodall was declared the winner of the 7th district runoff by the Associated Press. He faced radio host Jody Hice, who come in second in the July primary.
Hice, a former minister, stirred controversy during the race with a billboard campaign referencing President Obama. The billboards asked, "Had enough of Obama's change?" The “c” in the word change was replaced with a hammer and sickle.
Linder officially endorsed Woodall in April.
Support of the Fair Tax turned out to be a major issue in the primary, even though every one of the Republicans running voiced support for it. The candidates squabbled over who was the strongest backer of the tax proposal, which is based on consumption rather than income.
Linder co-authored a book on the Fair Tax with conservative radio host Neal Boortz.
Woodall is expected to retain the seat in November.
Rep. Tom Graves (R-Ga.) won his forth election in three months to secure former Rep. Nathan Deal's (R-Ga.) House seat.
Graves took 56 percent of the vote to 44 for state Sen. Lee Hawkins (R) in the 9th district GOP primary runff. With 193 of 205 precincts reporting, the Associated Press declared him the winner.
Graves won the seat in the special election runoff in June after topping the field in the original vote in May. He then faced a primary to run on the GOP nomination in November. He finished with just shy of the 50 percent needed to win the July 20 primary outright.
Graves has had strong backing from area Tea Party groups and won the endorsement of the Club for Growth.
Deal left his seat in March to focus on his gubernatorial bid.
Graves is expected to hold the heavily-Republican district in November.
"I think I would remember if I kidnapped someone, and I don't remember. And I absolutely deny kidnapping anyone ever," Paul told Fox News's "Your World with Neil Cavuto."
He continued:
"No, I was never involved with kidnapping, no I was never involved with forcibly drugging people. … Do we live in an era where people can come forward anonymously and accuse you of things and then all of a sudden I am supposed to spend the rest of the campaign defending myself against anonymous accusers who say I kidnapped them? The story just borders on ridiculous."
Paul also threatened to sue GQ for publishing the story.
"I think they deserve a lawsuit," he said. "The problem is: In our country, they make it almost impossible for politicians to win anything. … We used to have journalistic ethics in this country. … It's so ridiculous I don’t know where to start."
Rep. Mary Jo Kilroy (D-Ohio) was not enamored with Rep. Charles Rangel's (D-N.Y.) lengthy speech on the floor of the House Tuesday defending himself against allegations of corruption from the House ethics committee.
Kilroy is one of nearly a dozen Democratic House members to call on Rangel to resign his seat in Congress in light of the charges. Most of those calls have been from Democrats such as Kilroy who face tough Republican challenges this fall.
"I think he deserves a date before the ethics committee," Kilroy said. "To the extent it took him an hour to say that…"
Rangel spoke for just over 31 minutes Tuesday, but for the Democrats Rangel chastised for calling on him to resign, it probably felt like an hour.
"You're not going to tell me to resign to make you comfortable," Rangel said. He defiantly vowed to remain in office, practically daring the House to expel him.
"I am not going away," Rangel said. "I am here."
Kilroy said while Rangel is entitled to fight, "He doesn't see it the way we do in Ohio."
Senate candidate Joe Sestak (D-Pa.) missed his own campaign rally, featuring former President Clinton, in order to vote for a state-aid bill in the House.
Sestak, a two-term lawmaker, was in D.C. for the vote, instead of at the campaign rally in Scranton, reports NBC's First Read.
The rally with Clinton was scheduled last week, before Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) recalled lawmakers to Washington to vote on a $26 aid package to states. The Senate passed the bill last week, which provides $16 billion in Medicaid funding and $10 billion to prevent teacher layoffs.
Sestak taped a message for the crowd in Scranton, and then Clinton, along with Sestak's wife and daughter, took the stage.
Sestak faces a tough general election campaign against Republican Pat Toomey. Sestak became the party's nominee after defeating Sen. Arlen Specter (D-Pa.) in the May primary.
Louisiana Senate candidate Charlie Melancon (D) spent a modest amount on his first TV ad, which started airing Tuesday.
The ad is mostly introductory, but it slams Sen. David Vitter (R-La.) for being dishonest.
"I'm Charlie Melancon, and I approved this message because David Vitter hasn't been honest with Louisiana," the congressman says in the ad.
It's a $115,000 ad buy -- with two-thirds going toward broadcast TV -- that will air through Aug. 16, according to a Republican strategist who tracks Democratic ad buys. The ad isn't running in the Democratic stronghold of New Orleans or in Baton Rouge.
The ad also emphasizes Melancon's willingness to work with the GOP.
"I'm a pro-life, pro-gun Louisiana Democrat," he says in the 30-second spot. "I've been a businessman most of my life. And my philosophy is simple. When it comes to fixin' this economy and protectin' your family, I'll work with anyone, if it's the right thing to do for Louisiana."
Democratic Arizona Reps. Gabrielle Giffords and Ann Kirkpatrick both called Tuesday on the Senate to interrupt its summer recess to pass a bill that approves another $600 million for border security.
Both members are likely to face tough Republican opponents this fall and have been grappling with immigration and border-security issues in their districts.
On the House floor Tuesday, Giffords said residents in her district "are sick and tired of all the partisan bickering and political games around securing the U.S.-Mexican border."
Giffords assailed the Senate for not acting on the issue saying, "The senate needs to come back and deal with this issue."
Her likely Republican opponent, state Sen. Jonathan Paton, has made immigration the top issue of his campaign and has labeled Giffords soft on enforcement. Giffords has countered with an intense focus on border security.
In a statement Tuesday, Rep. Kirkpatrick echoed Giffords's call, noting that the House rushed back into session this week to pass a $26 billion state aid proposal.
“Senators need to follow our lead, return to Washington and take fast action to help secure the border," Kirkpatrick said. "This process has been much slower than it should have been, and we should not have to wait until September to strengthen our security — we must start putting more manpower and resources in action now."
The Senate must take up the bill again when it returns from the August recess.
West Virginia Senate candidate John Raese (R) has hired long-time GOP strategist Jim Dornan as his campaign manager.
"With just 19 days until the Republican primary and less than three months to the general election, I needed someone who can hit the ground running. Jim is that person," Raese said in a statement.
Dornan has managed campaigns for former Reps. J.C. Watts (R-Okla.) and George Nethercutt (R-Wash.), as well as the infamous Senate campaign of former Florida Rep. Katherine Harris (R).
He also has Capitol Hill experience, having worked for six members during the course of his career.
Raese made it clear he plans to run a campaign on national issues.
"This campaign will be about who will go to the Senate and stop the radical Obama agenda of the government running everything," he said.
He's up against Gov. Joe Manchin (D) in the race to fill the remainder of the late Sen. Robert Byrd's (D) term. A recent Rasmussen poll has Manchin ahead of Raese 51 percent to 35 percent.
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