The number of Americans identifying themselves as conservative or very conservative stands at 42 percent according to new Gallup numbers.
That's compared to 35 percent who describes themselves as moderate and 20 percent who describe themselves as liberal. The results are based on eight Gallup surveys conducted during the past six months.
According to Gallup's Lydia Saad: "The 42% identifying as conservative represents a continuation of the slight but statistically significant edge conservatives achieved over moderates in 2009. Should that figure hold for all of 2010, it would represent the highest annual percentage identifying as conservative in Gallup's history of measuring ideology with this wording, dating to 1992."
Gallup also found that self-identified independents are slightly more likely to label themselves moderate than conservative — 41 percent to 36 percent. Just 19 percent of independents consider themselves liberal.
Some House members may have angered business groups by voting for the Disclose Act on Thursday.
Three members who received campaign donations this cycle from the Chamber of Commerce's PAC voted for the bill, which passed 219 to 206.
Rep. Mike Castle (R-Del), a co-sponsor of the legislation, along with Reps. Adam Smith (D-Wash.) and Henry Cuellar (D-Texas) voted in favor. The members each have received $1,000 from the Chamber this cycle. Castle is running for Senate in Delaware and observers say his vote will likely help him appeal to some Democrats.
The Chamber and its allies opposed the legislation that will bolster disclosure requirements for corporate and union spending because they believe it puts unconstitutional limits on free speech.
Rep. Brad Ellsworth (D-IN), who the Chamber has spent independent expenditure money supporting with radio ads, also voted for the bill. Strategists told The Ballot Box it may help him hone a pitch as a Washington reformer during his Senate run.
Meanwhile, three other House Democrats who the Chamber has backed financially voted against the bill's passage -- Reps. Walt Minnick (D-Idaho), John Barrow (D-Ga) and Melissa Bean (D-Ill.).
Rep. Dan Boren (D-Okla.), who got the Chamber's endorsement on Wednesday, also voted against the bill.
The measure won just two Republican votes in the House, Castle and Rep. Joseph Cao (La.). The freshman Republican from Louisiana holds one of the most Democratic districts in the country, which likely influenced his decision.
Rep. John Boozman, the GOP Senate nominee in Arkansas, voted against the bill, prompting a rebuke from Democrats. "Congressman Boozman might make the special interests happy with his voting record, but he sure isn’t building any goodwill with Arkansas families," Deirdre Murphy, a spokeswoman for the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee, said in a statement.
The legislation now moves to the Senate, where business groups will have another chance to derail its passage. President Obama urged the upper chamber to "act swiftly" on the bill.
Vice President Joe Biden will make a fundraising stop in Ohio next week on behalf of Democratic Senate candidate Lee Fisher who is locked in a tight race with former Rep. Rob Portman (R) in Ohio's open seat Senate contest.
The Fisher campaign said Biden will campaign and headline a fundraiser for Fisher in Cleveland June 30. "We're excited to have Vice President Biden's support and to be able to work with him to create good-paying jobs in Ohio and re-build our middle class."
The National Republican Congressional Committee is using the news to tie Fisher to the Obama administration. In a statement, NRSC press secretary Amber Marchand said "It's not surprising that President Obama and Vice President Biden want to reward Lee Fisher after he enthusiastically endorsed their failed economic agenda."
The latest poll numbers in the race had Fisher and Portman tied 43-43.
Sarah Palin has weighed into another contested Republican primary — announcing Thursday she's backing Rep. Todd Tiahrt (R) for the Kansas GOP Senate nod.
"Todd is a protector of our Constitution, a pro-family, pro-Second Amendment commonsense conservative who has never voted for a tax increase and has fought to end the wasteful spending coming out of Washington," Palin wrote on her Facebook page Thursday. "He didn't just stand on the sidelines complacently, but instead actually battled against the bailouts, the debt-ridden stimulus spending, the cap-and-tax energy schemes, and Obamacare."
She called on her supporters to help support Tiahrt's campaign. There are currently no plans for Palin to campaign with the eight-term congressman.
"We are very excited about the endorsement, and Todd is certainly open to having Gov. Palin return to Kansas to campaign with him any time," Sam Sackett, a Tiahrt spokesman, said in an e-mail.
Tiahrt faces Rep. Jerry Moran (R-Kan.) in the August primary. Sen. Sam Brownback (R-Kan.) is running for governor.
The former Alaska governor's had some luck picking the winners of recent primaries.
She endorsed gubernatorial candidate Nikki Haley (R) in South Carolina and also backed Tim Scott against Paul Thurmond in the state's 1st congressional district GOP primary.
She'll be in California Friday for a fundraiser at for the 50th anniversary of California State University, Stanislaus.
In Connecticut, Republican Senate candidate and former World Wrestling Entertainment CEO Linda McMahon references her past as head of WWE in a new campaign ad.
"Before I decided to run for the Senate, I had a regular job," McMahon joked in a 60-second spot released by the campaign Thursday. The ad features shots of McMahon inside the ropes at WWE events.
McMahon does not address any of the criticisms that have emerged over her time as CEO. Her role has come under scrutiny in various news reports and has become fodder for her political opponents.
Earlier this week, the widow of former professional wrestler Owen Hart filed a lawsuit against WWE and McMahon. It alleges WWE has used Hart's image without the consent of his family. The McMahon campaign has said it will make no official comment on the suit.
McMahon is facing Connecticut Attorney General Richard Blumenthal in November's general election.
Rep. Carolyn Maloney's (D-N.Y.) primary challenger is hitting her for raising campaign cash from "lobbyists" as the conference committee puts the finishing touches on the Wall Street reform bill.
New York attorney Reshma Saujani (D) released a Web video using a James Taylor song to highlight Maloney's Wednesday night fundraiser as work on the financial reform legislation wraps up.
Maloney was one of at least six Democrats who fundraised at Taylor and Carole King's Troubadour Reunion Tour concert at Washington's Verizon Center on Wednesday.
"The Maloney campaign doesn't see anything wrong with giving lobbyists in-depth face time with the chair of the Joint Economic Committee and a member of the conference committee," the Saujani camp said in a statement.
The Maloney campaign said the fundraiser was organized before the conference committee was scheduled.
"This political attack marks the height of hypocrisy: Our opponent, a former hedge fund employee, is being bankrolled by the financial services industry while Maloney has a consistent record standing up to the special interests," Maloney spokeswoman Alix Anfang said in statement.
"Saujani has failed to gain traction because New Yorkers recognize Maloney's strong record of accomplishments. With no record of her own to run on, our opponent continues to run a desperate campaign."
Saujani's campaign said she doesn't accept money "from the special interest corporate PACs" but records show she has raised tens of thousands from contributors who work on Wall Street.
Democrats in West Virginia are making House Minority Leader John Boehner's (R-Ohio) record on trade an issue in the race for the state's 1st Congressional District.
Boehner will headline a fundraiser for Republican nominee David McKinley this Saturday in Morgantown, W.Va. McKinley faces state Sen. Mike Oliverio (D) in November in the race to fill the seat of Democratic Rep. Alan Mollohan. Oliverio defeated Mollohan in a May primary.
A release blasted out Thursday by state Democrats calls Boehner "a long-time advocate for companies outsourcing jobs including supporting NAFTA and CAFTA."
Outsourcing has already cost the state 17,800 jobs, state party executive director Derek Scarbro said in the release. “John Boehner has been leading the charge to make it easier for companies to send West Virginia jobs to China and India."
The Republicans' House campaign committee enlisted Rep. Michele Bachmann (R-Minn.) to help meet its quarterly fundraising targets.
Bachmann wrote supporters of the National Republican Congressional Committee (NRCC) to ask for donations ahead of the June 30th end-of-quarter deadline.
"In a few weeks, this money will start flowing into targeted districts to attack Republicans and spread phony propaganda against our candidates," Bachmann wrote in the fundraising e-mail. "The NRCC needs your help NOW to make sure Republican House candidates have the resources they need to fight back!
"The NRCC is THE official campaign support organization of Republicans running for Congress, exclusively dedicated to electing enough Republicans to end Nancy Pelosi’s reign as Speaker," she wrote. "No other organization is doing as much to help elect Republicans to Congress!"
Republicans have been looking to stock their campaign accounts before this fall's midterm elections, in which they hope to make inroads into Democrats' majority in the House, if not take control of the chamber for themselves.
Contributing to that effort on Wednesday was House Minority Leader John Boehner (R-Ohio), who pledged $1 million from his own campaign funds to the NRCC.
A beneficiary of those funds might be Bachmann herself. A lightning rod for critics, Bachmann is facing a tough reelection challenge from Democrat Tarryl Clark. Bachmann beat Democrat El Tinklenberg in 2008, 47-43 percent.
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