West Virginia Secretary of State Natalie Tennant will explain the succession process for the late Sen. Robert Byrd's (D-W.Va.) seat during a press conference Monday afternoon, according to her spokesman.

Tennant's office has been consulting with the staff of Gov. Joe Manchin III (D) to determine how to proceed. The state's election code isn't clear about whether a special election should be held to fill the remainder of Byrd's ninth term or whether a placeholder can serve until 2013.

The governor told the Associated Press Monday that he won't appoint himself and has no timetable for finding an interim senator.

Tennant, a Democrat, issued a statement early Monday expressing condolences to Byrd's family but didn't comment on the procedure for filling the vacant seat.

West Virginia Democratic Party officials told The Ballot Box they were unsure whether to expect a special election call or the appointment of a placeholder.

Poker-playing could be a controversial issue in the debate between Alabama House candidates Rick Barber (R) and Martha Roby (R) Monday night at Troy University in Dothan.

Barber has come under fire for hosting poker tournaments at his DeJa Vu pool hall in Montgomery.

The Concerned Women Political Action Committee, which has endorsed Roby, said hosting the nightly games showed Barber doesn't have "commonsense values."

Barber has said he didn't make any money directly from hosting the games. "This is a bunch of folks getting together just like you would at home," he told WSFA TV.

The Washington-backed Roby finished first in the June 1 primary with about 48 percent of the vote, just shy of the 50 percent she needed to avoid meeting Barber in the July 13 runoff.

The runoff campaign has seen Barber release some colorful ads. His latest, released online with a plea to supporters for donations to get it on the air, features an actor playing Abraham Lincoln likening taxation to "slavery."

The winner of the July 13 vote faces Rep. Bobby Bright (D-Ala.) in November.

The first woman ever to serve Nevada in Congress, former Rep. Barbara Vucanovich (R), told the Las Vegas Review-Journal that she will have a tough time voting for Republican Senate candidate Sharron Angle in November.  

Her comments came in a story about gender politics in the Senate race — Angle would be the state's first female senator if she wins in November. From the LVRJ:

Vucanovich, a well-respected GOP matriarch, said she isn't sure she'll vote for Angle on Nov. 2.

Vucanovich said it's not because of Angle's conservative views but because of her record of not compromising as a lawmaker. Angle often was the lone "no" vote, refusing to go along with moderate GOP leaders.

"She's very rigid and I have a little bit of trouble understanding her positions," Vucanovich said. "So I'm not out there waving the flag. She's a very difficult person. She's very positive in her own way, but when you're elected you have to work for everybody."

What about making history by putting a woman in the U.S. Senate?

"I'd love to see a woman from Nevada in the Senate," said Vucanovich, who added that she won't vote for Reid but must think "long and hard" before deciding whether to throw her support behind Angle or choose none of the candidates. "I just don't know if Sharron can beat Harry."

During the Republican primary, Vucanovich backed Sue Lowden over Angle. 

It's unclear whether there will be a special election to fill the remainder of the late Sen. Robert Byrd's (D-W.Va.) term.

West Virginia Gov. Joe Manchin III (D) has the authority to appoint Byrd's interim replacement and decide whether to call for a special election. 

If a vacancy is declared more than 30 months before the expiration of a senator's term, the appointee serves until a special election is held, according to the state's election code.

Byrd passed away early Monday. His ninth term was to end Jan. 3, 2013.

If Manchin declares Byrd's seat vacant before July 3, according to the state code, there would have to be a special election, likely set for November.

Declaring the seat vacant after July 3 would mean the interim senator would serve until January 2013.

A spokesman for the West Virginia secretary of state's office said they are consulting with Manchin's office to determine how to proceed. 

Manchin told the Associated Press Monday that he has no timetable for appointing a successor to Sen. Byrd. Manchin also said he has no intention of appointing himself to the seat.   

"Like all West Virginians, the news broke our hearts. Sen. Byrd was a fearless fighter for the constitution, his beloved state and its great people," the governor said in a statement Monday on Byrd's passing.

Secretary of State Natalie Tennant (D) issued a similar statement.

"We will never replace Senator Byrd," Tennant said in a statement. "He truly was a great West Virginian, and the people of our state have lost a trusted and powerful friend in Washington."

The Senate campaign committees are unsure what will happen next.

A spokesman for the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee called the process "murky."

Officials with the National Republican Senatorial Committee said Sunday they didn't expect a special election for the remainder of the term. 

— Updated at 10:45 a.m.

Democratic Senate candidate Alexi Giannoulias (Ill.) spent the weekend answering questions about former Gov. Rod Blagojevich after news that he was subpoenaed in Blagojevich's corruption trial.   

In an interview Sunday, Giannoulias told Chicago Sun-Times columnist Lynn Sweet that he contacted Blagojevich chief of staff John Harris to offer his thoughts on the vacancy. Giannoulias said he suggested Valerie Jarrett for the seat. 

He also attended a meeting with Jarrett and labor leader Tom Balanoff where the Senate vacancy was discussed. From Lynn Sweet: 

Because of the Senate race, in which Giannoulias faces U.S. Rep. Mark Kirk, the GOP nominee, Republicans are trying to drag Giannoulias into the Blagojevich mess.

"Despite what the Republicans are trying to say," Giannoulias told me, "I am really not a part of this circus. I think you know I have always thought very highly of Valerie."

After the presidential election, Giannoulias told me he "reached out to Harris to give him my thoughts and at a certain point, Tom Balanoff reached out to me to get in touch with Valerie; he did not know how to get ahold of her. I put the two together in the meeting."

The meeting was held in the office of John Rogers, a close friend of the Obamas and Jarrett. Giannoulias attended the meeting. He said Jarrett was not aggressively pushing for the seat, but she wanted to "hear Tom out."

Former Senate candidate Terrence Wall (R) accused the Republican expected to face Sen. Russ Feingold (D-Wis.) of using bribery and coercion to win the party's endorsement at the state convention last month.

A spokeswoman for upstart Senate candidate Ron Johnson (R) was quick to dismiss the allegations as "sour grapes."

"There is no evidence associated with Mr. Wall's claims," Kristin Ruesch, a spokeswoman for Johnson, said in an e-mail to The Ballot Box.

Johnson, a wealthy businessman, was the surprise winner of the endorsement at the May GOP convention in Milwaukee with 64 percent of the vote.

Wall told a reporter from WTDY's "Sly in the Morning" on Friday that "the process was corrupted."

"The campaign at the convention demonstrates the problems that we've got," he said. "We've got a handful of people who came in and spread money around."

Wall said supporters had come to him to say that their hotels rooms were paid because they voted for Johnson, while another man said he took votes for Wall and "[put] them in his pocket so they weren’t counted."

"I've got over 100 stories like that of corruption, bribery, you know, coercion," he said.

Johnson's campaign said it would provide hotel receipts to refute Wall's charge. "The claims are categorically and completely false," Ruesch said.

Johnson still faces businessman Dave Westlake in the September primary. Westlake, who has been critical of Johnson, said he didn't see anything wrong at the convention.

"Look, we all thought Wall was going to win," Westlake told the Wisconsin State Journal. "But I didn't see anything, or hear of anything, like (vote tampering or buying votes) going on."

The victory of Tea Party candidates over establishment favorites prove their electability, National Republican Senatorial Committee chairman Sen. John Cornyn (R-Texas) said today.

Appearing on CNN's State of the Union, Cornyn was asked about Republican primaries in Nevada, Kentucky and Florida, where Tea Party candidates upset opponents favored by Washington Republicans.

"The basic bottom line is we want the candidates who can win in November. And the ones who can win are the ones that win the primary," Cornyn said. "We respect the choice of the voters in each of those primaries."

Cornyn said Tea Party activism shows that the tide is turning against the Democratic agenda.

"These are Americans who have not been involved in the political process before, or maybe not very much, who have finally gotten tired of the direction that the country is going in and they want to take the country back. And I say more power to them.

"I’m the Republican that clearly at this point does better against Obama than any other," the former Arkansas governor said.

The Democrats’ campaign finance legislation passed the House but may not pass the Senate in time for the November election.