Rep. Bob Inglis (R-S.C.) has a busy weekend schedule as he fights to keep his job ahead of next week's primary runoff. 

Inglis is in danger of becoming the fifth congressional incumbent to lose his seat this primary season. He came in second in the June 8th election with 27 percent of the vote, trailing Spartanburg prosecutor Trey Gowdy (R) by almost 12 points.

South Carolina-based Republican strategists tell The Ballot Box Inglis has little chance of overcoming that deficit ahead of the June 22 runoff vote.

Still, Inglis plans to meet Gowdy for three candidate forums, the first happening Friday evening on the air of WORD, a Greenville conservative talk radio station.

The blog whose founding editor claimed an affair with South Carolina gubernatorial candidate Nikki Haley has now endorsed her for governor.

Will Folks shook up the race in late May by alleging on his blog, fitsnews.com, that he'd had an "inappropriate physical relationship" with Haley. Her campaign vigorously denied the claim, and Haley went on to win a plurality of votes in the GOP primary and is now facing a runoff with Rep. Gresham Barrett (R-S.C.).

On Friday, the blog endorsed Haley.

After acknowledging that many would be shocked by the decision — "HAVE WE LOST OUR FRIGGIN’ MINDS?" the editorial asked — the editors said the endorsement boiled down to policy:

And the bottom line for S.C. taxpayers is that Haley would vote the right way on the S.C. Budget and Control Board, use her veto pen to reduce the size and scope of government and sign a universal parental choice bill which would (at long last) provide parents with real options and our flawed system with real, market-based accountability.  Also, all signs are that Haley would aggressively pursue government restructuring – although it’s probably fair to say that her credibility when it comes to government transparency (her signature issue up to this point) has been pretty much shot.

Oh well … there are plenty of us who can continue leading the way on that fight.

Will Haley cut taxes, too?  She hasn’t been as specific on that issue as we’d like related to individual income tax brackets, but neither has U.S. Rep. Gresham Barrett – and as far as we can tell his so-called jobs plan would move our state in precisely the opposite direction it should be going.

Given all of this … in spite of our intimate knowledge of her lack of forthrightness – and in spite of the merciless smear campaign her supporters have waged against us over the past month – we are endorsing Nikki Haley in next Tuesday’s Republican gubernatorial primary against Barrett.

Minnesota Gov. Tim Pawlenty (R) played it safe in his latest round of endorsements. 

His Freedom First PAC on Friday endorsed Ohio gubernatorial candidate John Kasich (R), Rep. John Boozman (R) for Senate in Arkansas, Rick Crawford to defeat Democrat Chad Causey in Arkansas's 1st district and Republican Jim Renacci in the race against freshman Rep. John Boccieri (D) Ohio's 16th district.

All these candidates have won their contested primaries to face Democratic opposition in November. Moreover, backing a candidate like Renacci — who's in one of the most targeted House races in the country — doesn't involve going too far out on a limb.

"These are four excellent, conservative candidates," Pawlenty said in a statement, noting that Kasich "is a good friend of mine."

He recently set up state-level PACs in Iowa and New Hampshire to contribute to local candidates, and is expected to run for the GOP White House nod in 2012.

South Carolina Democratic Party Chair Carol Fowler told the Ballot Box Friday that she's still hopeful Senate candidate Alvin Greene will withdraw from the race, even after the state party's executive committee declined to overturn his victory in last week's primary.

"I haven't given up hope that he will realize that he is a very weak candidate, with no apparent resources or inclination to campaign, who also has an indictment hanging over him," Fowler said in an e-mail. "Maybe when the current media frenzy subsides he will give more thought to withdrawing."

On Thursday night, the executive committee rejected Democrat Vic Rawl's challenge of last Tuesday's primary results. Rawl had asked the committee to overturn Greene's win, offering evidence of voting irregularities. Members of the committee ruled that the evidence wasn't enough to take the drastic step of invalidating the result.      

Nevada Senate candidate Sharron Angle (R) is making herself more available to the press, but in some cases she's refusing to answer detailed questions about her past policy positions.

Angle told the Las Vegas Review-Journal that Reid is trying to change the subject from his record. "The issue isn't about me. It's about Harry Reid and our houses and our jobs and the economic crisis," she said.

Fair enough, this is the year of the incumbent and Reid has a long record. But Angle is an unknown to the majority of voters in Nevada and asking questions about her past positions is perfectly reasonable — although she doesn't seem to think so.

Las Vegas 8 News NOW Reporter Nathan Baca caught up with Angle at a campaign stop Thursday and asked her about Social Security.

Her website during the primary had called for "transitioning out" of Social Security and Medicare.

"Why do you want to eliminate [Social Security] for younger folks, because your plan calls for transitioning out," Baca asked Angle.

"You believe the Harry Reid lie," Angle replied.

Angle goes on to dodge the reporter's questions and then ignore him as she walks to her car.

The bottom line: She can make this race about Reid, but not before she explains who she is and where she came from. If those questions remain unanswered, reporters will continue to focus on her colorful history. And she'll continue to look defensive and ill prepared on television.

Meanwhile, she did respond to the questions about whether she was calling for an armed revolution or a political revolution at the ballot box during her Review-Journal interview.
 
"I can’t believe people are even asking that," Angle said. "I’m very much a proponent of the Second Amendment and the Constitution. But what we have to focus on here is a movement, a movement that’s about retiring Harry Reid" by voting him out of office.
 
The Reid campaign is using Angle's words to raise money, saying in a fundraising letter sent Thursday to supporters that the Republican is "as wacky as her views are."

—Updated at 11:14 a.m.

Ohio Gov. Ted Strickland (D) and Senate candidate Lee Fisher (D) are set to appear with President Obama at his lunchtime rally in Columbus, Ohio, Friday.

Obama is traveling to the Buckeye State to mark the start of the 10,000th Recovery Act road project. He'll meet with workers and deliver remarks.

The Columbus Dispatch reports Strickland and Fisher "will be on hand to incorporate Obama's message in their own closely contested election campaigns."

Both Democrats face tough campaigns against their Republican rivals.

Former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin announced her backing of three more Republican women on her Facebook page Thursday night.

In a post she called "a new 'Mama Grizzlies' field report," Palin endorsed Rep. Cathy McMorris Rodgers (R-Wash.), Rep. Mary Fallin (R-Okla.), who is running for governor, and California Republican congressional candidate Star Parker.

About McMorris Rodgers, Palin wrote, "I have a deep respect for Cathy's strong voice for families who are touched by those with special needs." Both Palin and Rodgers have sons with Down syndrome.

"I heartily endorse these liberty loving 'Mama Grizzlies,' " Palin wrote.

Palin has made a habit of wading into Republican primaries this election cycle. She recently endorsed attorney Joe Miller in his primary against Sen. Lisa Murkowski in Palin's home state of Alaska. And in Washington state, Palin backed Tea Party favorite Clint Didier over Dino Rossi.

But this new spate of endorsements comes in races without a whole lot of political drama. In Oklahoma, Fallin is the favorite in the governor's race. In California, Star Parker is a long shot to defeat Rep. Laura Richardson (D). And McMorris Rodgers occupies a safe Republican seat.

South Carolina Democrats are stuck with Alvin Greene, a new poll has Rep. Bob Etheridge (D-N.C.) down a point and is 2010 really shaping up like 1994?

It's Greene versus DeMint

Democrats in South Carolina have decided not to overturn Greene's victory in last week's Democratic Senate primary. That means Greene will remain on the ballot and face Sen. Jim DeMint (R-S.C.) in November.

The party's executive committee rejected a plea Thursday night from Greene's primary challenger, Vic Rawl, to overturn the results.

Despite not holding a single campaign event, Greene defeated Rawl handily last week, winning just shy of 60 percent of the vote. After digging into the results, the Rawl campaign claimed evidence of voting irregularities and House Majority Whip James Clyburn (D-S.C.) suggested Greene was a Republican "plant."

Greene was a no-show at Thursday night's meeting.

Is Etheridge really in trouble?

A Survey USA poll released Thursday showed Etheridge trailing Republican opponent Renee Ellmers by a point. The poll gave Ellmers a 39-38 percent lead. Libertarian candidate Tom Rose garnered 14 percent.

The numbers come in the wake of Etheridge's confrontation with two men on a Washington street, which was videotaped and spread across the Internet.

A caution on these numbers — it's a poll of 400 registered voters, not likely voters. And Ellmers was bound to get a poll bounce in the immediate aftermath of the Etheridge video flap. Polling analyst Tom Jensen thinks a little more distance from the incident might offer a better snapshot of the race.

1994 all over again?

Not exactly, according to a new analysis by noted political scientist Alan Abramowitz. But he does predict Republicans will regain control of the House right on the number — picking up 39 seats this fall and giving the GOP control of the House 219-218.

The mood of the electorate today is similar to 1994, Abramowitz wrote on Larry Sabato's website, but when it comes to the political territory in play, he offered some key distinctions.

"Democrats hold 256 House seats today, just as they did in 1994," he wrote. "However, fewer of their seats today are in marginal or Republican-leaning districts while more are in strongly Democratic districts. In addition, Democrats are defending only 19 open seats this year compared with 31 open seats in 1994. As a result, Democrats are in a stronger position to defend their majority this year than they were in 1994."

Five former Republican House members are trying to reclaim their old seats in an anti-establishment political climate.