Florida Gov. Charlie Crist may have dodged a bullet in his independent campaign for the state's Senate seat.

The conservative Club for Growth (CFG) may not organize a refund effort for Crist's donors as it did last year for donors to Sen. Arlen Specter (D-Pa.).

Specter's switch to the Democratic Party came with an offer by him to return funds from GOP donors. CFG officials took him up on the offer and coordinated a refund effort that eventually netted around $1 million. Crist, however, has said he won't return funds from Republican donors.

CFG spokesman Michael Connolly said Tuesday the group is "still reassessing" whether it will organize any refund effort for Crist donors. "It's possible that we may not, ultimately," Connolly said. "If he's making it pretty plain that he intends on running with ill-gotten funds, he's made his position clear."

Mississippi House candidate Angela McGlowan (R) is one of 32 African American candidates running this cycle – the most since Reconstruction, according to Essence.com.

McGlowan said the recent surge of interest among black candidates could be traced directly to President Obama. 

"Barack Obama being elected President has paved the way for more Black people to say, 'Hey, we can do it,'" McGlowan recently told the magazine. "It takes hope to be able to run, and even though he may have given hope to people on the right side of the aisle, we're all Black people in this. Whether you're a Democrat or Republican, the first Black President has made a difference in our lives."

McGlowan, a former Fox News commentator, is competing against Henry Ross and Alan Nunnelee for the GOP nod to take on Rep. Travis Childers (D-Miss.). She said it's been challenging to be an African-American woman running in the Magnolia State.

"I've had to meet with officials because we have gotten death threats. I'm the first Black female to run in this district in the history of Mississippi," she said. "There is a website where I've been called 'the Negress' and a 'filthy pig.' My two opponents are older White males. Some of their supporters took a picture of me and altered it to make my skin darker, turned up my nose, and kinked up my hair. They put it on a flier saying that I don't want White people to have guns. My staff and I have been threatened with calls. People in the street have come up to me being hostile. But it's a small, ignorant minority."

Primary voting in Mississippi wraps at 8 p.m. 

Connecticut Attorney General Richard Blumenthal (D) went on-air on Tuesday with his first TV ads in the state's Senate race, highlighting his constituent service records.

Blumenthal's campaign released a trio of ads featuring Connecticut residents raving about the work he has done fighting insurers or other work he's done on behalf of constituents since becoming the state's top law enforcement official in 1991.

The three ads -- "Sarah," "Laura & Skyler," and "Gary and Gayle" -- were posted Tuesday to Blumenthal's campaign website.

Democrats said the ads are meant to play up what they say are wide advantages in character measures over Blumenthal's Republican opponent, former WWE executive Linda McMahon, as evidenced in a Quinnipiac University poll last week.

That poll showed Blumenthal maintaining a 56-31 margin over McMahon, even after a report emerged suggesting Blumenthal had, at times, misrepresented his military service record.

The Q-Poll found 53 percent of Connecticut voters were satisfied with Blumenthal's explanation of the matter and that he was found to have more of the requisite experience needed to be the state's next senator.

A spokesman for Republican Senate candidate Linda McMahon said Blumenthal's ads were an attempt to "reshape his image" after the recent controversy over his military service.

"Dick Blumenthal knows he's in trouble and that is why he is spending money to reshape his image," said Ed Patru, a McMahon spokesman. "People don't agree with his claim that lawsuits create jobs, and he has a major credibility problems as a result of his fabricated military record. His numbers have taken a serious hit, by every measure they are moving in the wrong direction, and he's trying to hold on."

View the three ads below, after the jump:

Democrats have Illinois Senate candidate Mark Kirk (R) on the ropes for his mischaracterization of his military service, but it may be a short-lived advantage in the media war.

Jury selection begins Thursday in the corruption trial of former Gov. Rod Blagojevich (D). Corruption is a preeminent concern in Chicagoland and even the preliminary proceedings of the trial will be closely watched. As Kirk tries to move the storyline beyond what Navy awards he did or did not receive, the trial coverage will help remind people about the downfall of the state's former top Democrat.

A recap from the Chicago Tribune:

_{The sprawling case covers years of investigation of Blagojevich and his closest associates, with whom he allegedly conspired to run Illinois government as a criminal racket from his earliest days in office. Also on trial with Blagojevich will be his brother, Robert, who once ran the governor's campaign fund.}

_{Included in the broad array of charges against Blagojevich are accusations that he schemed to bring in campaign donations in exchange for official acts, including the naming of a replacement for President Barack Obama in the U.S. Senate.}

_{The list of those he allegedly tried to extort ranges from the leader of a children's hospital to an executive at a horse racing track to the heads of Tribune Co., parent of the Chicago Tribune.

The prosecution's case, which grew out of a federal investigation dubbed "Operation Board Games," will feature scores of secret recordings made in late 2008 of Blagojevich on the phone and in his political office.}

_{It also may include testimony from as many as four key Blagojevich insiders, all but one of whom have already been found guilty of charges connected to the investigation.

The government claims Blagojevich's alleged plotting peaked when he tried to shop the Senate seat to the highest bidder when Obama appeared headed for the White House in 2008.}

_{"I've got this thing and it's (expletive) golden," Blagojevich was recorded as saying in December 2008 in perhaps the most memorable of the excerpts made public by prosecutors so far. "And uh. … I'm not just giving it up for (expletive) nothing."}

Voting is under way in competitive primaries in Alabama, Mississippi and New Mexico, it seems New York Democrats have a burn book for Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand (D-N.Y.), and former Iowa Gov. Terry Branstad (R) may not get a coronation after all.

Who can it be now?

In Mississippi most attention will be on the first district House primary where Republicans Angela McGlowan, Henry Ross and Alan Nunnelee are vying to take on Rep. Travis Childers (D-Miss.). The primary left a bad taste in Republicans' mouths last cycle, but this time officials are hopeful the base will unite after Tuesday.

In Alabama, Rep. Artur Davis (D-Ala.) is bidding to become to the first African-American governor. He faces state Agriculture Commissioner Ron Sparks in the Democratic primary, but whoever emerges from the crowded GOP primary is favored to win the governorship.

On the House side, Rep. Parker Griffith (R-Ala.), once a member of the Democratic party, faces Republican primary voters for the first time. He's up against Republicans Mo Brooks and Les Phillip for the nod. 

Meanwhile, freshman Rep. Bobby Bright (D-Ala.) will find out whether he'll face a Tea Party candidate in November. Marine veteran Rick Barber (R) had claimed that mantle but primary rival Martha Roby has establishment support and a financial advantage.

In New Mexico, former Rep. Steve Pearce (R-N.M.) is expected to brush past farmer Cliff Pirtle (R) and earn the chance to challenge Rep. Harry Teague (D-N.M.).

Republicans have five choices for governor in the state, which include Susana Martinez, Allen Weh, Doug Turner, Janice Arnold-Jones and Pete Domenici Jr., the son of the former New Mexico senator.

The winner of the GOP nod will face Lt. Gov. Diane Denish (D), who doesn't face a primary challenge. Gov. Bill Richardson (D) is term limited.

Don't keep it under your bed

While Rep. Carolyn Maloney (D-N.Y.) toyed with challenging Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand (D-N.Y.) in the primary last year, her campaign developed an "oppo book" on the appointed senator, according to the New York Daily News. After the congresswoman dropped the idea of a challenge and former Rep. Harold Ford Jr. (D-Tenn.) "took up the cause," Maloney apparently gave him the book. Ford ultimately decided to forgo a run. 

The Daily News reported that Maloney's campaign spokeswoman, Alix Anfang, didn't deny the story, but noted: "Congresswoman Maloney fully supports Senator Gillibrand. She has been a remarkable leader, fighter and a strong partner on the 9/11 Health and Compensation Act, which they have co-sponsored."

On Tuesday, however, Anfang told The Ballot Box the paper's story is incorrect. "We did not have an oppo book at all," Anfang said. "And nothing was given." The campaign has asked for a correction to the Daily News story, she added.

A source close to Ford also denied an "oppo book" was ever exchanged. "Maybe she put it in the mail. We never got it," the source said.

Iowa surprise?

With only a week to go before the Iowa gubernatorial primary, businessman Bob Vander Plaats is starting to catch up to former Gov. Terry Branstad (R). Vander Plaats had 31 percent support in a new Public Policy Polling survey released Tuesday, while Branstad currently stands at a "surprisingly low" 46 percent. Republican Rod Roberts rounds out the field at 13 percent.

—Updated at 10:16 a.m. 


“What I hear most is how angry people are about the Wall Street bailout,” Democratic Senate candidate Roxanne Conlin told The Hill.

Former Rep. Ed Case (D-Hawaii) announced Sunday he won't pursue the Democratic nomination to face Rep. Charles Djou (R-Hawaii), which improves his party's chances of retaking the seat it lost in the recent special election.

"We've taken apart the results and analyzed our options every which way," Case wrote in an email to supporters. "If it all lined up it'd be an easy decision, but it doesn't."

Case finished third in the May 22 vote.

"My heart tells me to stay in this fight, but my head says this has become the wrong fight. So today I'm withdrawing my candidacy for the U. S. House of Representatives from Hawaii's great first district," he wrote.

Case thanked his supporters and said he will continue to look for opportunities to serve.

Djou won the special election with 40 percent of the vote. Case was third with 29 percent and state Sen. Colleen Hanabusa was second with 31 percent.

Hanabusa has said she plans to seek the Democratic nod to face Djou. Strategists were worried about the possibility of the party again being divided by the bitter primary battle.

Case did not mention Hanabusa in his letter to supporters.

Carly Fiorina has built a 15-point lead over her main primary opponent Tom Campbell in a new Los Angeles Times/USC poll.

Senate Republican candidate Rand Paul appears to have survived a rough foray into national politics.