Nevada Senate candidate Sue Lowden (R) sought to capitalize on an obscure anniversary Monday.

Her campaign noted April 19 marked the three-year anniversary of Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (Nev.) declaring the Iraq war "lost."

Lowden, one of the leading contenders for the GOP nomination, said Reid "turned his back on U.S. soldiers."

"If Harry Reid had his way over the Commander in Chief and the commanders in the war zone, we would have withdrawn from Iraq in defeat and the region would be a much different place today,” she said in a statement.
 
The Reid camp was quick to point out that the four-term Democrat was saying there was no military solution to the conflict, an opinion many others shared at the time. "As long as we follow the President's path in Iraq, the war is lost," Reid said on the Senate floor three years ago. "But there is still a chance to change course -- and we must change course. No one wants us to succeed in the Middle East more than I do. Our brave men and women overseas have passed every test with flying colors. They have earned our pride and praise, more importantly, they deserve a strategy worthy of their sacrifice."
 
His campaign shot back at Lowden with its own attack, accusing her of supporting "a special burial tax for Nevada veterans."
 
"Sen. Reid has long been recognized as a champion for the needs of Nevada's troops and our veterans and it's disgraceful that someone who supports a death tax on veterans and opposes millions in funding for VA healthcare right here in Nevada has chosen to make this a campaign issue," Kelly Steele, a spokesman for the Reid campaign, said in a statement.
 
Meanwhile, the Iraq war re-entered the headlines Monday. Vice President Joe Biden announced the killing of two top leaders of al Qaeda Iraq, crediting Iraqi Security Forces supported by American troops with the successful operation.

If Republican Tim Burns can win the special election to replace Rep. John Murtha (D-Pa.), we may be talking about it as a repudiation of the healthcare bill.

It turns out the bill is tremendously unpopular in the district. That is, according to a sneak peek of a poll that is set to be released tomorrow by Public Policy Polling (D):

Some Democrats may not be thrilled Mark Critz is emphasizing his opposition to the health care bill as he seeks to replace John Murtha in the House, but after polling the district it's hard to see that as anything but necessary for survival. Only 28% of voters in the district express support for it with 59% opposed. Even Democrats there support it by just a 43/39 margin.

Obama's overall approval rating in the district is 33%, with 57% of voters disapproving of him. It's hard to imagine any Democrat winning an open seat this year where the President is that unpopular but it's still a close race. We'll have the full numbers out tomorrow.

The National Republican Senatorial Committee now believes there's "zero chance" Florida Gov. Charlie Crist (R) will stay in the GOP Senate primary. It's calling on his supporters to urge him to "drop out of the race and wait for another day."

"We have communicated this message indirectly and would have given it to the Governor directly had he returned Senator Cornyn’s phone call," Rob Jesmer, the committee's executive director wrote in an email that the committee leaked Monday. "If any of you have influence with Governor Crist, we hope you will call his campaign and encourage him to do the right thing."

The committee will throw its full backing behind former state House Speaker Marco Rubio (R) if Crist launches an independent bid. "[I]f the Governor decides to run independent, regardless of any public commitments he makes regarding organization, we will support Marco Rubio in any way possible," Jesmer said.

NRO's Rich Lowry makes the case for why Florida Gov. Charlie Crist (R) shouldn't run for Senate as an independent.

It's all about "liv[ing] to fight another day," according to Lowry, who's supporting former Florida House Speaker Marco Rubio (R).

St. Petersburg Times's Adam Smith boils down Lowry's argument into five points: 

_{1. It would reinforce the image of Crist having no principles. 2. He'd lose GOP support. 3. He couldn't raise money. 4. Donors would demand money back. 5. He'd probably lose any way.}

Crist has until noon on April 30 to decide.

Mitt Romney continues to look like the early front-runner for the GOP presidential nomination in 2012.

Ohio Secretary of State Jennifer Brunner (D) has accused her Democratic primary opponent of intimidating donors and officials so as to discourage them from supporting her Senate campaign. To make the point in a recent interview with the Columbus Dispatch, she likened herself to figure skater Nancy Kerrigan and Lt. Gov. Lee Fisher (D) to Kerrigan's infamous rival, Tonya Harding. 

From the Columbus Dispatch:

_{Fisher has attracted support from influential Democrats, most notably Gov. Ted Strickland and U.S. Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid. Brunner has accused Fisher and his supporters of heavy-handed tactics to thwart Democrats from endorsing her or contributing money to her campaign.}

_{"If you're running a footrace, you can just run faster and run like the wind because you're better conditioned and you're a better athlete, or you can do the, you know, the Tonya Harding-Nancy Kerrigan thing ... have somebody go in and beat 'em up or elbow or kick 'em," Brunner said, a reference to the infamous attack arranged by Harding against Kerrigan before their figure-skating competition at the 1994 Winter Olympics.}

_{Fisher denies such allegations, challenging Brunner to provide proof. She replies that people afraid to contribute to her won't admit being intimidated.}

Rudy Giuliani on Monday accused Kentucky GOP Senate candidate Rand Paul of being part of the "blame America first crowd."

TOP OF THE BALLOT TODAY: A three-way tie in Hawaii; Romney and Obama hit the campaign trail; Dems line up Isakson challenger in Georgia, just in case.

Toss-up in Hawaii

There's essentially a three-way toss-up in the May 22nd Hawaii special election.

The liberal website Daily Kos released a Research 2000 poll over the weekend. It showed Republican Honolulu City Councilman Charles Djou leading the way at 32 percent, while former Rep. Ed Case (D-Hawaii) and state Senate President Colleen Hanabusa (D) were close behind at 29 percent and 28 percent, respectively.

Case got a big boost on Sunday, when the Honolulu Advertiser endorsed him. But unless that endorsement helps him steal support from Djou, it may only cut up the Democratic equation even more.

What’s interesting here is that Case enters the race with significantly better favorable numbers (47 percent positive, 25 percent negative) than Hanabusa (37 percent positive, 31 percent negative). Djou (40 and 27) is somewhere in between.

Romney for Rubio; Barack for Boxer

A couple of big-name Senate candidates are getting some even bigger-name help today, with President Obama raising money for Sen. Barbara Boxer (D-Calif.) and Mitt Romney doing an event with former Florida state House Speaker Marco Rubio (R).

Obama joins Boxer as she finds herself in what is looking to be her most difficult reelection race yet, while Romney is a little on the late side in jumping on the Rubio bandwagon (especially now that it appears Gov. Charlie Crist is considering an independent bid instead of running in the GOP primary).

Still, the high-profile visits would have been nearly unthinkable a year ago, when Boxer’s challenge was still hypothetical and Crist looked like a future GOP presidential candidate.

Isakson challenger emerges

Sen. Johnny Isakson’s (R-Ga.) recent health problems have spurred Democrats to field a challenger in that race, and they got a good one.

State Labor Commissioner Michael Thurmond, who is one of just two Democrats elected to statewide office in the state, is expected to join the race Tuesday.

It’s hard to see the Democrats going after Isakson hard – he showed a 53-26 lead on Thurmond in a recent Daily Kos poll – but his candidacy forces Republicans and Isakson to reevaluate themselves and puts Democrats in a position to take advantage if, for whatever reason, Isakson isn’t able to campaign.

Other updates

-Former health insurance executive Charlie Baker, the party favorite, won an overwhelming victory over former independent candidate Christy Mihos at the Massachusetts Republican Party convention, forcing Mihos from the race to face Gov. Deval Patrick (D).

-Rep. Jane Harman (D-Calif.) survived her own convention scare, defeating activist Marcy Winograd (D) 599-417 and winning her party's endorsement in their primary.

Rep. Stephen Lynch (D-Mass.), himself a former local union president, could be facing a primary challenge from a labor official from the Bay State.

The Boston Globe reported Monday that Mac D'Alessandro, a regional political director for the large service worker's union SEIU, is seriously weighing a run against the sixth term lawmaker, who was the only Massachusetts Democrat to vote against the Democrats' healthcare bill last month.

Here is more from the Globe:

D’Alessandro, who has worked for the Service Employees International Union for nine years, downplayed the role that Lynch’s health care vote played in his decision to jump into the race, saying instead that he wants to bring a different voice to Capitol Hill.

“This is a personal decision for me, as a constituent, as someone who has progressive values,’’ he said. “This isn’t part of me being recruited, no, this is my wanting a stronger voice for the district, for my family and the other families.’’

Asked if he would have voted in favor of Obama’s health care reform bill, he said, “Absolutely.’’

“I’m going to be on the side of consumers and workers, and not on the side of health insurance companies and big banks,’’ he said.

But for now, he said, he is focused on getting on the ballot. “We’ll have more to say once we do that,’’ he said.

State Democratic Party chairman John Walsh welcomed the announcement of a potential new candidate for the state’s Ninth Congressional District, which includes parts of Boston and extends south of the city into Norfolk, Plymouth, and Bristol counties.

“I think it’s a sign of a healthy party that there’s a discussion and a debate,’’ Walsh said.

D'Alessandro has until May 4 to collect the 2,000 signatures necessary to appear on the ballot. Lynch already faces two opponents already, one a Republican and the other an independent.

Some liberal activists have encouraged primary challengers to run against Democrats who voted against the healthcare bill, another sign that the massive $940 billion new law will play a major role in the fall midterm elections.

Walsh told the Globe that the challlenge would be an “uphill fight’’ for D’Alessandro, but said its result is not a foregone conclusion.