Sen. Barbara Boxer's (D-Calif.) Monday night fundraiser with President Barack Obama has sold out.

Former Lt. Gov. Jane Norton (R) had a difficult week.

The Colorado Senate candidate announced Tuesday she was going to petition her way onto the August primary ballot, which prompted a swift rebuke from the Colorado GOP chairman. Now, she won't be allowed to speak or even have campaign signs at her party's state assembly May 22.



On Wednesday, Sen. Jim DeMint (R-S.C.) endorsed Norton's chief primary opponent, Weld County District Attorney Ken Buck (R). "Based on the support Ken is getting around the state, I think he's in a very good position to get the votes he needs at the state convention to get on the August ballot," DeMint said in a statement. "This along with his performance in the precinct caucuses demonstrates real strength as a candidate. I believe that as the rest of the state meets Ken Buck, he will continue to surge in the polls and win this critical election."



DeMint's endorsement has in the past been coupled with a contribution from his PAC, Senate Conservatives Fund, and it's backers.

 Meanwhile, the aggressive, right-wing group Americans for Job Security is running an ad in Colorado in support of Buck.

All this spells trouble for Norton, who will be forced to spend money that could be used for the general to defeat Buck. She raised more than her rival last quarter, some $816,000 to $219,000, but she burned through much of it. Democratic sources say she's using paid canvassers, which can be costly, to gather the signatures she needs to get onto the primary ballot. Norton reported having $643,000 cash on hand at the end of the first quarter, according to the Denver Post. That's not much more than Buck, who had $416,000 banked.

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Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid's (D-Nev.) reelection effort continues to lag behind GOP competitors, a poll found Friday.

There's more talk of an Independent run for Florida Gov. Charlie Crist (R) in that state's Senate race, the marching season is in full swing and Rep. Charlie Rangel (D-N.Y.) has a bad first quarter for a couple of reasons.

How to lose friends and alienate people?

Crist's veto of an education bill Thursday cost him the support of his campaign chairman but he still has reason to be optimistic about his chances of becoming a senator. A Quinnipiac University poll showed Crist would win in a three-way race between him, Republican Marco Rubio and Democrat Kendrick Meek. It wouldn't be a big victory, though. The survey had him getting 32 percent of the vote, compared to Rubio's 30 percent and Meek's 24 percent.

"Under state law, Crist could run as a no-party candidate for Senate and remain a registered Republican," according to the St. Petersburg Times. He has until noon April 30 to decide.

The marching season

The Tea Party held Tax Day rallies at state capitols around the country Thursday. Not to be outdone, labor unions are now planning their own demonstrations. Next Thursday the AFL-CIO will stage a 10,000-person march on Wall Street in New York. AFL-CIO President Richard Trumka will address the crowd, according to a release.

Rangel's money problem

Recently forced to give up his Ways and Means Committee chairmanship, Rangel subsequently posted some weak first quarter fundraising numbers. He raised only $108,327 from January through March, according to the New York Daily News. And he burned through $244,940, which leaves him with $600,000 cash on hand.

Rangel is being challenged in the primary by state Assemblyman Adam Clayton Powell and community banker Vincent Morgan. [An earlier version of this post stated incorrectly that Democrat Kevin Powell was challenging Rangel. In fact, he's running against Rep. Ed Towns (D-N.Y.).]

Other updates

A new poll shows Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (Nev.) can't count on vote splitting to defeat his likely GOP opponent. Reid trails Republican Sue Lowden 37-47 in the new Mason-Dixon poll for the Las Vegas Review-Journal, with the slate of third-party and nonpartisan candidates getting almost no backing.

Updated at 10:56 a.m.

May will be a decisive month for the political fortunes of both parties as several big states hold Senate primaries.

Florida Gov. Charlie Crist's (R) decision to veto an education bill has cost him the support of his political mentor -- and that may just be the beginning.

Former Sen. Connie Mack (R-Fla.) quit as chairman of Crist's Senate campaign Thursday, citing the governor's veto in a brief resignation letter.

"As you know, I strongly disagree with your veto," Mack wrote his fellow Republican, according to the Associated Press. "Your veto I believe undermines our education system in Florida and the principles for which I have always stood."

He added, "As you can understand, I can no longer serve as chairman for your campaign for the United States Senate."

Meanwhile, state House Speaker-designate Dean Cannon (R) is reconsidering his endorsement of Crist.
 "I like the governor as a person. (But) I think that the students lost out and the teachers lost out," he told the Orlando Sentinel.

Updated at 9:38 p.m.

The Democrat in the special election to replace Rep. John Murtha (D-Pa.) won the fundraising battle in the first quarter, but both men came out with almost the same amount of money after the GOP candidate self-funded $150,000.

Federal Election Commission reports show former Murtha aide Mark Critz (D) raise $376,000 before March 31. He spent $46,000 and banked $330,000.

The GOP nominee, businessman Tim Burns, raised $226,000 and self-funded $150,000 to give him the same in total receipts. Burns spent $58,000 and, by virtue of being in the race before Murtha's death, had slightly more in the bank -- $387,000.

Rep. Charlie Melancon (D-La.) raised more than $500,000 for his challenge to Sen. David Vitter (R-La.), his campaign announced Thursday. Melancon now has some $2.26 million banked, about half the amount of the Republican incumbent.

"Our campaign is in a strong position to spread Charlie's message of ending politics-as-usual in Washington and bringing a more common-sense, bipartisan approach to the Senate that focuses on putting Louisiana first," Bradley Beychok, Melancon's campaign manager, said in a statement.

Vitter announced last week he raised some $1 million in the first quarter to bring his cash on hand to $5 million. 

Freshman Rep. Harry Teague (D-N.M.) had a modest first quarter in terms of fundraising but still leads his GOP challenger in cash on hand. Teague raised $132,900 in the last three months and now has $927,300 banked for his match up with former Rep. Steve Pearce (R-N.M.).

Pearce announced Wednesday the he raised $277,447 in the first quarter -- he has $708,000 cash on hand.

Pearce left his 2nd district seat to launch an unsuccessful Senate bid in 2008.