Aurora City Councilman Ryan Frazier's (R) congressional campaign upped its fundraising slightly in the first quarter, pulling in $230,000 for his challenge to Rep. Ed Perlmutter (D-Colo.).

Frazier narrowly outraised Perlmutter $219,000 to $215,000 in the fourth quarter of 2009 -- his first after switching from the state's Senate race to the congressional race. But this quarter, the incumbent got the better of Frazier, outraising him $330,000 to $230,000.

Perlmutter has $1.25 million in the bank. A cash on hand figure wasn't immediately available from Frazier.

A profile of Rep. Joe Sestak (D-Pa.) in the Philadelphia Inquirer offers a glimpse as to why former Republican Sen. Arlen Specter (D-Pa.) has become the favorite of Washington Democrats.

The House Democratic Caucus "is the most undemocratic place there is," Sestak told the paper. "There are times I can't find out what's going on, and that doesn't bode well for transparency for the public."

More from the Inquirer:

_{Sestak's intensity propelled his rise in the Navy and may also have contributed to his career's end.}

_{Shipmates remember him as a demanding boss, a micromanager who demanded precision. That meant drill after drill, with Sestak eating his meals on the tactical deck and badgering his junior officers with questions and demands for backup research.}

_{"Joe never did the minimum requirement - he always wanted to go above and beyond," said Glen Cain, a petty officer under Sestak on the USS Samuel B. Roberts. "Overachieving doesn't sit well with a lot of people, but his attitude was that it's not good enough to get across the finish line, you've got to sprint across it. He used to say, 'There are a lot of ways to die out there, so let's make sure we're as good as we can be.' "}

_…

_{In 2001, as a two-star admiral, he was assigned by his mentor Adm. Vern Clark, the top officer in the Navy at the time, to revamp the Navy for the future. Clark and Sestak believed in a more nimble, sleeker Navy to fight terrorism. Sestak scoured the budgets and proposed deep cuts to the fleet, using computer technology to link fewer ships more effectively.}

_{The plans struck fear around the E-Ring, where Sestak was also earning a reputation for driving his 100-member planning staff hard. He would show up sometimes at 4 a.m. and stay until 9 or 10 p.m. He was infamous for calling staff meetings at 9 p.m. on Friday and demanding that everyone return by 10 a.m. Saturday.}

Meanwhile, Sestak debated former Rep. Pat Toomey (R-Pa.) Sunday in Philadelphia, but the two largely avoided blasting Specter, who was absent.

TOP OF THE BALLOT: Wrapping up the Southern Republican Leadership Conference; GOP candidate Sue Lowden asserts herself in Nevada; Dem candidate Alexi Giannoulias tries to change the subject in Illinois; and more details on the NRCC's ad buy in Pennsylvania.

Winners and losers in New Orleans

The Southern Republican Leadership Conference concluded Sunday, and with the benefit of 24 hours of reflection time, here are The Ballot Box winners and losers from the first big 2012 cattle call:

Winners

-Mitt Romney: The emerging GOP frontrunner won the straw poll despite not showing up or even appearing in a video (ala Tim Pawlenty), and he far outpaced the headliner for the weekend, Sarah Palin. Romney’s one-vote win over Rep. Ron Paul (R-Texas) is a big statement about his organization.

And today we learn, according to The Fix, that Romney’s political action committee, Free and Strong America PAC, outraised Pawlenty’s PAC $1.45 million to $566,000 in the first quarter. No word on numbers from Palin’s PAC.

-Texas Gov. Rick Perry: The emerging political force that is Rick Perry gave one of the most stirring speeches of the weekend, contrasting himself well with other potential 2012 contenders like Mississippi Gov. Haley Barbour and Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal. If Perry can make it past his 2010 reelection campaign, expect plenty of buzz around his national aspirations – of which he says he has none.

-2010: While the subtext of the weekend was the 2012 GOP presidential contest, the party leaders’ focus on the midterms this year was notable. Perhaps they’ve learned from experience. With so much 2008 talk at the event four years ago, the GOP wound up wounding itself horribly in the 2006 midterms, leaving it reeling heading into 2008. Read more...

"I'm not able to cast a vote, but my favorite would be Marco Rubio," Tea Party favorite Michele Bachmann said.

NEW ORLEANS -- He was able to pull off an upset over Rep. Ron Paul (R-Texas) and former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin.

Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) attributed Washington's failure to provide "proper security" along the U.S.-Mexico border to the election.

NEW ORLEANS -- “Folks have been mad at us in the past, and we have learned,” Michael Steele said Saturday.

NEW ORLEANS -- Herman Cain for president?

While other prospective 2012 candidates speaking to the Southern Republican Leadership Conference hem and haw over whether they will run, the Atlanta area radio host concluded his speech Saturday afternoon with a very suggestive nod toward his own political aspirations.

"There may also be a dark-horse candidate you don’t know," Cain said at the end of his speech, before immediately walking off the stage. The crowd cheered.

Cain got a choice speaking spot and is one of three black Republicans given speaking slots at the conference. He gave a rousing speech in which he talked about being diagnosed with stage-four cancer, and said he would have died under the healthcare bill that was recently signed into law.

He would certainly be a dark horse. Few in the room had probably heard of Cain, but his speech, which was well-received, should begin the process of changing that.

NEW ORLEANS – Rep. Tom Price (R-Ga.) says his party is set to gain more seats than in 1994.