State Sen. Gilbert Baker (R), who's running for the GOP Senate nomination in Arkansas, launched his first campaign ad on statewide cable television and statewide radio Monday.
The 30-second spot features Baker saying, "President Obama, forcing America down the wrong track. Congress shares the blame." As he speaks an image of the president dressed in a lab coat appears on screen. The ad also features an image of incumbent Sen. Blanche Lincoln (D-Ark.), but doesn't mention her by name.
"We have to stand up to President Obama and put Arkansas values first," Baker says in closing.
The Little Rock and Baton Rouge-based consulting firm The Political Firm produced the ad.
Lincoln is running for a third term. She faces a primary opponent and there are several Republicans running for the GOP nomination. The primary is May 18.
Former Rep. Tom Campbell (R-Calif.) raised $1.63 million in the first quarter of his campaign for California's GOP Senate nomination, according to the Associated Press.
But Campbell has a ways to go before he meets the $7 million fundraising goal he set ahead of the June 8 primary.
Campbell spokesman
James Fisfis told the AP the campaign is on track to meet its financial goals.
Campbell's competitor for the nomination, former Hewlett-Packard businesswoman Carly
Fiorina, had $2.75 million in the bank even before he got into the race
in January.
The former congressman was originally running for governor of California, but switched to the Senate race when he couldn't match rival Meg Whitman's self-funding. The former e-Bay CEO has given her gubernatorial campaign $39 million so far.
Fiorina hasn't released her first quarter fundraising numbers, which are due April 15th.
Campbell got some other good news this morning. A new Los Angeles Times poll gave him a slight lead over Fiorina in the Republican Senate primary.
John McCain is quoted in a new Newsweek piece claiming that he "never considered myself a maverick."
Many of the GOP's most faithful, the kind who vote in primaries despite 115-degree heat, tired long ago of McCain the Maverick, the man who had crossed the aisle to work with Democrats on issues like immigration reform, global warming, and restricting campaign contributions. "Maverick" is a mantle McCain no longer claims; in fact, he now denies he ever was one. "I never considered myself a maverick," he told me. "I consider myself a person who serves the people of Arizona to the best of his abilities." Yet here was Palin, urging her fans four times in 15 minutes to send McCain the Maverick back to Washington. [Emphasis added]
And for those who’ve been asking in the last few weeks what has happened to the “maverick,” now that his campaign keeps him away from free-wheeling talks with reporters every day, the campaign has decided to revive the label, calling him the “original maverick”. [Emphasis added]
Calling it his most successful fundraising quarter to date, former Rep. Pat Toomey (R-Pa.) announced Monday he raised $2.3 million in the last three months. The former congressman now has more than $4 million cash on hand, according to his campaign.
Toomey is running for Pennslyvania's Senate seat.
Sen. Arlen Specter (D-Pa.), who rode along with President Obama to the National's home opener, and Rep. Joe Sestak (D-Pa.), who's challenging Specter in the Democratic primary, have yet to release their first quarter numbers.
President Barack Obama is throwing out the first pitch at the Washington Nationals home opener Monday and Sen. Arlen Specter (D-Pa.) is along for the ride.
Specter rode along with the president in the motorcade from the White House to Nationals Park, according to the White House pool report. And the senator was wearing a Phillies jacket to show his support for his home team.
Specter asked for the president's support when he switched parties last year. And Obama has delivered: hosting a fundraiser for the senator, having him to the White House and now bringing him along for a baseball outing. If Specter can win his tough May primary, he faces a difficult general election.
The Nationals are taking on the Philadelphia Phillies this afternoon and Specter tweeted his enthusiasm about the day: "What could be better than Opening Day with President Obama? A Phillies win. Go Phillies!"
UPDATED: Phillies win 11-1. Specter tweeted: "11-1 -- what an opener. Great game Phillies."
Rep. Betsy Markey (D-Colo.) raised $505,000 in the first three months of 2010, according to the Washington Post.
Even more interesting, the campaign says more than $355,000 of the money came
in during the final two weeks of the quarter -- after Markey announced on March 18th she was voting for the healthcare reform bill. She voted against the legislation in November.
Markey, a first-term lawmaker, was subject of a front-page profile in Monday's Post.
She is a top GOP target this cycle and has been criticized for her healthcare vote.
Her staff touted the Markey's support in the local Colorado press.
"There
have been plenty of big bills come through Congress this year, but I
don't think I've ever seen grass-roots support spring up like this,"
Markey campaign spokeswoman Anne Caprara told the Fort Collins Coloradoan.
A vote he didn't cast could cause trouble for Republican Bill Flores ahead of the April 13 runoff election for the GOP nod to face Rep. Chet Edwards (D-Texas).
Flores claimed during a March debate that he voted for fellow Republican Rob Curnock in his 2008 race against Edwards. But records indicate that's not true, according to the Waco Tribune-Herald.
Flores spokesman Matt Mackowiak told the paper that Flores had in fact "been in meetings in Houston and couldn’t get back to the Bryan-College Station area in time to vote." In a recent radio interview, Flores claimed he was joking when he talked about voting for Curnock.
Flores was recruited to run by the National Republican Congressional Committee. He raised some $214,000 and spent close to $300,000 since the March 2 primary. He has about $50,000 more cash on hand than Curnock for the final stretch of the campaign.
There was some good news for Flores on Monday -- former Sen. Phil Gramm (R-Texas) announced he's backing the retired oil executive.
Vice President Joe Biden is in Miami Monday where he'll meet with community leaders at the Little Haiti Cultural Center and talk with officials about the earthquake recovery effort underway in Haiti.
One notable absentee from the event: Florida Senate candidate Kendrick Meek (D), whose House district includes the Little Haiti neighborhood.
When the massive quake struck the Caribbean nation in January, Meek rushed into the disaster zone to pitch in. He got significant press coverage as a result but since then his profile has ebbed as the state's GOP Senate primary retook the spotlight.
The Meek campaign said instead of meeting with Biden the congressman is "taking care of personal business."
New polling in California shows Meg Whitman as a favorite for the GOP gubenatorial nomination while Sen. Barbara Boxer (D-Calif.) holds a strong lead over a generic Republican candidate; and a Harry Reid challenger is dubbed the Sarah Palin of Nevada.
Whitman not just California Dreaming
Former eBay CEO Meg Whitman (R) investment into her California gubenatorial campaign has paid off. She's ahead of Democratic candidate Jerry Brown 44-41 in a new Los Angeles Times/USC poll. And it appears she won't have trouble getting through the June primary -- she leads fellow Republican Steve Poizner by 40-points. As of the end of March, Whitman had self-funded $39 million to her campaign.
For the GOP nod to face Sen. Barbara Boxer (D-Calif.), the same survey showed former Rep. Tom Campbell with a slim lead over Carly Fiorina, 29 to 25 percent, while state Assemblyman Chuck DeVore polled 9 percent.
Meanwhile, Boxer holds a 14-point lead over a generic Republican, according to the March 23-30 survey.
New York's gubernatorial race is about to get more interesting
Buffalo developer Carl Paladino is set to announce his run for governor Monday. But preempting that announcement is a story from the New York Daily Newsabout how he fathered a child during an extramarital affair a decade ago. Paladino has three grown children with his wife, Cathy.
"The Paladinos consider this a private family matter and ask all media to respect their privacy," said Paladino campaign manager Michael Caputo.
Paladino wants to win a spot on the Conservative and Republican ballots.
Guns and ammo
A Las Vegas Sunprofile of casino executive Sue Lowden (R) calls her Nevada's answer to Sarah Palin.
That said, Lowden, who's running for the GOP nod to face Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.), continues to pick up endorsements, such as one over the weekend from the UNLV College Republicans. Moreover, it turns out one of her main primary rivals, investment banker John Chachas (R), donated to President Obama in 2007. That won't help with a GOP base angry at Washington.
Other updates
Ann McLane Kuster (D), a House candidate in New Hampshire's 2nd district, reported raising $285,000 last quarter. Her campaign is trumpeting the donor support she's getting in-state. One of Kuster's main rivals, Katrina Swett, has yet to report her first quarter numbers.
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