The Republican candidate running to replace the late Rep. John Murtha (D-Pa.) has a website called votemurthaout.com, even though Murtha died more than two months ago.
The only content on the site is GOP nominee Tim Burns's statement on Murtha's death. Some of the links don’t work, but the button for campaign contributions does.
It also links directly to Burns’s Twitter account, which updates regularly on the site. Ballot Box asked Burns's campaign why they didn't remove the site or have the link redirect people to his main campaign site: timburnsforcongress.com.
"The site has not been updated recently and has only remained live with Tim Burns’ statement about the unfortunate passing of Congressman Murtha and highlighting Mr. Murtha’s dedication to public service," Burns campaign spokesman Kent Gates said. "Therefore, there is no need for it to be re-directed to the main site which is focused on the current Special Election for the remainder of the term.”
Burns was running against Murtha before the longtime lawmaker died on Feb. 8. Now Burns is running against a former aide to the congressman in the May 18 special election.
No wonder Attorney General Jack Conway (D) was keeping quiet about his fundraising numbers.
The Kentucky Senate candidate raised only $215,684 in the first three months of 2010, his campaign said Friday. That's less than half what the leading Republican, Secretary of State Trey Grayson, pulled down. It's also short of what his main primary rival raised.
Lt. Gov. Dan Mongiardo (D) hauled in $312,000 in the first quarter.
The only bright spot for Conway is that he now has $1.3 million cash on hand -- roughly $200,000 more than Grayson.
Fears that two Democratic candidates running in Hawaii's special election would splinter the vote look to be coming true.
A new Daily Kos/Research 2000 poll found Democratic candidates, former Rep. Ed Case and state Senate President Colleen Hanabusa, in a virtual tie -- 29 percent to 28 percent respectively.
The Republican candidate, Honolulu City Councilman Charles Djou, isn't doing much better. He received 32 percent in the poll, which was conducted April 11-14.
The May 22nd election pits the three candidates against one another and is winner take-all. Perhaps even more troubling, the poll shows only 7 percent of voters are undecided -- giving the candidates few new supporters to win.
Former Rep. Neil Abercrombie (D-Hawaii) is running for governor.
New Hampshire's gubernatorial election could be a referendum on gay marriage.
Gov. John Lynch (D) announced Friday he would seek an unprecedented fourth term. He came under attack recently from national conservative groups for signing a gay marriage bill into law last year.
The National Organization for Marriage (NOM) sponsored a $200,000 TV ad buy that started running on Tuesday, according to the Nashua Telegraph. The ad hits Lynch on supporting gay marriage but also on taxes and spending.
"New Hampshire residents were shocked last year when they learned that Gov. Lynch had been lying to them about his position on gay marriage," Brian Brown, NOM's executive director, told the paper. "Even though he promised voters when he ran for office that he did not support gay marriage, Lynch signed same-sex marriage legislation into law."
"The job isn't done," Lynch said in announcing his decision to run again.
New Hampshire's governors serve two-year terms – none have been elected to a fourth.
The state's Republican Party called it an attempt to "cling to power."
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.
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.
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