Democrats seized Monday on Sen. Scott Brown's (R-Mass.) remarks this weekend saying that he'd support the House-passed 2012 budget.

A local media report quoted Brown as telling a business group this weekend that he'd support Rep. Paul Ryan's (R-Wis.) budget when it comes up for a vote in the Senate, even though it's expected to ultimately fail.

"The leaders will bring forward [Budget Committee Chairman Paul Ryan's] budget, and I will vote for it, and it will fail," Brown said, according to a report by the Newburyport Daily News. "Then the president will bring forward his budget, and it will fail."

Democrats, who are looking to unseat Brown in the 2012 Senate elections, blasted Brown for the statement, as they've done with a host of other Republicans who've supported the Ryan budget. Democrats have particularly focused their attacks on the portion of the House GOP budget that would restructure Medicare for Americans under the age of 55.

"Brown pretends he’s independent and pretends he’s moderate, but he’s making it crystal clear that he supports the Republican plan to end Medicare and will vote for it in the U.S. Senate," said Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee (DSCC) communications director Matt Canter. "There’s nothing moderate or independent about that. In fact, Scott Brown votes with the Republican establishment in Washington, D.C., more than 90 percent of the time. That makes him fundamentally out of step with Massachusetts.”

Brown is seen as a centrist in the Senate, relative to some of his other Republican colleagues. Since he hails from a state that's seen as typically safe for Democrats, he and other similarly disposed Republicans will face especially strong pressure over the Ryan budget.

Famed Democratic strategist James Carville issued a fundraising plea for New York House candidate Kathy Hochul (D) Monday.

Hochul is locked in a tight three-way campaign with Republican Jane Corwin and independent Jack Davis in the race for former Rep. Chris Lee's (R-N.Y.) seat.

"Remember that Republican congressman who high-tailed it out of Washington after the shirtless photos he sent to women on Craigslist got splashed all over the Internet? Well, the special election for his seat is just 8 days away," Carville wrote on behalf of the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee.

He asked for contributions of $3 to help the party raise $75,000.

"I’m telling you," Carville wrote, "the more folks in Western New York hear about the Republicans' support for that ludicrous budget to end Medicare, the more voters are flocking to support Kathy."

Candidates have traded charges over who wants cuts to Medicare.

Facing criticism from conservatives, former House Speaker Newt Gingrich (R-Ga.) on Monday attempted to clarify his position on the so-called individual mandate contained in the federal healthcare law.       

"I am completely opposed to the ObamaCare mandate on individuals," Gingrich said in a short Web video released Monday. "I fought it for two and half years at the Center for Health Transformation. You can see all the things we did to stop it at HealthTransformation.net.

"I am for the repeal of ObamaCare and I'm against any effort to impose a federal mandate on anyone because it is fundamentally wrong and I believe unconstitutional." 

Gingrich tweeted out a link to the video with the message, "I oppose the Obamacare mandate. Period."

It follows a Sunday appearance on NBC's "Meet the Press" where Gingrich sounded supportive of such a requirement and questioned Rep. Paul Ryan's (R-Wis.) proposed budget, leading to a torrent of criticism from conservative bloggers and activists.   

The National Republican Congressional Committee released a TV ad hitting New York Democrat Kathy Hochul for being a puppet of Rep. Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.).

The 30-second spot, which went up Monday, includes a clip from an MSNBC interview where Hochul describes the House minority leader as having done a "great job for this country." The ad also paints independent Jack Davis, who is running on the Tea Party line, as a supporter of Pelosi.

The NRCC ad buy is close to $411,000, airing on broadcast and cable in Rochester and Buffalo's media markets, according to a GOP operative.

The ad's release came on the same day that Republican Jane Corwin's camp released a TV spot hitting Hochul for wanting to "cut Medicare and Social Security." 

Ryan fired back at Gingrich over the former Speaker's criticism of his proposed Medicare reforms.

Iowa's Republican governor said he saw a "wide open" race to win the state's caucuses next year, now that former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee (R) isn't running.

Iowa Gov. Terry Branstad (R) urged Republicans to begin their efforts to campaign in the Hawkeye State, encouraging all the candidates for president to visit the state and its 99 counties.

Branstad cited Huckabee's announcement over the weekend that he wouldn't seek the Republican nomination in 2012 as a reason for why other GOP candidates should begin campaigning in Iowa in earnest, following a slow start to the 2012 cycle.

"I would also point out that the front-runner, Mike Huckabee, made a decision over the weekend which is momentous," Branstad said at his weekly press conference. "Already we've seen a number of candidates who have come to Iowa, and I think we're going to see a deluge of candidates."

Huckabee won the caucuses, a presidential cycle's first nominating contests, in the 2008 race. Polls showed that he enjoyed an early advantage in Iowa heading into the 2012 elections, particularly among social conservatives, who are typically influential in Iowa primaries.

Absent him, Branstad said he saw a "wide open" contest where any kind of a Republican — a social conservative or otherwise — could win.

"I think we'll look back and this and say this is the most wide open and competitive race we've ever had for the Iowa caucuses," he said.

Branstad and Lt. Gov. Kim Reynolds (R) noted that the Ames straw poll, a key early indicator of caucus-goers' interest in candidates, is set for only 89 days from now, a prompt for candidates to begin ramping up their efforts in the race.

He said he had an "open door" to all the candidates, and that he's met with half a dozen already.

As for the candidates to benefit from Huckabee's departure from the race, Branstad said that any of the candidates could pick up those votes — he named former House Speaker Newt Gingrich, former Minnesota Gov. Tim Pawlenty, Rep. Michele Bachmann (Minn.) and former Sen. Rick Santorum (Pa.) in particular.

Senate Democrats are hoping to build momentum with grassroots activists around the issue of tax breaks for major oil companies.

Democrats have been pressing to repeal of billions of dollars' worth of industry tax breaks and apply the savings to deficit reduction. In conjunction with the party's effort in Washington, the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee (DSCC) has launched an online petition urging activists to support its stance.

Through Google and Facebook advertisements, and direct emails, some 73,000 activists have signed an online petition calling for an end to the industry tax breaks.

The DSCC, in a release, said it plans to use this issue against Republican Sens. Dean Heller (Nev.), Scott Brown (Mass.), Olympia Snowe (Maine) and Dick Lugar (Ind.), as well as Senate candidates including George Allen (Va.) and Reps. Denny Rehberg (Mont.), Jeff Flake (Ariz.) and Todd Akin (Mo.).

The petition, which will help the DSCC and Democratic campaigns expand their list of in-state activists, went live April 27. The online ads started running April 28, according to a DSCC spokesman.

Republicans are digging in over the issue of tax breaks for oil companies.

Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) said Sunday that Republicans won't discuss nixing the tax breaks as part of fiscal reform talks with Vice President Biden. 

"That's not the kind of thing we're going to be dealing with here in connection with the serious talks that are going on with the vice president's group," McConnell said on CNN's "State of the Union."

— Ben Geman contributed 

Forty-six percent of voters say they feel worse off than a year ago; 36 percent said their situation is unchanged.

A top aide to New York Republican Jane Corwin has become an issue in the special election race for former Rep. Chris Lee's seat.

Michael Mallia, Corwin's chief of staff in the state Assembly, has been identified as the man behind the tracking video of Independent candidate Jack Davis.

In the 15-second clip released by Republicans, he's heard shrieking as Davis flaps at the camera after getting asked why he withdrew from the candidate debates.

The Davis camp on Sunday accused Mallia of yelling "coward" at the House candidate during a rally in Wyoming County.

Curtis Ellis, Davis's campaign manager, called on Corwin's campaign to release the tracking video Mallia was shooting at the time.

"The Corwin campaign is refusing to release the tape because it will show her own chief of staff insulting a veteran and every man and women who has served our country in uniform," Ellis said in a statement.

Davis is a former Marine Corps and Coast Guard reservist.

A spokesman for Corwin didn't deny the incident took place. 

"Jane is humbled by the 20 military veterans currently serving in Congress that recently endorsed her," Matthew Harakal, a spokesman for Corwin, said in an email to The Ballot Box.

The Buffalo News took note that conservatives in the 26th district aren't pleased with Mallia's behavior, which could reflect badly on his boss.

"A legislative professional, the boss of Jane Corwin’s Assembly office, and he’s hassling a man 50 years older than he is in a parking lot at the fire hall,” Bob Lonsberry, a popular conservative radio host in Rochester, wrote on his blog. “It was an ambush, a setup, and an insight into just how black and depraved the Republican heart is."

Corwin and Davis face Democrat Kathy Hochul in the May 24 vote.