"There's temptation to do it," he said. He's scheduled to appear in next week's debate in South Carolina.

Donald Trump defended his voting record, saying it is "very good."

The business mogul, who's considering a 2012 White House bid, has come under fire after a New York television station revealed he hasn't voted in a primary in 21 years.

Trump told the station "I voted in every general election." 

But as for his record in voting in primaries, he told "Fox & Friends" Monday morning: "I mean, generally speaking, I like to vote. I'm a believer in voting, I will tell you.

"But when they don't run a Republican candidate or when the Republican is scheduled to get 6.2 percent of the vote, it's sort of pretty tough to travel 1,000 miles in order to vote."

The Hill's Christian Heinze has the video over at the GOP 12 blog.

South Carolina governor suggests the candidates craft a more positive message, not just criticize Obama.

South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley (R) called on potential Republican presidential contenders to weigh in on a labor dispute between the Obama administration and the airline contractor Boeing.

The International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers complained of unfair labor practices after Boeing moved a construction line from a unionized facility in Washington state to a non-union one in South Carolina.

The National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) agreed with the union and filed the complaint, saying Boeing is violating fair labor law. Boeing is fighting the charge.

Haley calls the NLRB finding "ridiculous."

“Every presidential candidate needs to weigh in on what is happening with NLRB and Boeing,” Haley said in an interview with National Review's The Corner blog. “I would expect the presidential candidates to speak up, to say that this is wrong, and also to go further than that: to say what they would do to make it right.”

Haley's comments come a few days after she said she wasn't inspired by any of the current field of likely Republican presidential candidates.

"I'll tell you, right now, no one in the field excites me right now," Haley said.

“I like the Dolphins better than the Bucs" was the only difference George LeMieux (R-Fla.) could think of between himself and then-Gov. Charlie Crist (R-Fla.) in 2009, the year Crist appointed LeMieux to the Senate.

But Monday's Miami Herald has a fascinating look at their relationship now.

This time around, LeMieux is emphasizing his differences with Crist as he runs for the Republican nomination to face Sen. Bill Nelson (D-Fla.) next year.

From the article:

“I had many things I disagreed with the governor on,” LeMieux said this week.

But Crist administration insiders say they’re hard-pressed to remember differences between Crist and LeMieux — his one-time chief of staff, adviser and close friend.

LeMieux didn’t just advocate Crist’s policies, he helped shaped them. Some are unpopular with conservatives — a global-warming initiative, felons voting rights, a gaming deal with the Seminole Tribe of Florida, accepting President Obama’s stimulus money, an Everglades land purchase that benefitted U.S. Sugar and expanding the role of government in the property insurance market.

Crist appointed LeMieux to the Senate in 2009, after Sen. Mel Martinez (R-Fla.) resigned. Sen. Marco Rubio (R-Fla.) won the seat last year, defeating Crist, who ran as an Independent. LeMieux campaigned for Rubio, the Republican nominee.

He told the Miami Herald he had "little choice."

LeMieux, on Crist: “Our relationship is strained. I feel sad about it. But I’m not the one who left the party."

Crist's only comment to the Herald: that he was “grateful for George LeMieux’s service to the people of Florida.”

This Senate race will be one of the most competitive of the 2012 cycle. Florida Senate President Mike Haridopolos (R) is also running for the GOP nomination, but he's had to deal with the fallout from being admonished by the Florida Senate for failing to accurately disclose his income on state ethics forms.

Nelson is a top GOP target and, despite help from President Obama and Vice President Biden, Haridopolos still beat him in first-quarter fundraising, $2.2 million to $2 million.

The Los Angeles Times has endorsed Councilwoman Janice Hahn (D) in the race for former Rep. Jane Harman's (D-Calif.) seat.

"Even Hahn's critics acknowledge her passion for the communities she serves and for the issues she champions. Charismatic and tough, she is a stalwart environmentalist (she supported the port's controversial Clean Truck Program, which has mandated new rules on vehicles to clean up the air in the region), an ardent advocate for the poor (she supported efforts to use city power to unionize private hotels) and a forceful fighter for jobs (she led the push for modernization of Los Angeles International Airport, in part because it is expected to generate 39,000 jobs)," the paper wrote in its endorsement Monday.

The primary is May 17 and features 11 candidates. If no candidate gets 50 percent, the two top vote-getters, regardless of party, advance to a runoff.

Hahn and California Secretary of State Debra Bowen (D) are considered the top two contenders.

The City Councilwoman has lined up the most endorsements, including those of Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.), Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa, several members of the California congressional delegation and several labor unions.

She ran for the seat in 1998 when Harman vacated it to run for governor but lost to Steven Kuykendall in the general election.

Harman announced her resignation in February and is now head of the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars.

New York mayor said the GOP needs to focus on housing and economic issues.

Evangelical leader Franklin Graham doesn't think Sarah Palin will run and was surprised by Donald Trump.

There are many questions to be sorted out over filling a Senate spot and, possibly, Dean Heller's House seat.