Sen. Patty Murray (D-Wash.), the chairwoman of the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee, extended an enthusiastic endorsement from the committee to Rep. Shelley Berkley (D-Nev.) Thursday, but stopped short of doing the same for Democratic candidates in New Mexico and Connecticut.

Of Berkley's entry into the Nevada race, Murray said, "Shelley rises to the top in her energy and her knowledge of the state and her enthusiasm and we're very proud to support her."

Murray also noted the quick backing Berkley won Thursday from Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.).

While Murray praised Reps. Martin Heinrich (D-N.M.) and Chris Murphy (D-Conn.) in their open-seat Senate races, she said the committee has not yet extended any official backing to either one.

Murphy already has a primary opponent in Connecticut, secretary of State Susan Bysiewicz, and Heinrich is likely to face a Democratic primary as well.

"I didn't say I wasn't going to endorse Heinrich," Murray said. "We are here in April and it's three months into the cycle and we are looking at all these states and determining where they are individually."

The difference, said Murray, is that while Nevada is seen as a prime pick-up opportunity, New Mexico's seat is currently held by a Democrat and there are "a number of people who are looking at that race."

Murray also stressed that she doesn't see an endorsement from the DSCC as a hindrance to candidates.

"I don't have the NRSC's problem," Murray said, referring to a slew of Tea Party-backed challengers who battled establishment GOP candidates last cycle — a pattern she  expects to repeat itself next year. "I don't have bloody primaries in half of our races." 

The chairwoman of the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee, Sen. Patty Murray (Wash.), said Thursday that she's confident the tax flap surrounding Sen. Claire McCaskill (D-Mo.) won't hurt the first-term senator's reelection prospects.   

"I don't see damage with it, I really don't," Murray told reporters. "And why? Because she McCaskill'd it ... She said, 'I'm gonna be honest and straightforward.'" 

McCaskill has been dogged by questions about her failure to pay thousands of dollars in property taxes owed on a private plane.

The Missouri Democrat announced in March that she was sending the St. Louis County Department of Revenue checks to cover some $320,000 in personal property taxes owed on her family-owned plane for 2007 to 2010.

She has apologized for the incident, calling it a "mistake."

National Republicans have been hammering McCaskill, who is one of their top targets in 2012, over the tax bill. But Murray said Thursday she's confident voters will "respect" McCaskill's response and not hold it against her on Election Day.

"She was the one that demanded an investigation," Murray stressed. "She's the one that paid everything up front and more. She has been straight out front and open with absolutely everybody about it and I think that is what people in Missouri and the United States Senate really respect her for." 

- Sean J. Miller contributed to this report.

The commander of the USS Cole during the 2000 terrorist attack on the destroyer is running for Congress in Nevada.

Retired Navy Commander Kirk Lippold announced his run for the GOP nomination in the state's 2nd House district Thursday. The seat is open as current Rep. Dean Heller (R-Nev.) is running for Senate.

"I’m not a career politician and I don’t intend to be one," the first-time candidate said in a statement. "But there are times when the call to serve cannot be ignored. This is one of those times."

Lippold, a 26-year Navy veteran, wants to focus on reducing the national deficit. "I will fight every day to shrink the role of government, get Nevadans back to work, and pay down the national debt," he said.

Lippold was in charge of the USS Cole when it was attacked by al Qaeda terrorists while in port in Yemen. Seventeen sailors died in the incident.

Also on Thursday, Lt. Gov. Brian Krolicki (R) issued a statement saying he won't decide on a run for the seat until after the current session of the Nevada Legislature concludes in June. 

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Business tycoon Donald Trump is likely to announce whether he'll officially enter the race for the GOP presidential nomination after the May 22 finale of "The Apprentice," a top adviser said Thursday.

Michael D. Cohen, an executive vice president in the Trump organization who's served as a top adviser for the "Apprentice" host," said that Trump will announce on the May 22 finale of the NBC show the day, time and place of the press conference at which he'll make his final decision known.

Trump's decision will not be revealed during the season finale of "The Apprentice," Cohen said.

An announcement will likely take place between the finale and the first few days of June, by which point Trump has previously said he would make a decision.

"It's no different than any other social media," Cohen said of Trump's use of the NBC show to promote his decision-making press conference.

Trump's been openly flirting with running for president since early 2011, and has embarked upon an aggressive media campaign to promote his potential candidacy.

In the meanwhile, polls have suggested the real estate mogul has gained ground on other Republicans vying for the party's nomination in 2012, the most recent CNN poll this week showing him tied for first place with former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee (R).

A spokeswoman for NBC didn't immediately respond to an email seeking comment on the network's handling of the season finale of "The Apprentice."

Libertarian Rep. Ron Paul (R-Texas) has taken a step toward running for president in 2012, forming a fundraising account that allows him to test the waters for donor support. 

Paul's political aide Jesse Benton confirmed Thursday that a so-called "testing the waters" account has been created for the potential candidate. The organization is not a full exploratory committee, but money from the account could be transferred into a campaign war chest should Paul officially choose to enter the fray. 

The announcement comes as other possible GOP candidates have taken concrete steps in the last week toward starting a campaign. 

Former Sen. Rick Santorum (R-Pa.) established a similar fundraising structure this week, and former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney (R) formed an exploratory committee. Former Minnesota Gov. Tim Pawlenty (R) also made two key staff hires for his exploratory committee. 

Paul has already demonstrated that he can bring in large sums of cash: He raised $3 million in the first fundraising quarter of 2011, $1 million of which was taken in by LibertyPAC, which he uses to fund his political activities. 

Paul — who has run for president twice before — said earlier this month that he will likely announce his intentions by May.

The National Republican Congressional Committee had its "best March ever" but fell short of the Democrats' first quarter total.

The Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee raised $19.6 million during the first three months of 2011, while the NRCC pulled in $18.1 million during the same period.

Democrats had trumpeted how they raised more than $1.2 million online in the month of March, when the party asked for campaign cash to help avert a potential for shutdown of the federal government. But the DCCC's grassroots' contributions were dwarfed by the $10.2 million the Republicans took in last month.

It was the "best month ever in a non-election year," according to an NRCC spokeswoman.

The NRCC is reporting $9.05 million cash on hand and $8 million in debt. The DCCC has $4.6 million in the bank and the same amount of debt as their GOP counterpart.

Florida Sen. Bill Nelson's Republican opponent says he outraised the Democrat by almost a half-million dollars last quarter.

State Senate President Mike Haridopolos said Wednesday that he raised about $2.6 million in the first quarter of 2011. Nelson said he raised some $2 million in the first three months of the year, and that was with the help of President Obama and Vice President Biden.

The Democrat still has a cash-on-hand advantage. Nelson's set to report having between $4.5 million and $5 million banked, while Haridopolos will report $2.5 million cash on hand, according to the Palm Beach Post.

After weeks of wrangling between lawmakers in Louisiana and tension among the GOP members of the delegation in Washington, a new congressional map won approval from state legislators late Wednesday.

As expected, the map draws Republican Reps. Charles Boustany Jr. and Jeff Landry together in a new district that advantages Boustany.

The state must shed a congressional district ahead of 2012 and the new map will force Landry, a freshman Republican, into a district that includes much of the territory currently represented by Boustany. Gov. Bobby Jindal (R) has indicated that he will sign the plan into law.   

Throughout the debate over the re-draw, the majority of the delegation were behind a plan that put Landry and Boustany together, leaving the other GOP members of the delegation in safe districts.

But tensions ratcheted up after Boustany began to push a plan put forth by a Democratic state lawmaker, which would have created a much more competitive district for fellow GOP Rep. John Fleming. While it's not the plan that ultimately won approval, tensions could linger.

"I don't feel like I can trust anything he says," Fleming said of Boustany late last week. "Everything he told me, he reneged on."

Approval of the map came just as a special session of the State Legislature was about to wrap, which would have pushed a new congressional map off until next year. Over the past several days, a handful of members of the state's delegation, including Landry, publicly said a delay might be the preferred option. 

"I commend the legislature on finishing the difficult task of redistricting," Boustany said in a statement. "It has always been in the best interest of voters across the state to complete this and avoid uncertainty or confusion in the coming months."

Landry, who defeated a candidate endorsed by Boustany in a GOP primary last cycle, has said he intends to run again in 2012 no matter what. 

-Updated at 8:23 p.m.

The Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee (DCCC) has taken a major step toward paying down the debt left over from a brutal 2010 election cycle and outraised its Republican counterpart over the first three months of the year.

The DCCC announced Thursday that it raised $19.6 million during the first quarter and has cut its debt to $8 million. The National Republican Congressional Committee wasn't far behind, raising $18.1 million in the first quarter, but also still has $8 million in debt still on the books.

After raising just over $5 million in the month of February, the DCCC reported $17.3 million in debt. 

The one major difference -- the NRCC reported nearly twice the cash on hand of the DCCC at the end of the first quarter with $9 million in the bank, compared to $4.6 million for the DCCC. The NRCC also raised $10.2 million in March.

The DCCC raised more than $1.2 million online in the month of March, and a fundraising appeal pegged to capitalize on the potential for a government shutdown netted the committee its second best day of online fundraising in its history on April 8. That haul, however, came after the books closed on the first quarter. 

The DCCC's first-quarter total comes after outraising its Republican counterpart in both January and February. In February, the DCCC raised $5.2 million to the NRCC's $4.9 million, and in January, the DCCC raised $4.4 million to the NRCC's $3 million. 

Democrats need a net gain of 25 seats to take back the House majority in 2012. 

-Updated at 10:32 a.m.