Congressional Campaigns

The Sacramento Bee endorsed former Rep. Doug Ose (Calif.) in the Republican primary in the 4th congressional district, calling him the candidate "to get things done."

Ose is in a tough intra-party fight against state Sen. Tom McClintock, who has received support from the anti-tax Club for Growth. The Bee's editorial praised Ose for his oversight work of gifts given to president during his first stint in Congress, which lasted from 1999 to 2005. The editorial criticized McClintock's career as one that's "long on eloquence and principle and short on results."

Rep. John Doolittle (R), under investigation for ties to convicted lobbyist Jack Abramoff, announced in January that he would not seek re-election. Democrats in the district have already rallied behind retired Air Force Lt. Col. Charlie Brown as their nominee. Brown nearly defeated Doolittle in 2006, losing 46 percent to 49 percent.

UPDATED 5/13/08 10:16 a.m.: Clarification -- ActBlue itself does not endorse candidates in primary races.

UPDATED 3:24 p.m. Eastern: Speaker Pelosi's office responded with comment, which was added in the fourth paragraph.

A Democratic primary challenger to Nancy Pelosi in California's 8th district is calling the House Speaker a "political coward" with a TV ad that compares her to a rubber chicken.

Shirley Golub, a San Francisco real estate agent who worked on the 2000 presidential campaigns of Rep. Dennis Kucinich (D-Ohio) and Sen. John Kerry (D-Mass.), charges that Pelosi is a "chicken on impeachment, torture [and] ending the occupation

Even though Rep. Vito Fossella (R-N.Y.) contends he will not resign, many of his GOP colleagues are acting as though he is finished, the New York Daily News is reporting.

The story claims that, with the exception of longtime friend Rep. Peter King (R-N.Y.), Republicans are unlikely to support the embattled Congressman with campaign funds or public appearances.

Democrats are eyeing Fossella's seat as another potential pickup. Late last week the liberal blog Swing State Project moved Fossella's district into the "tossup" category after previously rating the seat "likely Republican."

A GOP insider is quoted in the story as saying, "How would it look to other incumbents if we spend money on a guy who took a great career, a great future and a great GOP seat and basically threw it away?

Democrat Travis Childers has picked up major newspaper endorsements in his bid for a House seat in a conservative Mississippi district.

Childers, who faces Republican Greg Davis in a special election Tuesday, received the endorsement of The Commercial Appeal in Memphis, Tenn., on Sunday.

The newspaper criticized Davis for failing to show much political independence from the Bush administration, especially on the Iraq war.

"Davis has given no indication that he

WNBC, NBC's New York affiliate, is reporting that according to several New York Republicans, Rep. Vito Fossella (R-N.Y.) will resign in the next 72 hours.

Fossella admitted yesterday to having an affair that led to a now-three year old daughter, as The Hill reported. Fossella was arrested and charged with a DWI in Alexandria, Va. April 30.

From WNBC:

Several top New York Republicans said that Congressman Vito Fossella's resignation will come within the next 72 hours -- if not late Friday then certainly by Monday.

There was political concern about how best to preserve the seat for the Republicans -- questions about immediate resignation versus finishing out his term and retiring -- but the calculation is there's nothing to be gained from Fossella sticking around. While Staten Island Republicans believe Fossella could at least serve out his term (the rest of the year) national Republicans want him gone. Now.

The economically conservative Club for Growth released its congressional scorecard for 2007 today. Four lawmakers received perfect scores for their 2007 performances: Reps. Jeff Flake (R-Ariz.), Doug Lamborn (R-Colo.), Jeb Hensarling (R-Texas), and Sen. Jim DeMint (R-S.C.).

Those four, along with five other senators and 46 other representatives, received the Club's "Defender of Economic Freedom" award. See the Club's scorecard here.

Rep. Hank Johnson (D) will run unopposed by any major party candidate for Georgia

Anti-tax advocate Grover Norquist is showing up in yet another hot Republican primary Friday.

Norquist, president of Americans for Tax Reform (ATR), will appear with John Stephen, New Hampshire's former health and human services secretary, as the House candidate signs Norquist's "no-tax-increases" pledge. Stephen is challenging former Rep. Jeb Bradley for the GOP nomination. The winner will face freshman Rep. Carol Shea-Porter (D), who narrowly defeated Bradley in the Granite State's Republican-leaning Seacoast district.

Both Stephen and Bradley have signed the pledge, but Stephen signed four months earlier, in November 2007. Stephen, who pushed to cut his state department's costs, has tried to run to the right of Bradley, charging him with requesting an earmark when he served in Congress. Bradley has denied the claim.

Neither Norquist nor ATR has endorsed a candidate in the race, though the group's spokesman, John Kartch, said that ATR was "very impressed with Stephen's track record."

Norquist has taken an active role in other House races this year. He has campaigned against Reps. Wayne Gilchrest (R-Md.) and Walter Jones (R-N.C.), who had voted for Democratic bills that included tax increases. Gilchrest lost his primary in February though Jones won his on Tuesday.

In a letter to House Republicans, former Speaker Newt Gingrich called Saturday's special election win for Democrat Don Cazayoux in Louisiana a "sharp wake up call" that should prompt Republicans to "chart a bold course of real change" or "suffer decisive losses this November."

The Hill's Jackie Kucinich has a story up on the letter. Here is part of Jackie's story:

Gingrich urges House leaders to call an Read more...

UPDATED, 2:55 P.M.

The Club for Growth is again going after a Republican candidate in a House primary for not being as conservative as it would like.

The Club is running an ad attacking former Rep. Doug Ose (R-Calif.) for his "liberal record" in Congress. Ose faces state Sen. Tom McClintock, whom Club Executive Director David Keating calls a "conservative stalwart," in the June GOP primary in retiring Rep. John Doolittle's district. Whoever wins the Republican nomination will be the favorite to win the seat, since Republicans in the district outnumber Democrats by more than 50 percent.

The Club's ad criticizes Ose, a member of Congress from 1999 to 2005, for voting for funding for the Cowgirl Hall of Fame and an indoor rainforest in Iowa.

Ose's campaign responded to the spot by noting the losses by Club-backed candidates in special House elections in Louisiana over the weekend and in Ohio late last year.

"The Club For Growth