Another advocacy group has taken sides in 7th-term Rep. Walter Jones' (R-N.C.) reelection bid today, as the National Community Pharmacists Association (NCPA) threw their support behind Jones.
"He's been a supporter of all of our main legislative issues," said John Norton, public relations manager for NCPA, citing Jones' membership in the Congressional Pharmacy Coalition.
Jones will face what Norton called a tough primary contest May 6 against Onslow County Commissioner Joe McLaughlin. McLaughlin recently earned the support of Americans for Tax Reform (ATR) President Grover Norquist, who traveled to North Carolina's 3rd congressional district in February to tell reporters that Jones had broken ATR's pledge against raising taxes. (Walter Alarkon has a story in today's Hill about Norquist's House endorsements.)
According to Jones' latest FEC filing, a 2007 year-end report filed in March, NCPA had already given $8500 to Jones' campaign in the cycle thusfar.
Former Rep. Dick Zimmer said he's ready to enter the Republican primary for the Senate seat now held by Frank Lautenberg (D-N.J.), reports PolitickerNJ.
Zimmer told the Garden State news blog that his candidacy isn't a done deal yet, but he added that he would run if asked. He said that several GOP leaders had called him on Wednesday to talk about a bid.
Rep. Mario Diaz-Balart, the Republican congressman from South Florida, is hoping his challenger's upcoming fundraiser with Rep. Charles Rangel (D-N.Y.) backfires.
Diaz-Balart, who relies on strong support from Cuban Americans, is trying to link his opponent, Joe Garcia, to Rangel and his support for looser sanctions on Cuba, according to the Miami Herald.
"[Rangel] has a long and well-known history of supporting a radical left-wing agenda including supporting higher taxes on working families and appeasing our nation's enemies," Diaz-Balart's campaign said in a statement. "Left-wing birds of a feather, tax and spend together.''
Garcia, former chairman of the state commission that regulates the energy and telecommunications industries, said that Rangel can help him bring back federal money and jobs to his district.
''I'm not going to fall into the ridiculous red-baiting that my opponent does,'' Garcia told the Herald.
Diaz-Balart and Garcia have raised about the same amount of money this year -- $340,000 for the Republican and $330,000 for the Democrat -- but Garcia has only been running since February.
Rangel, who is a "special guest" at Garcia's April 21 fundraiser in New York City, has raised more $5 million this campaign cycle, the most of any House member, as Ian Swanson reported in The Hill last month.
UPDATE 4:30 P.M.: Garcia just sent an e-mail to supporters in which he says he's "disappointed but not surprised" by Diaz-Balart's attack.
"Diaz-Balart has based his career on intimidating his opponents and accusing them of being Castro-sympathizers," Garcia said in the e-mail, which also asked for supporters' donations. "He can't pull that stunt on me. I've spent my entire life working for human rights in Cuba. When he was trying to find his legislative office in Tallahassee, I was already meeting world leaders and walking the halls of Congress on behalf of the Cuban people."
Howard Shanker may call himself the "party outsider" in the Democratic primary in Arizona's 1st congressional district, but he's getting some help from at least one big party names.
Shanker received the endorsement of Rep. Raul Grijalva (D-Ariz.), who called Shanker "a stalwart fighter for protection of Arizona
Camille Spinello Andrews, wife New Jersey Rep. Rob Andrews (D), will reportedly run for the seat vacated by her husband's decision to run against Sen. Frank Lautenberg in the New Jersey Democratic primary.
Congressman Andrews angered Democratic party insiders last week when he announced his move to challenge the 84-year-old four-term Senator in the state's primary.
Lautenberg's campaign attacked the move in a statement:
This doesn't pass the smell test -- at all. New Jersey needs a Senator who will fight on behalf of the people of this state everyday -- not someone who plays games with the voters to protect his local political patron, George Norcross. Like much of the Andrews campaign so far, this latest maneuver demonstrates the old school politics that the voters of New Jersey are sick and tired of.
The National Republican Congressional Committee (NRCC) released its own 3 a.m. web ad today. U.S. intelligence officers cannot monitor phone conversations between suspected terrorists, the NRCC says, "because the Democrat Majority refuses to answer the call to protect the American people."
Allahpundit looks at the latest on John McCain's vice presidential pick. A letter from a group of social conservatives calling on McCain not to pick Mitt Romney has Allahpundit questioning why they've waited until after the Bay Stater's own presidential campaign to turn on him. Allahpundit also asks readers what they think of McCain choosing Sen. Tom Coburn (R-Okla.), someone who helped push conservatives toward McCain while also questioning the Iraq war.
Seeing a new Rasmussen poll showing Hillary Clinton ahead by just five points in the Pennsylvania primary, Larry Kudlow at The Corner suggests that her misstatements about her Bosnia trip have made an impact.
Rasmussen had Clinton leading Barack Obama by 10 points last week and by 13 points the week before. Should that trend continue, resulting in a close victory for Clinton, she would be "sunk."
To be sure, Clinton is still up by more than 14 points in the RealClearPolitics average of Pennsylvania polls even when the latest Rasmussen poll is accounted for. But SurveyUSA's most recent poll also shows a declining Clinton's lead, from 19 points to 12 points, prompting TPM's David Kurtz to suggest that it's slipping.
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