Congressional Campaigns

Democratic Senator-elect Al Franken on Monday emphasized representing Minnesota and said he is ready to get to work after he is sworn in on Tuesday.

At a press conference with Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.), Franken said he is less concerned with being the Democrats' 60th vote in the Senate than he is with being a voice for Minnesota.

"A lot has been made at this number 60," Franken said in brief remarks. "The number I am focused on is the number two. I view myself as the second senator from the state of Minnesota."

Franken will be sworn in on Tuesday - eight months after Election Day last November. He will be immediately thrust into the spotlight in serving on the Senate Judiciary Committee, which will host the Supreme Court confirmation hearings of Sonia Sotomayor, and the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee, a key panel in healthcare reform.

"Minnesotans want a rational healthcare system that provides healthcare for all Americans," Franken said.

The Democrat also stressed an education system that prepares the next generation for the 21st century economy.

"I am going to work day and night to make sure that our kids are going to have a great future," Franken said. "I am ready to get to work."

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Kentucky Secretary of State Trey Grayson (R) has pulled in more than $600,000 in just under two months as he contemplates a Senate bid against -- or in place of -- Sen. Jim Bunning (R-Ky.).

Grayson's exploratory committee will report raising more than $602,000 since he announced his potential candidacy on May 6. His burn rate has been low so far, and he finished the quarter with $572,000 in the bank.

National Republicans would much prefer Grayson at the head of the ticket as Bunning, who has been vocal about running for a third term, continues to exhibit behavior that worries GOP strategists.

So far this year, Bunning has lashed out at National Republican Senatorial Committee chairman John Cornyn (R-Texas) and seatmate Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) for questioning the two-term Republican's intentions to run. He has banned reporters from weekly conference calls and threatened to resign to give Kentucky's Democratic governor a chance to name his replacement, spiting his own party.

Bunning, who gave Grayson permission to open an exploratory committee during a face-to-face meeting earlier this year, has had his own troubles collecting cash. Bunning raised just $262,000 in the first quarter of the year and retained $375,000 in the bank as of the end of March.

Bunning's first quarter haul fell far short of his lone rival at the time, Kentucky Lt. Gov. Daniel Mongiardo (D). Mongiardo raised nearly $430,000 in about half the time it took Bunning to pull in his money.

Mongiardo has his own primary to worry about. Attorney General Jack Conway (D) joined the race in the second quarter, and sources tell The Hill he will file an impressive report this month as well.

Filings with the Federal Election Commission are due July 15.

-Reid Wilson

Nebraska state Sen. Tom White (D) just announced that he has launched an exploratory committee for the race against Rep. Lee Terry (R-Neb.) in 2010.

White should be the Democratic standard-bearer after Democrat Jim Esch failed in two straight cycles to take down Terry. Terry's Omaha district has swung toward Democrats, with President Obama carrying it and it's electoral vote in 2008, but Esch wasn't quite seen as the strongest possible challenger to Terry.

Enter White, who is a known quantity and should give Terry a good race. He's got a good foundation to build on, with Esch falling by just four points last year.

The big question will be how much Esch benefitted from Obama voters and whether those people will turn out for White in a midterm year.

"Our community needs an independent, effective voice in Congress - someone who puts partisanship aside to get things done," White said. "My record in the Legislature demonstrates my ability to work with members of both parties to reduce taxes, create jobs, and make government more efficient."

Welcome to the most impolitic race of the 2010 election cycle.

Rep. Steve Cohen's (D-Tenn.) primary opponent, Memphis Mayor Willie Herenton, is kicking of his campaign by making it known that he thinks his opponent is, well, kind of a jerk. Except he didn't use those words.

Since The Hill likes to keep things relatively PG, here is a link to explain (voice recording of the comment included): The Memphis Flyer.

Cohen told WMC-TV in response: "I've always run a positive campaign. I'm going to run on my record. I'm proud of my record"

Special election primaries for Rep. Ellen Tauscher's (D-Calif.) seat set for Sept. 1.

The battle is on in freshman Rep. Eric Massa's (D-N.Y.) seat, where Massa is siding with Republicans and the Republican is siding with Democrats on the recent war supplemental.

A state House member looks to join the GOP primary to face freshman Rep. Suzanne Kosmas (D-Fla.).

Florida Gov. Charlie Crist (R) looks like he raised some huge, huge money in the second quarter.

Former Rep. John Kasich (R-Ohio) trails Gov. Ted Strickland by just five points.

Rep. Mary Bono Mack (R-Calif.) gets some rare love from the Palm Springs Desert Sun for her energy bill vote.

National Republican Senatorial Committee (NRSC) Chairman John Cornyn (R-Texas) gets booed by the tea party crowd.

The Obama administration should stay out of New York's likely-to-be-contested Democratic Senate primary, the dean of the New York congressional delegation said this weekend.

"I really don't understand why President Obama got involved in our primary," Rep. Charlie Rangel (D-N.Y.) told the New York Daily News.

"I don't want to use the word wrong, but it doesn't seem like the astute political thing to do," Rangel added.

Political figures across the spectrum in Democratic politics have lined up for an expectedly contentious primary between appointed first-term Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand (D-N.Y.) and longer-serving Rep. Carolyn Maloney (D-N.Y.).

Gillibrand was appointed to fill the Senate seat left vacant by now-Secretary of State Hillary Clinton.

New York Gov. David Paterson's (D) selection of Gillibrand, a relative newcomer, over more experienced politicos had driven the ire of some more senior members of the state's congressional delegation.

State Attorney General Kelly Ayotte (R) is in good position to give Democratic Rep. Paul Hodes a good fight for Judd Gregg's (R) Senate seat, according to a poll released Thursday.

Republicans hopes for holding on to the seat appeared to be bolstered by the latest Granite State poll. Ayotte leads Hodes 39 percent to 35 percent in the survey, including a 33 percent to 26 percent edge among independents, an important group in New Hampshire.

Ayotte has yet to jump into the Senate race. Republicans, however, have been saying for a few weeks that she would be a strong candidate to take on Hodes. That speculation intensified this week when former Sen. John Sununu (R) said that he will not run.

Ayotte's favorability numbers are particularly good for the GOP. Forty-five percent have a favorable view of her while only eight percent have an unfavorable view. Forty percent don't know enough about her to form an opinion.

Hodes' favorables are also strong, though he also remains largely unknown statewide. Thirty-two percent view the Democrat favorably, 23 percent have an unfavorable view and 37 percent don't know enough about him.

Other Republicans are in position to give Hodes a good run for the Senate seat, although Ayotte is the only Republican beating Hodes head to head in the survey. Former Congressman Charlie Bass (R) trailed Hodes in the survey by a 38 percent to 40 percent margin - a statistical tie. Bass did lead Hodes 34 percent to 22 percent among independents in the survey, though.

Nashua investor Fred Tausch (R) runs worst against Hodes. Hodes bests Tausch, who is rumored to be considering the race, by a 45 percent to 25 percent margin in that survey. Tausch is perhaps the least well known of any of the GOP candidates, though, as 85 percent didn't know enough about him to form an opinion.

There was a margin of error of plus or minus 4 percent in the survey.

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The Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee put in a strong final fundraising kick to close out the second quarter, surpassing a $1 million grassroots fundraising goal.

In an email to supporters, DCCC executive director Jon Vogel said the committee hauled in $1.2 million in the fundraising drive. Vogel also said that on Tuesday, the last day of the second quarter, the DCCC had its biggest fundraising day since President Obama took office.

As part of the campaign, House Democrats are going to match the total raised two to one, according to the DCCC. That means the DCCC should be receiving approximately $2.2 million in transfers from congressional Democrats.

The DCCC launched this grassroots fundraising drive in the middle of of June. With a series of emails and videos, the committee asked for small contributions of $5, $10 or $15.

The DCCC said the contributions largely came online and in small denominations.

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Former Florida House Speaker Marco Rubio (R) hauled in $125,000 in online fundraising in the second quarter, according to his campaign.

Rubio is taking on Gov. Charlie Crist, one of the state's most popular pols, in the Republican Senate primary for retiring Sen. Mel Martinez's (R) seat.

In an email to be sent to supporters later Thursday, Rubio says his camp was able to raise more than $34,000 online in the last two days of June and surpassed its $125,000 goal.

"More than the amount of money, I'm most excited and motivated about the fact that this money came from real Floridians with real concerns about the future of our state and our great country," Rubio says in the email. "We still face a long, tough road ahead, but victories like this give us crucial momentum and motivation to keep working hard every single day."

With the second quarter ending on Tuesday, reports are due to the Federal Election Commission on July 15.

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Former president Bill Clinton will headline a fundraiser for Rep. Carolyn Maloney's (D-N.Y.) bid to take his wife's former Senate seat, according to City Hall.

Maloney is challenging Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand in next year's Democratic Senate primary. Up until this point, Gillibrand - along with the White House and New York's senior senator, Chuck Schumer (D) - had been working to consolidate establishment support behind Gillibrand for her first reelection bid.


Clinton's appearance at a Maloney fundraiser, which Maloney herself announced at a fundraiser this week, would appear to work against those efforts. (See update below)

According to City Hall, the fundraiser is scheduled for July 20 at the St. Regis.

Notably, other prominent New York Democrats were at the fundraiser earlier this week, which was technically for Maloney's House reelection campaign. Rep. Charles Rangel (D) was on hand, as was former vice presidential candidate Geraldine Ferraro. It was unclear whether their appearances means they are endorsing Maloney in the Senate race.

UPDATE: Some more context on the Clinton fundraiser. Clinton also headlined a fundraiser for Gillibrand on March 11. And, according to other news reports, Clinton has not made an endorsement in next year's Senate race.

Clinton has agreed to do fundraisers for those who helped his wife's presidential campaign last year, like Maloney.

This post was updated at 11:56 A.M. to reflect the earlier Clinton fundraiser.

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