Congressional Campaigns

National Republican Senatorial Committee (NRSC) Chairman John Cornyn (R-Texas) said Monday he is preparing for a May 2010 special election to fill a vacant seat should Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison (R-Texas) resign.

Hutchison said last week that she would likely resign late this fall to pursue her gubernatorial challenge to incumbent Gov. Rick Perry (R). She later hedged a bit, saying she'd only resign if Perry decided not to seek reelection.

But Cornyn, the head of Republicans' Senate campaign efforts, signaled that he's getting ready for a Hutchison resignation.

"The most important concern I have is about what happens in that special election, which it looks like it may be in May 2010," he said during an interview on MSNBC.

Cornyn said he'll stay neutral in the sure-to-be contentious primary in his home state, focusing instead on the open Senate seat the GOP will have to defend.

"This is an open special election, which last time Texas had something like this, Texas was a blue state in 1961 and John Tower, a Republican, was able to win under the circumstances," Cornyn said.

"So as head of the National Republican Senatorial Committee and as somebody who's worried about our diminished numbers here, I want to make sure that doesn't happen next year," he added.

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) defended his leadership of the Senate since the beginning of this year as one of the most productive spans of legislative work since the Great Depression.

Reid, in an op-ed for the Las Vegas Sun, defended the Senate's work on healthcare reform, climate change, and rejuvenating the economy as it wraps up its last week of work before the August recess in Congress.

"One expert from a conservative think tank called this Congress 'as active and productive as any I can remember,'" Reid wrote. "It's true -- we have passed more serious, substantive laws than any Congress since President Franklin D. Roosevelt's first term."

The majority leader, who's being targeted by Republicans in his 2010 reelection bid, emphasized the impact of his work on constituents, as well.

"Only by working together -- not as Democrats or Republicans, but as Americans -- can we put the jobless back to work, make sure everyone can afford to stay healthy and create a clean-energy economy for this new century," Reid wrote. "Only if we work as partners, not as partisans, can we preserve the American dream for so many Nevadans who fear losing their homes."

Businessman Jim Anderson (R) is the latest addition to the field in Rep. Todd Tiahrt's (R-Kan.) district.

From the Wichita Eagle:

The race for the Republican nomination in the 4th Congressional District got more crowded today when business owner Jim Anderson announced his candidacy.

Anderson, 49, of Wichita, is a retired airline pilot and owner of PostNet, a printing, copying and mailing business near K-96 and Greenwich.

Anderson described himself as a "Reagan conservative" and said he decided to run to give voters the option of electing an ordinary citizen.

"I'm not a politician, I'm not an attorney and I'm not a lobbyist," he said. "I think that's a plus. I think people are looking for someone who's... not a part of the political machine."

Anderson said he supports traditional Republican stands such as lower taxes and smaller government.

Already in the race on the GOP side are Republican National Committeeman Mike Pompeo, state Sen. Dick Kelsey and state Sen. Jean Schodorf, who just recently formed an exploratory committee. State Rep. Raj Goyle is running for the Democrats.

Tiahrt is running for Senate, and his seat is a GOP stronghold.

The National Republican Senatorial Committee (NRSC) is polling in North Dakota, and the findings show Gov. John Hoeven (R) easily beating Sen. Byron Dorgan (D) in a hypothetical matchup.

The only other recent poll on the race, a February survey from Research 2000 for Daily Kos, showed Dorgan up 57-35. But the NRSC's poll, which was conducted by Public Opinion Strategies, shows Hoeven leading by double digits, 53-36.

The actual race state of the race is probably somewhere between those two. Even though Hoeven is extremely popular, it's hard to see him beating a well-regarded incumbent by 17 points.

The NRSC's poll put Hoeven's favorability at an unheard-of 86 percent, with just 5 percent holding an unfavorable opinion of him. Those numbers seem implausible, but the fact remains that he is very, very popular.

Dorgan, meanwhile, has 69 percent favorability and 24 percent unfavorables.

It's interesting that the NRSC is putting this poll out publicly. Rest assured, this is part of a larger effort to lure Hoeven into the race. But the climb appears steep in getting him to leave the governor's mansion.

He must have shown at least enough interest for the committee to go out on a limb, though.

Did Rep. Mark Kirk (R-Ill.) or his staff break military protocol?

Rep. Jim Matheson (D-Utah) won't enter races for Senate of governor, and he might have been the only Democrat who could have made either one competitive

Former New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani (R) offers some curious comments about running for governor of New York. But when you think about it, they could actually be pointing toward a run in a state facing massive budget problems.

New York's Conservative Party chairman leans toward backing former GOP candidate Doug Hoffman in the NY-23 special election.

If it wasn't for Gov. Jim Gibbons (R-Nev.), Ahnold might look really bad.

Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand (D-N.Y.) lands another union endorsement.

Wall Street baker John Chachas has filed the paperwork to run for Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid's (D-Nev.) seat, according to the Wall Street Journal:

What's the difference between a Wall Street banker and a U.S. senator?

A punchline may come in handy if veteran media banker John Chachas runs for the Nevada Senate seat currently held by Majority Leader Harry Reid.

Chachas, co-head of Lazard's media and digital-content practice, has filed the necessary paperwork to become a Republican Senate candidate. People working on behalf of Chachas are having conversations with GOP officials to determine whether he is a viable candidate. A Lazard spokesman declined to comment.

Chachas, 44 years old, has more than 20 years of Wall Street experience, including stints with Merrill Lynch and Credit Suisse First Boston. He advised on the $18 billion buyout of Clear Channel Communications, Walt Disney's 2006 sale of its ABC radio business and Lee Enterprises acquisition of Pulitzer newspapers. Lazard and Chachas also have become active restructuring advisers for struggling media companies.

Chachas, a third-generation Nevadan from rural Ely, is among a raft of Republicans who may chase after Reid's Senate post. One of the leading potential candidates being floated is Rep. Dean Heller.

We don't know much about Chachas yet, but when you're trying to not come off as a carpetbagger tied to Wall Street's problems, you probably don't want the Wall Street Journal breaking the news about you filing for the race.

Right now, the GOP field in Nevada is looking like it will be crowded. There are a couple of wealthy attorneys -- including Chuck Kozak -- as well as former state Sen. Mark Amodei, physician Rudy Manthei, state GOP Chairwoman Sue Lowden, state Regent James Dean Leavitt and former state Assemblywoman Sharron Angle.

Here's one to keep an eye on:

Brian Rooney, the brother of freshman Rep. Tom Rooney (R-Fla.), is looking at joining his sibling in Congress in 2010.

Rooney is an Iraq veteran and attorney at the Thomas More Law Center in Ann Arbor, Mich., and he happens to be right near one of the biggest battleground districts in the country.

A source confirms he has been talking to the National Republican Congressional Committee (NRCC) about seeking freshman Rep. Mark Schauer's (D-Mich.) seat.

Former Rep. Tim Walberg (R-Mich.) recently announced he would seek the seat Schauer took from him in 2008, but it's not clear the ex-incumbent is the favorite of influential Republicans.

Brian and Tom Rooney are the grandsons of Pittsburgh Steelers founder Art Rooney. Dan Rooney, the former Steelers chairman who is now President Obama's Ambassador to Ireland, is their uncle.

New York Democrats on Wednesday announced 11 candidates for the special election to replace Rep. John McHugh (R-N.Y.), but some big names have taken a pass.

In addition to state Sen. Darrel Aubertine's surprising decision not to seek the nomination last week, state Assemblywoman Addie Russell and attorney Dan French are also not among those in a list issued by county party chairmen early Wednesday.

The county chairman will interview the candidates Aug. 10, vote, and announce their candidate later that day. It looks like things are wide open.

Here is the list, in something of an order of viability:

Former assistant state Attorney General John Sullivan
Attorney Bill Owens
Attorney Brian McGrath
Former state Democratic Rural Conference Chairman Stu Brody
2004-06 nominee Bob Johnson
2008 nominee Michael Oot
1994 nominee Danny Francis
Steve Burke
Andy Bisselle
Rudolph Johnson
David Ryan

Republicans got one of their first choices in this race in Assemblywoman Dede Scozzafava; Democrats will not have such a luxury.

Then again, we are also all set for a matchup between a GOP member of the assembly and a Democratic political outsider. The same thing happened in the other New York special election in March, and it turned out just fine for the majority party.

The first Virginia governor's race poll in two weeks shows Republican former state Attorney General Bob McDonnell surging and growing a 15-point lead over Democratic state Sen. Creigh Deeds.

According to the latest SurveyUSA poll, McDonnell is also over 50 percent for the first time in the race, leading Deeds 55-40.

Deeds was expected to get a bit of a post-primary bump after easily winning a tough primary and emerging considerably unscathed. But even though he appeared to get a momentary bump, it hasn't translated into anything long-term, and now he looks to be in a bit of trouble with just more than three months to go.

The survey was conducted Monday and Tuesday and is the first poll since a Rasmussen poll in mid-July and a Public Policy Polling survey in early July.

A few earlier polls by SurveyUSA showed McDonnell leading by between one and six points, so Wednesday's poll shows some real movement.

McDonnell also gained in Rasmussen's poll two weeks ago, turning a six-point deficit from right after the primary into a three-point lead.

After going to the right on Judge Sonia Sotomayor, Florida Gov. Charlie Crist (R) is again moving right when it comes to health care reform.

Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison (R-Texas), whose seat I profiled today, joins other Republicans facing 2010 campaigns in coming out against Sotomayor.

Katrina Swett, the wife of former Rep. Dick Swett (D-N.H.) and daughter of the late Rep. Tom Lantos (D-Calif.), moves toward a run at Senate candidate Paul Hodes's (D-N.H.) seat.

Despite the attacks on him, former U.S. attorney Chris Christie (R) only seems to be getting stronger, as he grows his lead in Public Policy Polling's latest effort.

A consultant for pornstar Stormy Daniels's exploratory Senate campaign suggest foul play after his car blows up. Only in Louisiana.

State Rep. Juan LaFonta becomes the first Democrat to run against the most vulnerable man in Congress, Rep. Joseph Cao (R-La.).