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In another sign that we may be heading toward an extremely crowded Democratic field, Alabama state Rep. Earl Hilliard Jr. announced on Monday that he will run for Artur Davis's (D) House seat.

Davis is running for governor.

Hilliard is an intriguing candidate because his father held Davis's seat for 10 years before Davis beat him in the Democratic primary in 2002.

In an interview with the Birmingham News, Hilliard stressed an economic message. "And by economic development, I mean jobs," Hilliard said. "The district has been hard hit by what we're seeing with the economy; mills have closed, and jobs have been lost. I'm committed to work to bring economic development to the district, to work to bring jobs that will help people lead better lives." Read more...

President Obama is not to blame for the current recession and voters both approve of how he is handling the economy and trust Obama to handle the economy more than Republicans by a significant margin, according to a poll released Tuesday.

The New York Times/CBS News poll found that a majority of respondents approve of Obama's handling of the challenges facing the nation and believe the country is heading in a better direction. More than six in 10 approve of Obama's job performance and thirty-nine percent think the country is heading in the right direction, a 15-point jump from mid-January. Still, more than half - 53 percent - believe the country is heading in the wrong direction, a number that has dropped from 79 percent in January.

More than half of respondents said the economy is in "very bad" condition and a third said it is getting worse. Seven in 10 said they are "very" or "somewhat" worried that they or someone in their family will be out of work in the next year.

But the number of people who said the economy is getting worse is down from 54 percent before Obama took office, a possible indication that respondents believe Obama is taking the right steps. And a majority, 56 percent, said they approve of how Obama is handling the economy. Read more...

The DSCC inducted Norm Coleman into their "Hall of Shame" today.

How many more recounts does Norm Coleman want? How many more delays? How much longer will the Republican Party hold Minnesota's Senate seat hostage?

Coleman can end it today and give Minnesota the two Senators it's entitled to. But he's not going to give up unless we convince him to act. So let's speak with one voice and tell Norm Coleman it's time to go.

Tell Norm Coleman to pack it in, give up the endless court battles, and concede the race so Minnesota has its full representation in Congress.

[snip]

Enough is enough. The people of Minnesota need their fair share of representation in Congress now, and President Obama needs Al Franken working with him in the Senate. We're debating the very survival of our economy, and Minnesotans deserve a voice!

So let's tell him nicely. Let's remind him that all the legal experts say he's done. Let's ask him not to drag this out just for the sake of dragging it out.

Let's speak with one voice and tell Norm Coleman to drop the legal challenges and concede this race!

*UPDATE--A Republican strategist sends over this response:

Gov. Sarah Palin (R-AK) has made her second pick to fill a vacant Alaska state senate seat after Democrats in the legislature rejected her first choice.

Under state law, Palin is required to select a Democrat to fill the seat vacated by former Sen. Kim Elton (D), who accepted a position in the Obama administration. Her first choice, legislative aide Tim Grussendorf, had only registered as a Democrat a few weeks before being tapped by Palin. Grussendorf was rejected by Democrats in a closed-door confirmation vote last week. (Democrats preferred someone who had been more active in the party.) Palin objected to that process, claiming the vote should be in the open.

But Democrats showed no signs of relenting, and Palin has now selected Joe Nelson, admissions director for the University of Alaska Southeast. By no means does this end the standoff, however. Democrats had originally asked Palin to select House Minority Leader Beth Kerttula, who has criticized Palin. When Palin picked Grussendorf, Democrats rejected him and set forward four acceptable picks, including Kerttula.

Republicans will have a better year in 2010 than they did in 2008, National Republican Senatorial Committee (NRSC) Chairman John Cornyn (R-Texas) predicted Tuesday.

"I think it's going to be a better year," Cornyn said on "Morning Joe," touting opportunities in Connecticut and Illinois, among other states. "Already we can see we're going to have opportunities in blue states and purple states."

Cornyn praised his Democratic counterpart in 2008, Sen. Charles Schumer (D-N.Y.), as "masterful" in recruiting the right candidates, claiming it as a good model. "Getting the right candidate that fit the state is really important," he said.

Cornyn also spoke briefly about the high-profile 2010 Pennsylvania Republican primary matchup between Sen. Arlen Specter and Club for Growth Chairman Pat Toomey.

"Sen. Specter is still popular, but that's in the general election," Cornyn said, without tipping his hand toward a prefernce for either candidate. "Obviously the primary is going to be a challenge, and I hope they don't cut each other up too badly."

Sen. Arlen Specter (R-Pa.) likened his probable Republican primary opponent Pat Toomey to AIG executives who took bonuses while their company was receiving government support.

Echoing the more aggressive tack taken by his campaign, Specter said Toomey, chairman of the conservative Club for Growth, could not win statewide in Pennsylvania.

"When you take a look at his record, he's been contributed to the problem," Specter said Tuesday of Toomey's record supporting deregulation for corporations. "And now he wants a promotion -- he's like an AIG executive."

Specter said that this cycle's primary challenge would be a "different year" for Toomey, due to his background as an investor before entering the public sector.

"He's to the right of Rick Santorum -- Santorum lost by 18 points," Specter said of his former Senate colleague in Pennsylvania, who was ousten in 2006.

"I've survived because I've been willing to part from the party line when I think it's wrong," Specter said on MSNBC. "We just had this stimulus package. I was convinced we here on the brink of an economic meltdown."

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Lt. Governor John Garamendi (D-CA) is taking one eye off his flagging gubernatorial bid to take a look at the CA-10 special election.

According to a report this weekend in the Contra Costa Times, Garamendi, who lives on the outskirts of the district, thinks the race to replace Ellen Tauscher might be more welcoming than the expensive gubernatorial bid. From the Times:

Wait, isn't Garamendi running for governor? Yeah, although reports of a faltering campaign circulated recently after one of his top campaign staffers quit.

In a statement late Friday, here is what Garamendi said: "A number of people suggested I consider this seat. Of course, I will check it out. As a former undersecretary of the interior, there is a lot of exciting work going on in Washington. Much is possible with Barack Obama.

"But I am focused on California and my campaign for governor."

So, is he running for Congress or not? It sounds like he is keeping his options open.

State Sen. Mark DeSaulnier (D-Concord) is considered by many to be the front-runner for the seat, lining up endorsements from Tauscher and Rep. George Miller, among others. Assemblywoman Joan Buchanan (D) is also running.

(h/t: Swing State Project)

Former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney (R) will endorse Sen. Bob Bennett's (R) reelection bid in Utah, maintaining Romney's sway in one of his strong political states.

Romney will appear alongside Bennett on Tuesday, the Associated Press reported, and help him campaign throughout Utah.

The endorsement is a move to fend off a potential conservative primary challenge to Bennett from state Attorney General Mark Shurtleff, who has signaled his openness to challenging Bennett.

"Gov. Romney is very active on behalf of the Republican Party, organizations and individual candidates as we head into the critical 2010 cycle, and he's particularly excited about supporting Sen. Bennett for re-election," Romney spokesman Eric Fehrnstrom said.

Romney has also been a prolific fundraiser in Utah, a state witch which he shares a common faith in its large Mormon population.

Birmingham attorney Terri Sewell, the only declared candidate so far in the race for Rep. Artur Davis's seat (D-Ala.), announced on Monday that she raised $123,000 in the first quarter.

Davis, who has held the western Alabama seat since 2002, is running for governor next year.

Sewell is seeking to become the first black woman elected to Congress from Alabama. In a statement, she stressed an economic message.

Read more...