Rep. Joe Barton (R-Texas) is ready to run for chairman of the Energy and Commerce Committee, he told The Hill.

Barton, who made waves when he apologized to the head of BP for enduring a "shake-down" by the White House during the Gulf Coast oil spill, said he's prepared to challenge a nearly decade old rule to go for the top spot on the energy panel.

Under current House GOP rules, a lawmaker can serve only three consecutive terms atop a committee. Barton served one term as Energy and Commerce chairman before assuming the role of ranking member, when Democrats won control of the House in 2006. He served two terms in that position but says his time as ranking member shouldn't count against him in his quest to regain the gavel.

He says he will seek a waiver of that rule, adopted in 1993, for the 112th Congress under what is expected to be a GOP majority.

Barton's outburst during a summertime hearing, for which the senior Texan was reprimanded by leadership, including Speaker-in-waiting John Boehner, seemed to doom his goal of reclaiming the gavel.

But since the time he apologized for making the outburst, Barton has raised a lot of money for GOP candidates and intends to appeal to the GOP Steering Committee for a waiver.

He will face a growing field of senior House GOP lawmakers with their sights set on serving atop the powerful Energy and Commerce panel, including Rep. John Shimkus (R-Ill.) and Fred Upton (R-Mich.)

Barton had said in a recent op-ed that if Republicans won the House he would "ask my colleagues for the privilege of serving as chairman of the committee I love."

Massachusetts Gov. Deval Patrick (D) is the projected winner of his reelection contest against Republican Charlie Baker.

The outcome should lead to sighs of relief from environmentalists. Patrick supports the proposed Cape Wind project that’s slated for construction in federal waters off the state’s coast.

Baker opposes the wind farm, and, as this ClimateWire piece shows, he might have had opportunities to fight the project despite the Interior Department’s approval.

Elsewhere, Baker was apparently lukewarm on the state’s participation in the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative, a multi-state cap-and-trade program that Patrick signed onto.

Democratic Rep. Nick Rahall (D-W.Va.) held off GOP challenger Elliot "Spike" Maynard to win an 18th term in West Virginia's coal-centered 3rd congressional district. Rahall, one of Capitol Hill's strongest coal-industry supporters, nonetheless had to fend off conservative attacks that he's aligned with liberal Democratic leaders on unpopular state issues like climate change. 

Several news networks are projecting that Republicans will win enough seats to claim the House majority from Democrats.

But a top prize will remain up in the air: chairmanship of the powerful Energy and Commerce Committee that has jurisdiction over EPA, electric utilities and other major energy matters.

Rep. Joe Barton (R-Texas), the panel’s top Republican, has signaled that he’ll fight for another spin as chairman. But Barton was politically damaged by his infamous apology in June to BP’s then-CEO Tony Hayward.

Barton laid out his agenda in a Washington Times op-ed last week. But some lobbyists and congressional aides say Rep. Fred Upton (R-Mich.) has the pole position to become the GOP caucus pick to head the panel, and other lawmakers including Cliff Stearns (R-Fla.) are also eyeing the slot.

Barton and Upton both say EPA rules on air pollution and other issues go too far. Look for the agency to be in Republicans’ crosshairs regardless of who GOP lawmakers select as chairman.

Democratic Gov. Joe Manchin's victory deals a major blow to the GOP's long shot effort to reclaim the Senate majority.

Rep. Baron Hill (D-Ind.) — a conservative Blue Dog Democrat and supporter of last year’s House cap-and-trade bill — has lost his reelection fight to Republican attorney Todd Young.
 
Hill had to defend several votes he took this Congress — including supporting the cap-and-trade, healthcare reform, stimulus and auto-industry bailout measures.

He was nevertheless seen as a potential centrist Democratic swing vote on the House Energy and Commerce Committee if Republicans take over.

Hill served five terms in the House. That included the last two Congresses after he lost to Republican Mike Sodrel in 2004 after serving three consecutive terms dating back to 1999 in a Republican-leaning district.

Young consistently reminded voters that Hill supported President Obama's healthcare and economic stimulus plans.

One of the most vulnerable freshman Democrats and an unabashed supporter of last year’s cap-and-trade has lost his fight.

Veteran Rep. Rick Boucher (D-Va.) — a leading coal-state negotiator in last year’s House cap-and-trade debate — has lost his reelection bid against Republican Morgan Griffith in perhaps the first real surprise of the evening.

Boucher (D-Va.) — who a month ago appeared headed toward a 15th term — fell victim to a late surge by Griffith. 

Boucher has had to vigorously defend his role in shaping last year’s House climate bill.

Rep. John Yarmuth (D-Ky.) has given an early victory for those backing coal-state Democrats that voted in favor of last year’s House cap-and-trade bill.

Yarmuth has beaten Republican Todd Lally, a UPS pilot, according to the Associated Press. Yarmuth won with 59 percent of the vote two years ago.

His victory, though, might give Democrats hope that Republican gains in the House might not be as big as initially projected.

Another coal-state Democratic supporter of the cap-and-trade bill — Rep. Ben Chandler (Ky.) — is also ahead in his race.