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Rep. Mike Castle (R-Del.), who is running for Senate next year, showed his scary side to the state's voters this weekend.

Castle's campaign tweeted a picture of him in full Frankenstein garb during Newark's (Del.) Halloween parade:

http://twitpic.com/n1lyg - Mike (or Congressman Frankenstein) walking in the Newark Halloween Parade yesterday

BOO!

Senators representing New York and Pennsylvania today went all-in on a culinary wager based on how their home states' teams fare in the World Series.

Should the New York Yankees  who clinched their berth last night, pull out a victory Sens. Charles Schumer (D-Pa.) and Kirsten Gillibrand (D-N.Y.) will receive a supply of Philly cheesesteaks.

But if the Philadelphia Phillies win, Sens. Arlen Specter (D-Pa.) and Robert Casey (D-Pa.) will get a haul of New York cheesecake.

Specter, who hails from the Philadelphia area, started the trash talk today on Twitter:

I look forward to enjoying NY cheesecakes, although nothing will be as sweet as the Phillies' back-to-back titles. http://bit.ly/2TnQA2

The Series starts on Wednesday night. Who will win?

Cross-posted to the Briefing Room

Cost curve bending in wrong direction - Health Caucus (House GOP)
More conservatives than moderates & liberals - Rep. John Boehner (R-Ohio)
A strong endorsement - Gov. Jon Corzine (D-N.J.)
Helping AmeriCorps - Rep. Brian Higgins (D-N.Y.)
Reviewing the president's policies - Rep. Darrell Issa (R-Calif.)
Unsafe prescription drugs - Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa)
Building generation of interfaith workers - Rep. Keith Ellison (D-Minn.)
Need to boost healthcare competition - Rep. Frank Pallone (D-N.J.)
Picked a solid campaign chairperson - Rep. Roy Blunt (R-Mo.)
Safety is our top priority - Sec. Ray LaHood (DoT)

Rep. Charlie Melancon (D-La.) took to Twitter his opposition to election opponent Sen. David Vitter's (R-La.) vote against an amendment barring federal funds to defense contractors that require arbitration for sexual assault cases involving employees.

Melancon's effort to share the release across all mediums shows the extent to which he is driving the vote as a wedge issue in his campaign.

He tweeted:

David Vitter should join me in support of giving sexual assault victims their day in court: http://tr.im/D6ZQ

More from the Briefing Room:

Democrats criticized Republicans who voted against the bill for being callous towards sexual assault victims. Republicans who voted against the measure slammed it as overreaching and as a political attack on Halliburton, which does not allow its employees to take sexual harassment cases to court.

"I'm glad the Senate passed this amendment overwhelmingly and with bipartisan support. But I am shocked that David Vitter voted against it," said Melancon in a release. "David Vitter has refused to explain why he voted to allow taxpayer-funded companies to sweep rape charges under the rug. We can only guess what his reasons were."

The third-term congressman linked a petition that says "I am outraged that Senator Vitter voted against the Franken Amendment to the Defense Authorization bill."

The amendment to the 2010 Defense appropriations bill was offered by Sen. Al Franken (D-Minn.) after Jamie Leigh Jones, an employee of a Halliburton subsidiary, was raped by co-workers in Iraq.

According to Jones, security officials put her in a steel container when she tried to report the case. Upon returning to the U.S. she learned that she was unable to take her case to court.

The amendment passed 68-30, with all no votes coming from Republican Senators. Its been reported that Senate Appropriations Committee chairman Daniel Inouye (D-Hawaii) may act to strip the provision from the bill.

"Believe it or not, this common sense amendment might not be signed into law...There is no reason in the world why companies that take taxpayer's money should be allowed to sweep rape allegations under the rug," said Melancon. 

UPDATED 7:28 p.m.

National Republican Senatorial Committee spokeswoman Amber Wilkerson Marchand responded saying, “In his rush to make this cheap, partisan attack it appears that Charlie Melancon forgot one key point – both President Obama and the Obama-led Defense Department had the exact same position on this amendment as the Republicans. Given his criticism, it’s fair to ask Congressman Melancon – is he also accusing the President of the United States of not caring about victims of sexual assault?”

Former House Speaker Newt Gingrich (R-Ga.) on Sunday held a "twitternactment" of a Revolutionary War battle to promote his new book on the topic.

Gingrich announced the Twitter event on Thursday, in which three new Twitter accounts re-created the Battle of Trenton. The accounts represented then-Gen. George Washington, [pro-British] Hessian commander Johann Rall and American Pvt. Jonathan Van Dorn.

He created the handles to promote his new novel, which is titled "To Try Men's Souls" and is based George Washington's role in the Revolutionary period. The title is derived from a quote from founding father Thomas Paine.

Here are some of the tweets from yesterday, some of which he re-tweeted today:

RT @colonelrall Damn rebel raiders! Cowards! Maybe thirty to forty. Fired some shots at outpost and ran off. www.totrymenssouls.com #1776

RT @GenWashington76 Column has stopped! What is going on? Why the holdup? www.totrymenssouls.com #1776

RT @pvtvandornNJ What is happening? Some Virginia militiamen have met up with us. @genwashington76 seems upset with them. #1776

Sen. John McCain's (R-Ariz.) mother is recovering well after suffering a fall in Portugal late last week.

McCain's office told the Associated Press that Roberta McCain "had a fainting episode and injured her head" while on vacation in the Lisbon, the Portuguese capital.

He tweeted:

Thanks for asking about my mom – she is doing well and is expected to come home to DC midweek. She is still incredible at 97!!

The 73-year-old senator's mother appeared several times on the campaign trail last year when he was Republicans' presidential nominee.

Rep. Kendrick Meek (D-Fla.) on Monday will welcome President Barack Obama to South Florida as he will visit a Naval base and attend fundraisers for congressional Democrats.

Meek, who is running for Senate in 2010, tweeted:

Greeting President Obama on Miami Airport tarmac in a few hrs as he deplanes Air Force One! Glad to welcome him again to S FL.

Obama will speak at a joint fundraiser for the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee and the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee in Miami tonight.

Gov. Charlie Crist (R-Fla.) will not join Obama during his appearance this time around. In February, Crist appeared with Obama during his visit designed to tout his then-proposed stimulus package.

Crist is also running for Senate and faces a primary challenge from former Florida House Speaker Marco Rubio (R).

Only three months after giving birth, Rep. Ileana Ros-Lehtinen's (R-Fla.) daughter-in-law ran in today's Marine Corps Marathon in Washington, D.C.

Ros-Lehtinen took to Twitter today:

My daughter-in-law had a baby just 3 months ago yet ran 2day's Marine Marathon. Of course, she IS a Marine. Always fit.

Rep. Jean Schmidt (R-Ohio) today ran in the marathon herself.

Assemblywoman Dede Scozzafava (R-N.Y.) brought two female GOP lawmakers with her on the campaign trail today after a week in which several national Republicans endorsed Conservative Party challenger Doug Hoffman.

Sen. Susan Collins (R-Maine) and Rep. Ginny Brown-Waite (R-Fla.) joined Scozzafava today at a campaign event. Ex-Gov. Sarah Palin (R-Alaksa), arguably the Republican Party's most visible woman, endorsed Hoffman this week. Most conservatives have shied away from Scozzafava or endorsed Hoffman, arguing that she holds too many liberal positions.

Scozzafava took to Twitter to share news of the event: 

It was great having Sen. Susan Collins and Rep. Ginny Brown-Waite in #NY23 for me today. Watch the video here: http://tinyurl.com/yf4krz3

The candidate's choice of lawmakers is interesting. Collins is one oft the most noted centrists in the Senate but Brown-Waite is a more conservative legislator. She picked up another high-profile conservative backer earlier this week, former House Speaker Newt Gingrich (R-Ga.)

But most on the right disagree with the choice on Gingrich and others backing Scozzafava. Most conservatives view her socially liberal stances and her support for union card check legislation as unpalatable. 

She will face Hoffman and Democratic lawyer Bill Owens in a November special election to replace former Rep. John McHugh (R-N.Y.) whom President Barack Obama tapped as Army Secretary. The district has long been held by Republicans, but that could change this year if Republicans split their vote between Hoffman and Scozzafava.

The video of Scozzafava, Collins, and Brown-Waite is listed as private despite the fact she shared it with the public on Twitter.

In recent days, Scozzafava's campaign has been plagued by gaffes. She staged a photo-op surrounded by Hoffman supporters and called the police on a reporter. 

Cross-posted to the Briefing Room

Two members of Congress took to Twitter on Thursday to share their plans on this college football Saturday.

Rep. Roy Blunt (R-Mo.), who is running for Senate next year, stopped by the University of Missouri's homecoming parade. The Tigers host the third-ranked Texas Longhorns later tonight:

 http://twitpic.com/mqtzv - Visiting with Tiger fans at the #Mizzou Homecoming parade.

Meanwhile, Sen. Orrin Hatch (R-Utah) appeared on ESPN's College GameDay in a pre-taped plug for his alma mater Brigham Young University. The ESPN crew appeared live from Provo, Utah, home of sixteenth-ranked BYU, head of their match-up with the tenth-ranked Texas Christian University Horned Frogs:

I have a small cameo appearance on EPSN College GameDay today live from Provo. Catch the show starting at 8am MT. Big crowd gathered early

Here's a photo of Blunt: