California

The special election to replace Rep. Tom Lantos (D-Calif.) has been set for April 8, Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger’s (R) office announced Wednesday.

If no candidate gains a majority of the vote, a runoff election will occur on June 3, the same day as the state’s primary election.

Lantos, the chairman of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, died Monday morning from cancer of the esophagus. In January, Lantos announced that he would not seek reelection in his San Francisco-area district because of his health issues.

In 2006, Lantos was reelected with 76 percent of the vote. Sen. John Kerry (D-Mass.) overwhelmingly carried the district in 2004.

Former state Sen. Jackie Speier (D), who was going to challenge Lantos for the seat before he announced he wouldn’t seek reelection, appears to be the most likely to replace Lantos. Two weeks after saying he would not run, Lantos endorsed Speier. No other candidates have reported raising any funds.

— Andy Barr


Illinois

Democrat Bill Foster is in a statistical tie with his Republican opponent in the special election to replace former House Speaker Dennis Hastert (R), according to a poll released by Foster’s campaign.

The survey shows entrepreneur Jim Oberweis (R) ahead 45-43, which is a lower margin than the survey’s range of possible error. Hastert retired, and the special election will conclude March 8.

Both Foster and Oberweis emerged from hard-fought primaries last week and have turned their money and focus on each other. The two have exchanged charges with their television advertisements and have spent about $1.4 million on their own campaigns.

Democrats are chasing after the conservative district, hoping to set the tone for a year in which they are looking to play offense in many other GOP-leaning districts.

The poll was conducted by Global Strategy Group, which telephoned 525 likely voters in the 14th district over a five-day span.

Oberweis’s campaign dismissed the poll as slanted because it was conducted over a lengthy period of time that included the weekend — generally a bad time to poll — and came during a time when Foster was advertising on TV and Oberweis wasn’t.

— Aaron Blake

Illinois GOP House candidates Tim Baldermann and Aaron Schock joined other Republican members of Congress in cutting ties with a campaign worker linked to a federal investigation into the National Republican Congressional Committee’s (NRCC) accounting practices.

Baldermann and Schock replaced Christopher Ward as their campaigns’ treasurer this month, according to the Chicago Tribune. Campaign finance filings also showed that Ward has worked for the NRCC and at least 10 Republican House members, including Reps. James Walsh (N.Y.), Phil English (Pa.) and Charlie Dent (Pa.), each of whom no longer employs Ward.

Sources have told The Hill that Ward is the focus of an FBI probe.

Schock is running to replace retiring GOP Rep. Ray LaHood. Baldermann is looking to succeed Rep. Jerry Weller, another Republican who is retiring.

— Walter Alarkon

New York

Retiring Rep. Michael McNulty (D) is staying out of the race to fill his seat this year, but his family is weighing in early.

Green Island Mayor Ellen McNulty Ryan, the congressman’s sister, announced her support on Monday for Democrat Tracey Brooks, a former aide to Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton (D-N.Y.).

McNulty Ryan will also serve as a co-chairwoman of Brooks’s campaign.

Brooks entered the race this month and is facing a primary with Albany County legislator Phil Steck. Schenectady Mayor Brian Stratton said this week that he would not run, leaving state Energy Research and Development Authority President Paul Tonko as the most formidable potential Democrat yet to announce his intentions.

— Aaron Blake


Oregon

State Rep. Brian Boquist (R) said he will delay a decision on the race for retiring Rep. Darlene Hooley’s (D) seat until after the legislative session is over in March, according to The Associated Press.

State and national Republicans have rallied around businessman Mike Erickson, who was already in the race and challenged Hooley in 2006. Boquist took on Hooley in 2000 and 2002, taking 43 and 45 percent of the vote, respectively.

The AP also reports that state Rep. Vicki Berger (R) is considering a run, while state Rep. Scott Bruun (R) has pulled his name from consideration. On the Democratic side, state Labor Commissioner Dan Gardner said he is thinking about running and hopes to make a decision by Monday.

Candidates must file by March 11.

— Aaron Blake