Clik here to view.
Senate:
•HI-Sen, HI-02: Tammy Duckworth, the Democratic nominee in IL-06 in 2006, says that if she ever runs for office again, it'll be in Illinois — not Hawaii, as some hoped she might, given her roots in the state. It's not clear to me that she'd have an opportunity in Illinois this cycle, but she's only 42 so could run somewhere further down the line. Also, some interesting trivia about Hawaii Senate races: The state has only ever had five senators, and no incumbent has ever lost re-election.
•MD-Sen: Daniel Bongino certainly sounds like Some Dude, except for one thing: He just left the employ of the Secret Service to challenge freshman Dem Sen. Ben Cardin. As the National Journal puts it: "At an agency that stresses the silence and political neutrality of its agents, Bongino’s announcement is raising eyebrows." Indeed, Bongino served on President Obama's security detail as recently as six months ago, and only left the Secret Service in May.
•MO-Sen: This doesn't look like a good problem for GOP Rep. Todd Akin — and you should probably fire your spokesman when his statement to the press is "I don't think there is a crime." I'll let Jake Wagman at the Post-Dispatch explain:
Akin's office says he lives in Wildwood. Tax documents show Akin lives in Wildwood. Akin has been telling people since 2009 that he lives in Wildwood.But the congressman has continued to vote in Town and Country, according to voting records.
Akin has cast a ballot in Town and Country 10 times since he and his wife, Lulli, purchased the Wildwood home at the end of 2007. Most recently, he voted in the April municipal election in Town and Country.
Both addresses are within Akin's 2nd Congressional District. But the law says voters must cast their ballots in the specific jurisdiction where they live.
And yes, "Town and Country" is indeed the name of a wealthy St. Louis suburb, not just a Chrysler minivan. Wagman's article offers a great deal more detail, so I suggest you click through if you want the full picture.
Gubernatorial:
•MT-Gov: AG Steve Bullock says he's still "seriously thinking" about running for governor to replace his term-limited fellow Democrat Brian Schweitzer, but isn't offering any timetable for a decision. Bullock was first elected to his current post in 2008 and could choose to seek a second term as AG.
House:
•CO-03: Democratic House Minority Leader Sal Pace has made it official: He'll challenge freshman Rep. Scott Tipton next year. Pace's name has been much-discussed in recent weeks, and he seems like a good get for Team Blue.
•IL-13: GOP Rep. Tim Johnson now says he plans to run in the new 13th CD, after some small adjustments were made to the final Illinois map. (Previously, Johnson, who represents the old 15th district, said he'd run in the new 15th, which would have potentially set off an intra-party primary with Rep. John Shimkus.
•IL-14: Illinois' new 14th CD is an undeniable GOP vote sink. Favorite son Barack Obama racked up an impressive 51% here, but Gov. Pat Quinn got a measly 34% last year, and other statewide Democrats did even worse. Still, if there's a glimmer of hope for us here, it's in the form of state Rep. Jack Franks, whose state House district is actually very similar to the 14th, going 56-33 for 2010 Republican gubernatorial candidate Bill Brady. Franks says he'll consider whether to run after the legislative session (so, now), but no word on when he might reach a decision.
•MN-02: Some Dude Dan Powers says he plans to challenge GOP Rep. John Kline. Powers also ran last year, raising $88K and losing the Dem nomination to former one-term state Rep. Shelley Madore (who raised the same amount and in turn got crushed by Kline).
•NY-19: This article is a couple of months old, but it escaped my attention at the time and is worth mentioning now. Former two-term Rep. John Hall, who got turned out of office in last year's Republican tide, told the New York Observer that he's considering a possible rematch against freshman Nan Hayworth. While I think Hall could definitely put this seat in play, he is 62 and says: "I have spent ten years of my life as an elected official. Ten years of anybody's life is a long time."
•NY-23: Businessman Matt Doheny, who came close to unseating Dem Rep. Bill Owens last year, says he'll try again. Anyone heard whether Doug Hoffman also wants to give it another go?
•NY-26: Congratulations to the newest member of the Democratic caucus: Kathy Hochul will get sworn in on Capitol Hill later today.
•WA-01: SurveyUSA, on behalf of KING-TV in Seattle, checked out favorables for Reps. Jay Inslee and Dennis Kucinich in the 1st district. Inslee does well at 56-22, while Kucinich unsurprisingly is at 21-46.
Other Races:
•Denver Mayor: In another SUSA poll, Michael Hancock leads Chris Romer in Denver's non-partisan mayoral runoff by a 49-39 margin. The election is "on" June 7, but the entire second round is being conducted by mail. Both Romer and Hancock are Democrats, though Romer has drawn a good deal of support from Republicans.
•WI Recall: Signatures were certified against the remaining three Republican recall targets yesterday: Robert Cowles, Alberta Darling, and Sheila Harsdorf.
•WI Sup. Ct.: After a recount failed to change the outcome of April's election, Assistant state AG JoAnne Kloppenburg conceded to Supreme Court Justice David Prosser.
Grab Bag:
•Fundraising: Click the link for our complete roundup of April fundraising numbers for all six major party committees. (Full post at Daily Kos Elections.)
•Passings: Former Texas Gov. Bill Clements, elected Texas' first Republican governor since Reconstruction in 1979, passed away at the age of 94.
Redistricting Roundup:
•Illinois: Click the link for our massive breakdown of election results for each of Illinois' new congressional districts, including 2008 presidential numbers and 2010 results for the senate, gubernatorial, and state treasurer's race. (Full post at Daily Kos Elections.)
•Texas: We'll have a longer post later this morning, but click the link to check out the GOP's new proposed Texas congressional map.
•Virginia: Are Virginia Senate Democrats finally doing something smart? They're still pushing a congressional plan which would create a second minority-influence district in the state, and one senator insists “We’re not going to settle for an 8-3 [R-D] split." Such a map would almost certainly wind up at 7-4, and may even be forced by the Obama Justice Department. While the Dems' plan most certainly won't get passed into law, it lays down an important marker for any future court case.
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