Virginia Republican Rep. Eric Cantor, the House Minority Whip and one of the GOP's most potent fundraisers, used his leadership PAC last month to donate mostly to Republican candidates who are challenging Democratic incumbents in the 2010 election.

Cantor's organization, known as Every Republican Is Crucial (ERIC) PAC, reported Monday that it donated $2,500 apiece to five GOP challengers about whom the congressman and other national party officials are bullish.

They are Andy Harris of Maryland, a state senator challenging Rep. Frank Kratovil Jr. in a rematch of their close 2008 race in the 1st District; Martha Roby of Alabama, a Montgomery city councilwoman who is taking on Rep. Bobby Bright in the 2nd District; Steve Pearce of New Mexico, a former House member who lost a Senate race in 2008 and is seeking to reclaim his old 2nd District seat, now held by Rep. Harry Teague; Steve Stivers of Ohio, who is waging a rematch campaign against Rep. Mary Jo Kilroy in the Columbus-area 15th District; and Van Tran of California, an assemblyman who is taking on Rep. Loretta Sanchez in the 47th District.

Rep. Pete Sessions, R-Texas, and the National Republican Congressional Committee are going all in to help former Rep. Steve Pearce take back New Mexico's 2nd District.

The NRCC, which is bullish about Pearce's prospects of unseating freshman Democrat Harry Teague, gave Pearce $5,000 in the second quarter and Sessions chipped in another $5,000 from his political action committee and $2,000 from his personal campaign committee, helping push the Republican past $500,000 for the period.

Pearce raised $452,000 from individuals and another $55,000 from PACs and party committees to reach that huge total. Other House Republicans, including Minority Leader John A. Boehner of Ohio, Lamar Smith of Texas, Spencer Bachus of Alabama, John Kline of Minnesota and John L. Mica of Florida, also chipped in to Pearce's campaign.

Many first-time hopefuls for statewide office at least go through the formality of setting up an "exploratory" committee before officially announcing their candidacies.

Not Republican Susana Martinez, the district attorney in New Mexico's Doña Ana County. She launched her campaign in her state's 2010 open-seat race for governor on Friday without going through an in-between stage.

"I'm ready to get to work," she said Friday.

Martinez has a tough road ahead in the contest to succeed two-term Democratic Gov. Bill Richardson, who cannot seek re-election under the state's term-limit law.

New Mexico Republican Steve Pearce will attempt to reclaim the U.S. House seat he used to hold.

Pearce on Monday announced that he will challenge Democratic Rep. Harry Teague, who was elected last November to represent the state's 2nd District, a 69,000-square-mile expanse of southern New Mexico that takes in Las Cruces and Roswell.

It's not a rematch.

Abortion right's group and fundraising powerhouse EMILY's List rolled out its first 2010 governor's endorsements Friday, giving its stamp of approval to Democrats Alex Sink in Florida and Diane Denish in New Mexico. If elected, both would become the first female governors of their respective states.

Sink, Florida's Chief Financial Officer, looks like she will have a clear path to the Democratic nomination, and is likely to face Republican state Attorney General Bill McCollum, a former 10-term House member who was the GOP's U.S. Senate nominee in 2000 and a candidate in the 2004 Senate primary, in the general election. CQ Politics rates the race a Toss-Up.

Denish has served as New Mexico's lieutenant governor during two terms under Democratic Gov. Bill Richardson and was previously the chair of the Democratic Party of New Mexico. She is the early favorite to succeed Richardson, who is term-limited, in 2010, though she is likely to face a contested primary and general election to get there. State Senate Majority Leader Michael Sanchez is exploring a Democratic bid and a handful of Republicans -- Albuquerque financial adviser and Army National Guard brigadier general Greg Zanetti, former state Republican chairman and Albuquerque businessman Allen Weh, State Rep. Janice Arnold-Jones and former Congress members Steve Pearce and Heather Wilson are all declared or considering run. CQ rates the race Democrat Favored.

New Mexico Republicans have been anticipating an announcement by Steve Pearce, their defeated 2008 U.S. Senate nominee, about whether he will seek a comeback in 2010 -- either by running for governor in the race to succeed term-limited Democrat Bill Richardson, or by trying to reclaim the 2nd Congressional District seat, now occupied by freshman Democrat Harry Teague, that he left open in 2008 after three terms.

But the GOP will have to wait a bit longer than Pearce initially indicated. After earlier saying he would reveal a decision by the end of June, Pearce told CQ Politics Friday that he is still weighing his 2010 plans and will withhold his announcement until sometime between July 20 and July 27.

Pearce in 2008 edged then-Rep. Heather A. Wilson for the Republican nomination for the Senate seat opened up by the retirement of six-term GOP incumbent Pete V. Domenici. But Democrat Tom Udall, then the state's other U.S. House member, trounced Pearce in the general election by 61 percent to 39 percent.

New Mexico Republicans, who had a terrible election year in 2008, were especially stung by their loss of the southern 2nd Congressional District, a longtime Republican stronghold that was captured by Democrat Harry Teague.

Now district Republican activists are waiting to hear whether ex-Rep. Steve Pearce -- the losing Republican nominee in the 2008 U.S. Senate race -- will seek a political comeback by trying to reclaim his old 2nd District House seat.

Pearce, who first won the 2nd District seat in 2002 and held it for six years, says they won't have to wait much longer. He told CQ Politics in a phone interview Friday that he is likely to have an announcement by the end of this month about what, if any, 2010 political plans he has.