Eye on 2010

State Rep. Julie Hamos is the first candidate to hit the airwaves in the open-seat contest for Rep. Mark Steven Kirk¹s seat.

Hamos, who is running in the Feb. 2 Democratic primary against marketing consultant Dan Seals, is putting up her first television advertisement Saturday in select parts of the district, according to her campaign.

Hamos must overcome the huge name identification advantage held by Seals, who was the party¹s nominee in 2006 and 2008.

The Democrat narrowly defeated by Arlen Specter in the 1992 Senate race is still against him despite the party switch.

Lynn Yeakel is scheduled to endorse Sestak Nov. 12 in Philadelphia.

A little-known businesswoman at the time, Yeakel challenged Specter after seeing him question Anita Hill during the Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas' confirmation hearings. Specter won that race by a slim margin of 49 percent to 46 percent.

"I¹ve known Joe for four years and he has the character and integrity to represent our party and our Commonwealth in Washington," Yeakel said.

Though they don't yet have a candidate for the Senate, Delaware Democrats are beginning to train their fire on Republican Rep. Michael N. Castle, who has the early edge in the race to succeed retiring Democratic Sen. Ted Kaufman.

The Democratic National Committee on Friday organized a conference call that was intended to pressure Castle into supporting a Democratic-written plan to overhaul health care policies. That bill, which is backed by the Obama administration, will receive a full House vote on Saturday.

"I think Delaware has made it clear that we want and need it," said John Daniello, the chairman of the Delaware Democratic Party. "I hope, really, that Representative Castle chooses to stand and vote with the people he represents, not with his party leadership."

Rep. Bill Owens was sworn in as the newest member of Congress just hours ago but already he's drawing heat from Republicans for his policy stances.

Owens announced Friday afternoon that he will vote in favor of the Democrats' health care overhaul proposal, which is expected to come to a vote on Saturday. "This legislation will reform the insurance industry and provide increased access to affordable healthcare without taxing healthcare benefits, cutting Medicare benefits or raising taxes on the middle class, and that is exactly the direction we need to go," the New York Congressman said in a statement.

Not so fast, said the National Republican Congressional Committee, which was quick to point out that an analysis by the Congressional Budget Office found that the plan does cut Medicare benefits, specifically Medicare Advantage. In the words of the CBO, the plan would "reduce direct spending" in Medicare, Medicaid and other programs "by about $426 billion in the 2010-19 period." Democrats say that those cuts will in fact be savings created by weeding out inefficiencies.

New York Gov. David A. Paterson is going for broke -- literally -- to bolster his floundering re-election hopes. On Friday he launched a pair of television spots Friday that will cost his campaign $626,000 to air for the next week, according to advertising data obtained by CQ Politics.

The two ads, which the campaign hopes will jolt his approval ratings out of their year-long slump, are airing in the Albany, Buffalo, New York City, Rochester and Syracuse media markets.

Both ads take a contrite tone while seeking to drive home the message that Paterson is fighting for the people of New York rather than special interests or his own political career. In the first, Paterson acknowledges that some people think he "shouldn't be running for governor," before listing a series of actions he's taken that may not be politically strategic but helped the state cope with its budget crisis. In the second, he says he has learned from his mistakes.

Minneapolis Mayor R.T. Rybak, D, who was just re-elected on Tuesday to a third term, already has his sights set on a higher office. Rybak filed the paperwork for a run for governor in 2010, jumping to the top of a long list of candidates in the Democratic field.

Rybak announced the move in an e-mail to supporters Thursday evening. "Filing these papers is the first step in the process of setting up the Rybak for Governor campaign," he wrote. "In the weeks ahead, we will be building a grassroots campaign to take our message to every corner of the state."

The popular mayor has not been shy about expressing his interest in the race, and has already participated in several gubernatorial candidate events, so the announcement comes as no surprise. Local observers expect him to be a formidable candidate, but not a shoo-in for the Democratic nomination.

Arizona Gov. Jan Brewer, R, will run for a full term in 2010, she confirmed Thursday. Brewer filed the paperwork for a gubernatorial campaign and gave a speech in Tuscon, Ariz. outlining why voters should return her to the governor's mansion in her own right.

Brewer was elected to a second term as Arizona secretary of State in 2006, then succeeded Democratic Gov. Janet Napolitano after she resigned to become Secretary of Homeland Security.

But she has had a rocky first nine months as governor in which she has battled her own party in the state legislature over how to best close the state's $2 billion budget deficit. A Public Policy Polling survey released in September pegged Brewer's approval rating at just 26 percent. That and her reticence about whether or not she would run has drawn other Republicans into the race.

Another Republican has joined the race to challenge Wisconsin Democratic Rep. Steve Kagen in the 8th District.

The Green Bay Press-Gazette reported Thursday that Marc Trager, a physician, planned a series of announcements in a northeastern district that includes Green Bay and most of Appleton.

In a message on his campaign Web site, Trager says that he will "bring new energy to Congress by working to grow the economy, balance the budget, and protect individual freedoms."

Eight influential Republican senators jumped on board former Hewlett-Packard CEO Carly Fiorina's California Senate campaign Thursday, a day after she officially launched her bid.

Those endorsing Fiorina included Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky.; Assistant Minority Leader Jon Kyl, R-Ariz.; 2008 presidential nominee John McCain, R-Calif.; Tom Coburn, R-Okla.; Lindsey Graham, R-S.C.; Lisa Murkowski, R-Alaska; and Maine Sens. Susan Collins and Olympia J. Snowe. All cited her experience as a business leader.

In his statement, McCain praised Fiorina's service as an adviser during his presidential bid. "I benefited from her no-nonsense way of getting things done when she served on my campaign last year," he said.

Texas Rep. Pete Sessions, the chairman of the National Republican Congressional Committee, has drawn a challenger in the 2010 Republican primary in the state's Dallas-area 32nd District.

David Smith, a corporate financial analyst, said that he is readying a campaign that will focus on accountability, fiscal responsibility and the economy. He plans an official campaign kickoff event on Monday.

Smith, who recently moved to Dallas from Denton County north of the city, opposed Sessions' votes in 2008 for a $700 billion program to stabilize the financial markets. He said the party hasn't adhered to fiscally conservative principles outlined in GOP platforms.