The Eye

The Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee apparently is smacking lobbyists with its left hand while accepting their campaign contributions with its right.

In a Feb. 5 e-mail, DSCC Executive Director J.B. Poersch tells supporters that five top Republican Senate recruits "either currently are or have been lobbyists": former Colorado Lt. Gov. Jane Norton, former Florida Speaker Marco Rubio, former Rep. Rob Portman (Ohio) and ex-Sen. Dan Coats (Ind.).

"One egregious example: Coats, who wants to represent Indiana in the United States Senate, lobbied for an oil and gas company that partners with Venezuelan dictator Hugo Chavez," Poersch wrote. "For all the crowing R's do about special interests corrupting Washington, they sure don't seem to be doing anything about it. Quite the opposite, it seems."

When South Carolina state Rep. Tim Scott (R) threw his hat into the race to replace Rep. Henry Brown (R) one of his new primary opponents immediately blasted Scott for giving up on what he termed a "failed" statewide bid.

A look at how Scott's fundraising was going and the numbers in an internal poll both show that Scott got out of the race for the lieutenant governor nomination way too soon in the season to call that campaign a failure.

A poll conducted for the Scott campaign found that no candidate was more popular -- and also showed that none of the three contenders had broken through yet; of 419 likely primary voters surveyed, 69 percent were undecided or had no opinion.

A pair of powerful, Washington, D.C.-based interest groups and one of the city's most prominent tax reform advocates annouced new Congressional endorsements during a snowy Tuesday in the nation's capital.

First, the pro-abortion-rights group EMILY's List announced that it was endorsing Terri Sewell (D) in the crowded primary in Alabama's safely Democratic 7th district.

"As a successful attorney and community leader, Terri has dedicated herself to making life better for all Alabamians," said Stephanie Schriock, president of EMILY's List, in a release Tuesday. "As a candidate, she's focused her campaign on economic development that will create jobs and opportunity for hard-working Alabama families.Those are the qualities that will set her apart in this crowded field of candidates in the June Democratic primary."

Sewell's top opponent in the race to replace Rep. Artur Davis (D) -- who is running for governor -- appears to be state Rep. Earl Hilliard Jr. (D), the son of ex-Rep. Earl Hilliard (D).

Meanwhile, the political action committee for the powerful anti-tax group the Club for Growth announced it's own endorsements in two open seat races that Republican's are expected to hold in 2010.

The Club is supporting former state Republican Party Chairman Robin Smith in Tennessee's 3rd district and businessman Mike Pompeo in Kansas's 4th district.

"Mike Pompeo and Robin Smith are exactly what Washington and America need right now: honest, principled leaders who realize that big government is the problem, not the solution," said Club President Chris Chocola.

Americans for Tax Reform President Grover Norquist also jumped into the endorsement fray on Tuesday. Norquist annouced that he is backing former state House Speaker Marco Rubio in his bid for Florida's open Senate seat. Rubio is locked in a high profile primary against Florida Gov. Charlie Crist.

"I have followed Marco Rubio's career very closely and am proud to support him in his bid for U.S. Senate," said Norquist. "In closely examining his record, I remain convinced he has been the most courageous, pro-taxpayer legislative leader in the country and will continue this path in the U.S. Senate."

Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio is stepping up his fundraising assistance for former Rep. J.D. Hayworth and his nascent Senate campaign.

Arpaio, who has built a national profile from his controversial efforts to root out illegal immigration in Arizona, penned a fundraising letter for Hayworth, a fellow anti-illegal immigration activist. Hayworth is looking to take out Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) in the GOP primary.

In his letter, being sent out to Arpaio supporters today as part of a 100,000-person national direct mail drop, the sheriff calls Hayworth's decision to challenge McCain "courageous."

Chad Causey, the former chief of staff of retiring Rep. Marion Berry (D), announced Tuesday that he will run to succeed his old boss in Arkansas' 1st district. It's a swing seat -- Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) won it by 21 points in 2008, so look for the Republican field to grow.

So far, the only GOP candidate is little known farm broadcaster Rick Crawford.

"I've been meeting with voters from across the district, and I'm hearing what they have to say: 'we need jobs,' 'fix our economy,' and 'put our needs first,'" Causey said in a release. "We face some big challenges, and while I don't pretend to have all the answers, I do promise that no one will listen longer, no one will work harder, and no one will take this responsibility more serious than I will."

Causey is a Jonesboro native who has worked for Berry for the past decade. His entry into the 1st district contest drew the immediate ire of officials at the National Republican Congressional Committee, who have made it clear they will attempt to paint him as just another Washington insider.

"Give Chad Causey his due -- as a guy who's spent his entire adult life as a cog in the liberal Washington machine, he knows his way around the Capitol," NRCC spokesman Andy Sere said Tuesday. "But will Arkansans elect someone whose record of achievement consists exclusively of bailing out Wall Street, rubber-stamping Obamacare and racking up $10,000 worth of globe-traveling on the special interests' dime?"

Former Nevada state Sen. Sue Lowden's (R) second ad looks a lot like her first.

It's another biographical spot, starting with black and white photos of her ancestors and parents and then photos of her in various professional roles. Lowden narrates the ad this time, speaking directly to the camera in several instances.

The theme of the ad is job creation, or, as the ad is titled, "creating opportunity."

Some candidates have large campaign funds they can't use right now because the seats they're eyeing aren't open just yet.

Take Michael Wildes (D), the former mayor of Englewood, N.J., who had $648,000 in his House campaign committee as the year began.

Wildes opened his campaign committee more than five years ago, in the expectation that Rep. Steven R. Rothman (D) would run in 2008 for the seat of Sen. Frank R. Lautenberg (D). Only Lautenberg ran for re-election at age 84 and won, and Rothman has stayed put in his House seat. Wildes won't challenge Rothman in a primary election.

Latino voters are poised to make a difference in contests for Congress, according to a new study released by a national organization pushing for comprehensive immigration reform legislation.

The group America's Voice found that while Latinos voted overwhelmingly for President Barack Obama in 2008, they remain up for grabs in the 2010 midterms -- and that the disposition of Latino voters, and the level of their turnout, could prove pivotal in eight Senate races and 29 House races.

"Democrats have to figure out, if they consider Latino voters part of their base vote," how to mobilize them," said Frank Sharry, executive director of America's Voice. Sharry and officials from the National Council of La Raza and the Service Employees International Union who joined him on a conference call with reporters Monday, said Latinos share pocketbook and public safety concerns with other voters, but also put a high priority on the issue of immigration reform.

Sometimes the back-and-forth in a campaign for high office speaks for itself. Check out this story out of Tennessee, in which one candidate for governor -- Rep. Zach Wamp interprets the early campaign spending of Bill Haslan, his Republican primary rival, in an interesting way.

This is definitely a primary worth watching; CQ Politics rates the general election contest for this open seat as Leans Republican.

To follow all the 2010 gubernatorial contests, check out our election map.

Former Fox News political commentator Angela McGlowan (R) officially kicked off her campaign in northern Mississippi's 1st district on Monday.

"From Oxford to Columbus, Hernando to Tupelo, we will take back the peoples' seat in Congress and safeguard it against entrenched, incumbent career politicians," McGlowan said in an announcement released from her campaign. "Together, we will declare to Barack Obama, and liberal incumbent politicians throughout Washington, D.C.: no more taxpayer funded bailouts of irresponsible banks, insurance companies and automakers that have already added over a trillion dollars to our national debt, no more taxpayer funded 'stimulus' bills, chalk-full of wasteful government spending, no more job killing, multi-trillion dollar tax increases."

But before she can take on Democratic Rep. Travis Childers in the general election McGlowan will first have to beat state Sen. Alan Nunnelee in the GOP primary. Nunnelee has been viewed as a top recruit by national Republican party officials and GOP leaders in the Magnolia state.

Former Eupora Mayor Henry Ross is also running in the GOP primary.

Rep. John Shadegg's (R-Ariz.) former chief of staff will not be running to replace him when Shadegg retires next year.

Sean Noble sent an e-mail to supporters Monday citing his young family as the main reason he ultimately decided not to jump in the open seat race. "My five kids ... and my wife have made many sacrifices for me to be deeply involved in the conservative cause on a national and state level for the last 16 years and they need, and deserve, more attention than I could give them as a candidate and Congressman for years to come," he wrote.

Noble would have been a serious candidate, but the GOP primary for Shadegg's seat is plenty crowded as is. Pamela Gorman and Jim Waring resigned their state senate seats to run, as did former State. Rep. Sam Crump. Paradise Valley Mayor Vernon Parker switched his campaign for governor to the congressional race.

Florida Senate candidate Marco Rubio (R) earned the backing of another Member with well-established conservative credentials on Monday when Indiana Rep. Mike Pence (R) announced he was supporting the former state House Speaker.

"Marco Rubio's faith in free markets, limited government and traditional moral values make him the right choice for Republicans in this race," Pence said in a release issued by Rubio's campaign. "At a time when the American people long for leaders of principle, Marco Rubio will be a courageous check and balance on the current Washington establishment."

Pence, who serves as House Republican Conference chairman, is a former chairman of the conservative policy shop, the Republican Study Committee. Other conservatives in Congress who have backed Rubio are Sens. Jim DeMint (R-S.C.), James Inhofe (R-Okla.) and Florida GOP Reps. Jeff Miller and Ginny Brown-Waite.

For the true political junkies, here are the the final and official results of the Jan. 19 special Senate election in Massachusetts.

The final tally: Scott Brown (R) won 1,168,178 votes, or 51.9 percent of the total, and Martha Coakley (D) won 1,060,861 votes, or 47.1 percent of the total. Brown won 230 cities and towns and Coakley prevailed in 121.

The raw vote totals came from the Massachusetts elections office.

This CQ Politics document -- for those who don't mind squinting at a lot of figures in a .pdf file -- includes the vote percentages that the candidates in each of Massachusetts' 351 cities and towns and also rank-orders their performance in each jurisdiction.

For example, Brown won a statewide high of 74 percent in Douglas, a community in southern Massachusetts that abuts Rhode Island. Coakley's best-performing area was Cambridge (84 percent), home to Harvard University and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

Now that state Treasurer Alexi Giannoulias is the winner of the Senate primary in Illinois, the state's senior senator, Dick Durbin, has signed on as campaign chairman.

It's one of the ways Democrats send the signal that the primary is over and they're all pulling for the party's nominee.

"The United States Senate needs a strong, fresh voice that will join me in fighting to bring good, new jobs to Illinois," Durbin said in a statement from the Giannoulias campaign.

Durbin had stayed on the sidelines during the competitive Senate Democratic primary, although he took a trip with Giannoulias one year ago as the famous Grecian former basketball player was just beginning to launch his campaign.

Giannoulias will go up against Rep. Mark Kirk (R-Ill.) in the November election.

CQ Politics currently rates this general election contest as a Tossup.

To follow all the 2010 Senate races, check out our election map.

Longtime state Sen. Don Benton is the latest in a growing line of Republicans in Washington state who want to challenge incumbent Democrat Patty Murray for the U.S. Senate.

Benton says he was inspired to get into the race by Scott Brown's Senate victory in Massachusetts, reports the Seattle Times.

The filing deadline is still months away, but among the GOP hopefuls reported to be in the race or interested in the race are businessman Chris Widener; former professional football player Clint Didier; chiropractor Sean Salazar; Craig Williams, an energy trader and real estate broker; physician Arthur Coday Jr.; Rod Rieger, owner of a security-systems company; and trucker Wayne Glover.

(Sorry, no campaign web link for Glover, but we did find this Q-and-A with him on a local blog, The Otter Limits.)

Murray in 1992 ran as a common-sense "mom in tennis shoes" to win her first term. Now finishing her third term, she is part of the inner circle of Senate leadership and has a campaign war chest of almost $5.2 million.

CQ Politics currently races this general election contest as Safe Democratic.

To follow all the 2010 Senate races, check out our election map.