Roughly one of four donations to House candidates so far this election cycle is coming from individual donors from outside states. But some candidates are receiving more of these out-of-state checks than others.

During the 2009 calendar year, House Democratic candidates received more than 30 percent of their donations from citizens who can't legally vote for these candidates -- because they live in another state -- but still have chosen to contribute to their campaigns.

Meanwhile, Republican House candidates raised just over 21 percent of their donations from out-of-state contributors.

National Republican Senatorial Committee Chairman John Cornyn (Texas) on Wednesday announced that former U.S. Secretary of Veterans Affairs Jim Nicholson will serve as as a co-chairman of the committee's Majority Makers program for high-dollar donors.

The program, which is currently lead by Senate Minority Whip Jon Kyl (Ariz.) fellow Sen. Pat Roberts (Kan.), focuses on donors who give the $30,400 maximum to the committee each year.

Nicholson is a retired Army colonel who also served as chairman of the Republican National Committee from 1997 to 2001.

"I know that Secretary Nicholson's proven leadership and experience will be invaluable as we continue expanding our fundraising efforts, building our donor base, and strengthening a critical program that has been ably led by my Senate colleagues, Jon Kyl and Pat Roberts," Cornyn said in a statement Wednesday morning. " "Thanks to the assistance from Secretary Nicholson, my Senate Republican colleagues, and our generous supporters across America, I am confident that the NRSC will have the critical resources that we need to succeed this November."

"From Arlington to Lexington, Belmont to Natick, Republican town committees report increased interest as voters explore the GOP as an antidote to what ails both state and local governments," reports the Boston Globe.

It's the latest evidence of a Republican trend -- people who otherwise might have stayed on the sidelines deciding to become candidates themselves, inspired by the election of Sen. Scott Brown (R-Mass.)

Arkansas state Sen. Cecile Bledsoe earned a major endorsement in her effort to earn her party's nomination in the state's safely Republican 3rd district -- former GOP Rep. Asa Hutchinson.

Hutchinson held the seat for three terms before Rep. John Boozman, who is leaving the seat to run for the Republican Senate nomination.

"I am endorsing Cecile for Congress because she has the heart, the convictions and the toughness to protect our freedoms and fight for Arkansas," Hutchinson said in a Monday statement. "Cecile will not cave in to the special interest groups and power brokers who want a government controlled health care system. She has the charm of a Southern lady but the convictions of a Margaret Thatcher."

House Majority Leader Steny H. Hoyer (D-Md.) was feeling generous in January, pouring $95,000 from his political action committee into the coffers of his fellow Democrats, according to monthly leadership PAC reports filed over the weekend.

In doing so, Hoyer led the way in PAC giving among House leaders of both parties, and further padded the gap between the Democrat and Republican leadership's PAC contributions this cycle.

House Majority Whip James E. Clyburn (D-S.C.) gave $20,000 in donations to federal committees through his PAC, $15,000 of which went to the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee. House Democrat Caucus Chairman John B. Larson of Connecticut made $5,000 in contributions and Democratic Congressional Committee Chairman Chris Van Hollen of Maryland gave $2,000.

Marco Rubio, formerly the Speaker of the Florida House, is opening up a wider lead in his quest for the Republican Senate nomination, according to a Rasmussen Reports survey conducted Feb. 18.

The automated telephone survey of 442 likely Republican Primary voters found Rubio the favorite of 54 percent of those responding while his rival for the Senate nomination, outgoing Gov. Charlie Crist, was the favorite of 36 percent.

The survey, which has a 5-point martin of error, comes as this primary becomes a high-profile race to watch.

The candidates are now scheduled to do two debates on national television.

CQ Politics rates Florida's general election contest a Tossup.

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

Worth a look this morning: This USA Today examination of former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney as he builds the foundation for his next presidential run.

You may especially like this metaphor, set up by a trip to a bowling alley:

"Romney's first presidential bid had its share of gutter balls," writes Susan Page.

Also on the presidential beat this morning, Politico looks at the frustration of another presidential hopeful, former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee, who vented some frustration with the direction the Conservative Political Action Conference has taken of late.

The GOP's newest Senator, Scott P. Brown (Mass.), brought the packed ballroom at the Conservative Political Action Conference to its feet Thursday, making a surprise appearance to introduce 2008 presidential candidate and former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney (R).

"One Democrat said there was 'no way in hell a Republican was going to get elected to the seat once held by Ted Kennedy,'" Brown said, referencing Rep. Michael E. Capuano, who lost in the Democratic primary for Kennedy's seat that Brown now holds. "Well, here I am."

The appearance comes as Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) tries to court Brown's support for his jobs package. Brown didn't address any specific policy issues but took a blanket jab at big government spending -- a remark that drew applause from the conservative audience.

Liz Cheney brought out an unexpected guest during her afternoon speech at the Conservative Political Action Conference: her dad.

Former Vice President Dick Cheney stunned the audience by briefly taking the stage to rousing applause and a chorus of "Run, Dick, Run!" chants. A sparse room quickly filled with enthusiastic conference-goers.

"Your welcome is almost enough to make me want to run for office," Cheney said as the applause wound down. "But I'm not going to do it."

Former Florida Speaker Marco Rubio may be the highest-profile 2010 candidate attending the American Conservative Union's 37th annual Conservative Political Action Conference, but he's certainly not the only attendee with Washington ambitions at this week's event.

Retired army officer and House district candidate Allen West (R) will be addressing CPAC on Friday in a panel to discuss the threat of jihad and Utah Senate hopeful Mike Lee (R) will be accepting an endorsement from the conservative group FreedomWorks.

An unofficial list of other 2010 GOP candidates in attendance at CPAC this week includes former Rep. J.D. Hayworth, who is running for Senate in Arizona; veteran and construction executive Jesse Kelly, who is running in Arizona's 8th district; state Rep. Kurt Kelly, who is running in Florida's 8th district; businessman Sean Bielat, who is running in Massachusetts' 4th district; businessman Tim Burns, who is running in Pennsylvania's 12th district; and state Rep. John Loughlin, who is running in Rhode Island.

In his remarks delivered Thursday morning, Rubio offered his take on what voters will be looking for from 2010 candidates.

"They are looking for leaders that understand what is happening, will stand up to it and in its place offer a clear alternative," Rubio said. "People want leaders that will come here to Washington D.C. and stand up to this big government agenda, not be co-opted by it. The Senate already has one Arlen Specter [D-Pa.] too many. And America already has a Democrat party. It doesn't need another Democrat party."

Illinois Gov. Pat Quinn still doesn't know which Republican he'll be running against this fall. The primary was Feb. 2, but the results are still very close and very unsettled.

Chicago Public Radio reports that a 420-vote election night lead has now been whittled almost in half, and the candidates are keeping their powder dry until the last absentee and provisional ballots get reported.

"Everybody needs to be patient and let the safeguards of the election authority so that every vote is counted accurately take its course." said State Sen. Kirk Dillard, who's trailing,

Leader Bill Brady says he's "confident the numbers will hold up."

Local election officials have until next week to report their final totals. The state certifies on March 5. No word yet on the recount front; the Chicago Tribune reports that Dillard is inclined to go that route only if the final margin is 100 votes or less.

High school government teachers may find themselves wishing for a webcast of this political party meeting in Rhode Island.

It's a great example of how a small number of people can have an impact beyond their numbers.

The most active Republican Party members in Rhode Island are arguing among themselves about the way future GOP nominees get picked.

The debate: Whether their primaries should be open or closed. An open primary welcomes crossover voters, especially the independents that have been known to determine the outcome of general elections. A closed primary requires those who cast ballots to declare themselves members of the party -- the result tends to be a smaller number of voters who clearly reflect the party's sentiment.

As the coverage by the Providence Journal's Steve Peoples and Katherine Gregg shows, it's a very emotional subject -- and a case study of democracy in action.

Former Sen. Dan Coats (R-Ind.) has become an opposition research dream. As our partner Taegan Goddard notes on Political Wire, Coats had the bad luck to have said in a room with a camera rolling that he wanted to live in North Carolina -- which wouldn't be a problem if he was going to run for office in North Carolina, but he's actually testing the waters of Indiana.

This is kind of the op research theme of the week; Meg Whitman, a Republican running for governor in California, also got a little tripped up on the address thing when she appeared to add a few years in an ad that talks about her 30 years in California.

While reporters in California were looking into how long Whitman had actually walked among them, the Sacramento Bee came upon a 1995 Detroit Free Press interview in which Whitman described moving to Massachusetts because it was "a better place to raise the boys" than where she had been living -- California.

Minnesota Gov. Tim Pawlenty heads to Nevada later this month to headline the state Republican Party's annual Lincoln Day Dinner. The second-term governor also is speaking to the Alabama GOP's sold-out winter meeting Friday night.

The Nevada GOP trailed its Democratic counterpart in fundraising in 2009, thanks in large part to money coming in from Majority Leader Harry Reid and his allies in D.C.

Nevada is an important swing state -- an added attraction for Pawlenty, who has been crisscrossing the country as he tests the waters for a Republican presidential bid in 2012.

Pawlenty's trip also is a sign national Republicans are starting to pick up their activity on behalf of the Nevada state party.

American voters are able to see subtle shades of gray when they identify with a political ideology or a political party. So they call themselves conservative, and they vote for Democrats.

"This helps explain why political leaders often have difficulty governing from either pole of the ideological spectrum, and why policies that gravitate more toward the ideological center can have more public appeal," the Gallup organization said in explaining results of an enormous compilation of its daily tracking polls.

In all, six states, led by the District of Columbia (yes, we know it's not a state but Gallup treats it as one) rank in the 10 most liberal and the 10 most Democratic states.

Alabama ranks as the most conservative state but comes in fifth among Republican states.

"Generally, there is a strong relationship between political ideology and party identification, but the two are not precisely parallel," Gallup said. "Whereas all states (excluding the District of Columbia) have more conservatives than liberals, Democrats have a numerical (if not a statistical) advantage in most states."

The results are based on telephone interviews with 291,152 adults nationwide who participated in Gallup's daily tracking polls in 2009. Nationally, the margin of error is plus or minus 1 percentage point. For most states, the margin of error is plus or minus 2 percentage points, although it is plus or minus 5 percentage points for the District of Columbia. Basically, the smaller the population, the higher the margin of error.