Sanford Faces Bostic In S.C. Runoff; Bruce Braley Tops $1M For SEN Bid; Obama Lays Bricks

National Journal

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WHAT'S NEWS

  • SC-01 Special: Polls will close at 7 p.m. in the GOP primary runoff between ex-Gov. Mark Sanford (R) and ex-Charleston Co. Councilor Curtis Bostic (R) (National Journal Daily). Comedian Stephen Colbert will host two fundraisers for sister Elizabeth Colbert Busch (D) (Politico). Colbert Busch released an internal poll showing her marginally ahead of Sanford (On Call).

  • MA SEN Special: The Conservative Campaign Cmte, "whose leader has lamented what he calls the 'homosexuality is normal movement,'" will run two radio and one TV ad to support ex-U.S. Atty Michael Sullivan (R) (AP).

  • NYC Mayor '13: State Sen. Malcolm Smith (D) and city Councilor/'12 NY-06 nominee Dan Halloran (R) were arrested "on charges they plotted to rig" the election "through fraud and bribes" (New York Post). Billionaire John Catsimatidis (R) hired a Dem firm to consult on his campaign (New York Observer).

  • Pittsburgh Mayor '13: Controller Michael Lamb (D), Dems' endorsed candidate, dropped out of the race and endorsed ex-state Aud. Gen. Jack Wagner (D) (Pittsburgh Tribune-Review).

  • IA SEN: Rep. Bruce Braley (D) announced via Twitter that he has raised more than $1M since Sen. Tom Harkin (D) announced his retirement in late Jan. (Radio Iowa).

  • LA SEN: Rep. Bill Cassidy (R) will report raising more than $500K in the first quarter of '13 as he continues to mull a bid against Sen. Mary Landrieu (D) (On Call).

  • CA-17: Ex-Obama admin. official Ro Khanna (D) will officially announce his bid today and has hired some "prime" ex-Obama staffers to help him defeat Rep. Mike Honda (D) (Contra Costa Times).

  • CA-31: '12 nominee Pete Aguilar (D) announced that he will once again seek to unseat Rep. Gary Miller (R) (release).

  • IA-03: Businessman Mike Sherzan (D), an early DCCC recruit to take on Rep. Tom Latham (R), halted his campaign citing "personal health issues" (On Call).

  • MN-02: '12 nominee Mike Obermueller (D) and ex-CaringBridge CEO Sona Mehring (D) will challenge Rep. John Kline (R), should he run for reelection (Minneapolis Star-Tribune).

  • WV-03: The NRCC released a new TV ad targeting Rep. Nick Rahall (D) under a small $12K buy "intended to show" they're ready to take on his district, regardless of whether he seeks reelection (Roll Call).

OUR CALL

Hotline editors weigh in on the stories that drive the day

• Dems have long argued that Elizabeth Colbert Busch has a shot in a district that hasn't elected one of their own since the 70s, thanks to unpredictable special election turnouts and her likely general opponent's tawdry past. But don't read too much into her poll numbers. Colbert Busch had only token Dem opposition and Republicans have been so busy whittling down a 16-candidate field that they've largely ignored her. Starting tomorrow they'll have a little over a month to make up for lost time.

• If Mike Honda's goal in announcing the endorsements of nat'l and CA Dems was to dissuade Khanna from running against him -- needless to say -- it failed. And the fact that Khanna's team includes names like Bird, Spinner and Grisolano suggests Honda can't count on any backup from the WH, outside of Obama's early endorsement.

• While MN's GOP House members weigh a challenge to Sen. Al Franken, a pair of them are already on defense for their lower chamber seats. Jim Graves is moving toward a rematch with Rep. Michele Bachmann, and Rep. John Kline has drawn two Dem challengers of his own. Whether or not Kline or Bachmann run for higher office, it appears Dems think their narrow 2012 victories are a sign their seats can be taken.

• Conservative groups have been very successful in keeping up the pressure on moderate GOP candidates and members of Congress, even at the expense of losing some seats. Democratic officials have traditionally been given longer leashes, but some on the Left seem no longer willing to turn a blind eye to those in their party not supportive of gay marriage, and it remains to be seen how damaging the constant drumbeat to switch will be to those Democratic holdouts.

• A prominent Dem state sen. allegedly conspires with a well-known, Pagan councilman/ex-congressional candidate to bribe GOP officials to let him run for mayor on the GOP ballot, ensnaring state, city and party officials along the way? As Cindy Adams would say, "Only in New York, kids."

 

HAIR OF THE DOG

FRESH BREWED BUZZ

  • Ex-DNC chair Terry McAuliffe's (D) VA GOV '13 campaign is "serving as a testing ground" for ex-Sec/State Hillary Clinton's "clout, operatives and donors" ahead of a potential WH '16 bid. "In fact, McAuliffe and some of his top allies have suggested to big donors and consultants that supporting his campaign is a way to get in on the ground floor of Hillary 2016," according to "several donors and operatives" (Politico).

  • "The senator and I have become like brothers, like friends. I talk to him weekly. I see him once a month. Not right now, since this whole thing has started. But we enjoy each other's company" -- Robert Menendez donor/Dr. Salomon Melgen (Bloomberg).

  • Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX) will be the keynote speaker at the SC GOP's Silver Elephant Dinner on May 3, his "first public foray into an early primary or caucus state" and "a signal that he is dead serious about being a part" of the WH '16 discussion "despite his limited time on the national stage" (CNN).

  • "I ultimately decided that to make a decision about DOMA was making a decision about marriage equality itself" -- Sen. Robert Casey (D-PA), announcing his support of same-sex marriage (Allentown Morning Call).

  • Clinton and ex-FL Gov. Jeb Bush (R) are "scheduled to speak at separate events in the Dallas area on April 24, the day before the potential presidential contenders are expected to attend the dedication of the George W. Bush Presidential Center" (Dallas Morning News).

  • "At least I wasn't picking my nose or something" -- DC Councilmember/potential mayoral candidate Jack Evans (D), after the cameras turned to him during yesterday's Nats opener (Washington Post).

  • Pres. Obama is considering two Wall Street execs., Raymond McGuire of Citigroup and Orin Kramer of Boston Provident, for deputy Treasury Sec. (Bloomberg TV).

  • Ex-Rep. Todd Akin (R-MO) "roughly doubled his office payroll" after losing MO SEN last year. Ex-comm. dir. Steve Taylor "said Monday that the bonus essentially was a separation package for staffers who lost their jobs" because of Akin's defeat, adding that "staffers were inundated with hateful messages by people upset" by Akin's comments on "legitimate rape" KMBC).

  • "Presidential candidate Scissors was forced to withdraw his campaign after failing to find anyone willing to run with him" -- a tweet from BuzzFeed Politics.

SWIZZLE CHALLENGE

  • Rep. Chaka Fattah (D-PA) received the most votes in 2012, with 318,176 votes.

  • The winner is Michael Kaplan, and here's his Swizzle Challenge: "Which team in Major League Baseball had both the Cy Young recipient and had the player with the most home runs hit in the same season? What year did it occur and who were the players?" The 3rd correct e-mailer gets to submit the next question.

NJ'S EARLY BIRD SPECIALS

SHOT...

"Two for... 22: Obama's off day on the basketball court" (CBS News).

...CHASER

"Ball, why didn't you just go home?! That's your home! Are you too good for your home?! Answer me!" ("Happy Gilmore").

Sarah Mimms, Editor