All Blog Posts from Political Hotsheet

Rep. Joe Sestak, the Pennsylvania Democrat hoping to unseat Sen. Arlen Specter (D-Penn.), received the endorsement of Rep. Barney Frank (D-Mass.) on Monday.

Upon announcing in August his bid to unseat Pennsylvania's senior senator, Sestak appeared to face an uphill battle: President Obama and Democratic leaders had already sided with Specter, who switched from the Republican to the Democratic party after it became clear he would not survive a Republican primary challenge.

Specter helped the Democrats secure their 60-seat majority in the Senate, and he has made clear efforts in recent months to prove his loyalty to the party. He declared his support for a pro-union bill he earlier opposed, and he continues to speak out in favor of the public option, or government-run health insurance plan, currently in the Senate health care bill.

Yet at a news conference at Philadelphia today, Frank suggested Specter's allegiance was disingenuous.

"Joe Sestak is a true Democrat who cares about the working families that have been hit hardest by the failed economic policies of the Bush Administration," Frank said. "He'll be a reliable vote for Pennsylvania's next generation instead of having the same loyal Bush Republican we've seen over the past generation. I have to say I don't think it did our profession any good for someone to announce that he switched parties purely so he could survive."

Read full post…

A new poll suggests even more trouble for Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid in his home state.

Only 38 percent of the 625 registered Nevada voters polled had a favorable opinion of Reid in the poll released by Mason-Dixon Polling & Research that was commissioned by the Las Vegas Review-Journal.

Forty-nine percent of respondents had an unfavorable opinion of Reid in the poll with 13 percent remaining neutral.

The results follow an aggressive early advertising campaign by Reid.

"I'd be worried," Bowdoin College political advertising specialist Michael Franz tells the Review-Journal. "I'd stop if I had aired ads for two or three weeks and it wasn't moving the needle."

Sensing an opportunity to oust the leading Senate Democrat, Republicans are facing a crowded primary, with 9 candidates running. The leading names are former state party chairwoman Sue Lowden, and businessman Danny Tarkanian.

Read full post…

A Republican political hopeful interested in serving as governor of Massachusetts announced Monday he has chosen Richard R. Tisei, an openly gay state legislator, to be his running mate in the 2010 gubernatorial election.

"Want you to be the first to know: I've chosen State Senator Richard Tisei as my running mate," Republican Charles Baker wrote on his Twitter account. "Excited about this team."

In the photo at left, Baker stands to the left of Tisei outside the civic center in Wakefield, Mass.

Baker is the former CEO of Harvard Pilgrim Health Care and a former adviser to two Republican governors. He has known Tisei for years, the Boston Globe reports, and Tisei's years in the state legislature will make up for Baker's limited political experience.

Tisei, who the Globe called an "only-in-Massachusetts character," publicly disclosed his sexuality to the newspaper last week, though it was widely known.

Read full post…

A few notes on the spotlighted players in the Senate's health care vote, in the context of the 2010 elections and their electorates back home. As Majority Leader, Harry Reid (at left) is at center stage and is up in Nevada next year. The focus is also on some Democrats with doubts, notably Louisiana's Mary Landrieu and Nebraska's Ben Nelson, who aren't up but do represent very red states, and Arkansas' Blanche Lincoln, who is, and could face a tough test in 2010.

Nelson Will Vote to Begin Health Debate; What Will Landrieu, Lincoln Do?
Key Provisions of the Senate Health Care Bill
Washington Unplugged: Reid Seeks Momentum in Health Debate
CBSNews.com Special Report: Health Care

Lincoln (at left) not only represents a red state, but one that got even more Republican in 2008 from 2004 (one of the few that did). She needs to be mindful of those Republican voters: one in five of her backers in 2004 had also backed then-President Bush's reelection. To win that race, Lincoln outraised and outspent her opponent by six million dollars, but her Republican challenger still got 44 percent So Lincoln doesn't appear to have a lot of electoral margin for error with Arkansas voters.

On one hand, the state has an uninsured rate higher than the national average. But Lincoln (at left) will also need to make older voters happy, which so far has looked like a daunting task with this bill, at least nationwide.

Read full post…

Updated 5:18 p.m. ET

After months of consideration, former New York City mayor and Republican presidential candidate Rudy Giuliani has decided against running for governor of New York, according to a report in the New York Times.

And according to the New York Daily News, the reason is that he's running instead for Senate.

Both newspapers are citing anonymous sources, and Giuliani's team is saying it is premature to say he has made a final decision.

Giuliani spokeswoman Maria Comella flatly told CBS News that the Daily News report is "not true."

In a separate written statement, she said this: "When Mayor Giuliani makes a decision about serving in public office, he will inform New Yorkers on his own."

Read full post…

A conservative Web site announced yesterday it has sent millions of "pink slips" to members of Congress, conveying citizens' dissatisfaction with certain legislative activity and the country's current anti-incumbent mood.

Conservative site WorldNetDaily is running a campaign to send members of Congress a "pink slip" warning that if they vote for "government health care," "cap and trade," "hate crimes," or "any more spending," their "real pink slip will be issued in the next election." Since September, WorldNetDaily has offered to send pink slips to all 535 members of Congress on behalf of readers for a price of $29.95.

The organizers of the campaign held a press conference on Tuesday to announce that it had sent out 5 million pink slips. The press conference, held on Capitol Hill, was attended by Republican politicians including Reps. Michele Bachmann (R-Minn.), Louie Gohmert (R-Texas), Steve King (R-Iowa) and Trent Franks (R-Ariz.).

"This is part of the reason... why we haven't seen this legislation on health care come through earlier," said Bachmann, who received the pink slips along with all other congressmen. "People are shocked that 5 million people have taken the time and the money ... to send these pink slips."

Read full post…

Republicans may be able to use the current health care debate to their advantage in upcoming elections, some polls suggest.

Two Quinnipiac polls released Thursday show Republican Senate candidates in Connecticut and Ohio gaining ground as voters in those states show increasing dissatisfaction with Democrats' health care reform effort.

Former Connecticut Congressman Rob Simmons, the leading contender for the 2010 Republican Senate nomination, is leading Democratic incumbent Chris Dodd 49 percent to 38 percent, according to the poll. Simmons increased his lead over Dodd by six percent since September.

Meanwhile, 48 percent of voters in Connecticut said they disapprove of the way President Obama is handling health care, compared with 45 percent who approve. In September, more people approved by a two-point margin.

In Ohio, former GOP Rep. Rob Portman inches ahead of his two Democratic opponents for the first time. Ohio voters oppose Mr. Obama's health care plan 55 percent to 36 percent after being nearly split on the issue in September.

Read full post…

A Gallup poll released today gives the Republicans a 48 percent to 44 percent edge over Democrats in a generic congressional ballot if the 2010 elections were held today. The Republicans have been inching closer to the lead after trailing the Democrats by six points in a similar poll conducted last July.

Read full post…

Marco Rubio, the conservative Florida Republican who is challenging Gov. Charlie Crist to be the GOP's 2010 Senate nominee, has been endorsed by the anti-tax, pro-limited government Club For Growth.

"Marco Rubio is the real deal, one of the brightest young stars in American politics today, and a proven champion of economic liberty," said the group's president, Chris Chocola.

The endorsement is a boon for Rubio, who is seeking to close a major fundraising gap against Crist. The governor's support for President Obama's economic stimulus package outraged fiscal conservatives, and the decision by the Club For Growth to offer its backing is a signal from the powerful group that he should be treated as a viable candidate.

"The Club for Growth PAC has spent months studying this race, and we have concluded that either Charlie Crist or Marco Rubio would be heavily favored to win next November against likely Democratic nominee Kendrick Meek," said Chocola. "The only question now is what kind of Republican will Florida send to Washington next year: a pro-growth Republican with a record of fiscal conservatism or a big-government Republican with a record of tax increases?"

I interviewed Rubio this morning for a forthcoming article on the race. He was sharply critical of Crist both for backing the stimulus bill and for suggesting in a recent interview that he didn't actually "endorse" the legislation.

Read full post…

New York Gov. David Paterson is launching his re-election campaign with two new television ads, beating back chatter he should step aside amid low approval ratings.

The two ads tell Paterson's personal story and defend his record as governor, which began in March 2008 after then-Gov. Eliot Spitzer resigned in scandal.

"Some say I shouldn't be running for governor," Paterson says in an ad called "Some Say." "It might have been easier if all I thought about was running for governor. But I think it's more important to do what's right for the people of New York."

The ad "When," shown above, emphasizes that Paterson came into office during the recession and highlights his personal biography.

The Democratic governor is also hiring Harold Ickes, former President Bill Clinton's Deputy Chief of Staff, to help with his campaign, CBS 2 in New York reports.

Just as of last month, Paterson had said he was unsure about pursuing a full term.

A Quinnipiac poll put the governor's approval rating at a dismal 30 percent. In a hypothetical primary matchup, popular state Attorney General Andrew Cuomo pummeled Paterson, 61 percent to 19 percent. The poll indicated Cuomo could beat potential Republican opponent Rudy Giuliani in a general election matchup, but that Paterson could not.

The Obama administration has pressured the governor to drop out of the running.