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• Crist: I’m a True Blue Reagan Conservative
  Florida Republican Gov. and U.S. Senate candidate Charlie Crist defended himself against charges he is not a strong conservative, vowing that if he were in the Senate now, he would vote against President Obama s budget and tax increases and vigorously oppose the Democrats ...
• 'Choose Life' License Plate Trend Gaining
  
  RICHMOND, Va. -- Abortion rights advocates have been unable to halt the Choose Life license plate variations in nearly two dozen states, so now they're working to balance the bumper debate. Activists are pushing a Trust Women/Protect Choice license plate in Virginia,...
• Lawmaker Releases Holds On Obama Nominees 
  Republican Sen. Richard Shelby of Alabama has released the holds he had placed on every one of President Barack Obama's nominees, his office said Monday. The purpose of placing numerous holds was to get the White House's attention on two issues that are critical to our...
• NLRB Nominee First Test of GOP's Power
  The Republicans' first test of their new Senate clout could come in a vote to block President Barack Obama's choice of a union attorney for a seat on the National Labor Relations Board.Senate Democrats need 60 votes, one more than they control since Scott Brown of...
• Illinois Looking for Lt. Governor Hopefuls
  Illinois Democrats are getting a political do-over. They are picking a new candidate for lieutenant governor after the primary winner dropped out due to a checkered past.Gov. Pat Quinn has the rare opportunity to help pick his running mate, but refused to say Monday who was...
• GOP's Portman Has Narrow Lead in Ohio Senate Race
  
  Republican Rob Portman still has narrow leads over his two chief Democratic opponents for the seat being vacated by GOP Senator George Voinovich in Ohio. A new Rasmussen Reports survey of likely voters in Ohio finds the leading Republican Senate hopeful with four-point...
• Ex-USS Cole CO Mulls Run Against Reid
  
  Retired Navy Commander Kirk S. Lippold is mulling a run for U.S. Senate in Nevada, two sources said Thursday. Lippold was commanding officer of the USS Cole in 2000 when it was attacked in an al-Qaida suicide bombing in the harbor of Aden, in Yemen. He retired from the Navy...
• Dem. Lieutenant Governor Candidate Exits Ill. Race
  The Democratic nominee for Illinois' lieutenant governor dropped out of the race Sunday night, less than a week after winning the nomination, amid a political uproar about his past.In announcing his decision at a Chicago bar packed with people watching the Super Bowl, Scott...
• Palin Stumps for TX Gov. Perry in Suburban Houston
  Former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin stumped for Gov. Rick Perry at a rally Sunday in suburban Houston, adding some national Republican star power to Perry's re-election campaign."I doubt there is another public figure in our country who gives liberals a bigger case of the hives...
• La. Lt. Gov. Replaces Nagin As New Orleans Mayor
  Frustrated by term-limited Mayor Ray Nagin's leadership of New Orleans since Hurricane Katrina, voters elected Louisiana Lt. Gov. Mitch Landrieu to succeed him Saturday, turning to a political scion to speed up the city's recovery.Landrieu, 49, became the majority-black...
• Fiorina's 'Demon Sheep' Haunt Calif. Campaign
  
  LOS ANGELES A bizarre campaign ad by Senate candidate Carly Fiorina featuring what has been dubbed a Demon Sheep has transcended California politics to become an Internet sensation, but analysts wonder if it was such a good idea. The Internet video, which features a...
• Ill. Gov Might Want to Run From His Running Mate
  Just when Illinois was starting to move on from the scandals of ousted Gov. Rod Blagojevich, along comes Scott Lee Cohen.After the political unknown managed to win the Democratic nomination for lieutenant governor Tuesday, it became widely known that he was accused of...
• Nixon Grandson in GOP Bid for N.Y. House Seat
  The grandson of President Richard Nixon is among seven Republicans seeking the nomination to challenge an incumbent Democratic congressman on Long Island.Christopher Cox, the 30-year-old son of state party chairman Ed Cox and Nixon's grandson, is just one GOP member who has...
• Embattled Dem Ill. Candidate Won't Step Down
  A political newcomer who won the Democratic nomination for Illinois lieutenant governor said he has no intention of leaving the race after details emerged about his arrest for allegedly holding a knife to his former girlfriend's throat.Scott Lee Cohen struck a defiant tone...
• N. Dakota GOP Wants 'Tea Party' Energy
  
  Republicans in North Dakota are planning one of the party's first organized efforts to capture some of the energy and enthusiasm of the tea party movement, an experiment that nervous party officials around the country will be watching with hopeful anticipation. North...
• Senate Likely to Be Less Diverse After Elections
  That historically all-white club known as the U.S. Senate is likely to lose what little diversity it has after November's elections.Two white men will be competing for President Barack Obama's former seat in Illinois, now held by Roland Burris, the chamber's lone...
• Brown's Independence Could Face Senate Test
  Scott Brown says he's a different kind of Republican, a centrist willing to work with Senate Democrats to fix health care and the ailing economy.But his independent bent is likely to be sorely tested in a bitterly divided Senate where party loyalty is often at a premium.As...
• Meek and Ferre Tied in Fla. Senate Race
  
  MIAMI, FL - Even with a 10 month campaign advantage and being outspent roughly 33 to 1, a new swing state poll shows Democrat Maurice Ferre virtually tied with Miami Congressman Kendrick Meek when placed head-to-head with the Republican challengers. The first major polling...
• Hynes Concedes Dem. Governor Primary Race in Ill.
  Illinois Comptroller Dan Hynes conceded defeat Thursday in the Democratic primary for governor, promising to help Gov. Pat Quinn win in November.Hynes dismissed the strife of the primary campaign as "a spirited discussion about our future.""I'm supporting him because I...
• Reid: Senate Will Take up Jobs Bill Next Week
  Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid says the Senate will take up a jobs bill Monday and he hopes it will have Republican support.Key Democrats and Republicans in the Senate have been working on a bipartisan plan to give businesses a tax break for hiring unemployed workers....
• Democrats Hoping for News in Ill. Governor's Race
  Illinois voters who braved the cold during the nation's first 2010 primary elections don't know who they sent to the governor's race.The election was expected to launch heated campaigns in President Barack Obama's home state, but it left Democrats and Republicans squabbling...
• House Faces Tough Vote On $1.9 Trillion More Debt
  Facing a politically excruciating vote, House Democratic leaders are counting on new budget deficit curbs to help smooth the way for a bill allowing the government to go $1.9 trillion deeper into debt over the next year or about $6,000 more for every U.S. resident.The...
• Texas Gov's Race: Tea Party Candidate Rises
  
  The two top hopefuls for the Republican gubernatorial nomination in Texas remain out in front of their likeliest Democratic opponent, but now the tea party activist who is the third GOP contender is edging ahead as well. A new Rasmussen Reports telephone survey of likely...
• Ill. Gov. Declares Victory, Challenger Vows Fight
  An Illinois primary election that was supposed to set the stage for a high-stakes political showdown in President Barack Obama's home state instead produced intense confusion: virtual ties in the Democratic and Republican races for governor.Gov. Pat Quinn held a tiny lead...
• E-Mail Leak Roils Race in California
  
  SACRAMENTO, Calif. - An e-mail in which an adviser to candidate Meg Whitman threatened to spend $40 million or more to ruin her fellow Republican Steve Poizner's reputation provided a rare glimpse this week at the tough tactics in the high-stakes race for California...