Louisiana: Cassidy Challenging Landrieu

Republican Rep. Bill Cassidy will challenge Democratic Sen. Mary L. Landrieu in Louisiana, in what’s likely to be one of the most competitive races of 2014, CQ Roll Call has confirmed.

The Associated Pres reported Tuesday that Cassidy will officially announce his candidacy in a video to be released on Wednesday.

Cassidy has long been mentioned as a top potential contender to Landrieu, who is seeking a fourth term in a state President Barack Obama lost by 18 points in November. Cassidy had more than $2 million in the bank by the end of 2012, and his campaign announced Monday that he raised $500,000 in the first quarter. Full story

Democrats Announce Challenges to Three GOP Incumbents

Democrats recruited a challenger for Southerland. (Bill Clark/CQ Roll Call File Photo)

Four Democratic challengers announced on Tuesday their plans to run against three House GOP incumbents in California, Florida and Minnesota:

Florida’s 2nd District

Gwen Graham, daughter of former governor and Sen. Bob Graham, D-Fla., will challenge Rep. Steve Southerland II. Graham’s campaign described her as “Washington outsider,” and traced her roots in the Tallahassee-based Panhandle district back to her father’s tenure as governor beginning in 1979.

However, Graham’s father later served three terms in the Senate and she boasts relatives at The Washington Post. CQ Roll Call reported Gwen Graham was a likely contender earlier this year.

California’s 31 District

Redlands Mayor Pete Aguilar will challenge one of House Democrats’ top  2014 targets, Republican Rep. Gary G. Miller. It’s Aguilar’s second try at Congress in as many cycles after he shocked Democrats by failing to make it to the general election in California’s new jungle primary system last year. Already in December, CQ Roll Call reported that Aguilar was interested in another run. Full story

Iowa: Democrat Sherzan Drops Bid to Challenge Latham

Businessman Mike Sherzan, a Democrat, has dropped his campaign for Iowa’s 3rd District, citing “personal health reasons” in a statement released Monday.

His announcement clears the way for another Democrat, perhaps former state Sen. Staci Appel, to challenge GOP Rep. Tom Latham in this competitive district.

House Democrats have targeted the 3rd District since the start of the cycle. In January, they touted Sherzan as one of their first potential recruits during the presidential inauguration festivities. He announced his campaign a month later.

Sherzan’s decision to leave the race comes after the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee met with Appel about the race on her recent trip to Washington, D.C. But in a statement, he insisted his decision was based “solely upon my individual circumstances.”

“Finally, I have made this decision based solely upon my individual circumstances and what I believe to be in my best interest and that of my family,” Sherzan said. “Ending my candidacy is very disappointing to me personally.”

Colorado: Mark Udall Raises $1.5 Million in First Quarter of Cycle

Udall had a strong first fundraising quarter (Tom Williams/CQ Roll Call File Photo)

Sen. Mark Udall, D-Colo., raised $1.5 million in the first quarter of 2013 and has $2.5 million in the bank to kick off his re-election campaign in 2014.

On paper, the re-election race should worry Senate Democrats: Colorado is a competitive state, and in recent cycles national parties have dumped millions into races there.

But Udall’s supporters list his strong fundraising as one of the reasons the first-term senator does not top this cycle’s list of the most competitive races. More importantly, Udall has yet to field a serious GOP challenger.

Full story

Iowa: House Democrats Talk to Ex-State Senator About Latham Challenge

Democrats are talking up a new candidate to challenge Rep. Tom Latham (Tom Williams/CQ Roll Call File Photo)

Democrats hope former state Sen. Staci Appel will challenge GOP Rep. Tom Latham of Iowa this cycle, after the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee met with her recently in Washington, D.C., to discuss the race, according to a Democratic operative with knowledge of the encounter.

Appel, a former stock broker and one-term state senator from rural Ackworth, Iowa, is the wife of Iowa Supreme Court Justice Brent Appel.

Democrats view the 3rd District as one of their best pick-up opportunities of 2014. Last year, President Barack Obama carried the Des Moines-based seat. At the same time, Latham defeated then-Rep. Leonard L. Boswell, D-Iowa, there by nearly 9 points.

If Appel runs — and the source stressed that her candidacy is not a done deal — she will have company in a Democratic primary. Businessman Mike Sherzan announced his campaign for the seat last month, after the DCCC feted him during the presidential inauguration in January. Full story

Shop Talk: American Bridge Signs Mackler, Vale for Super PAC

American Bridge 21st Century, a Democratic super PAC focused on opposition research, announced Monday that it has brought on two new top staffers:

• Jessica Mackler will be the new vice president-campaign director. Last fall, Mackler was campaign manager for then-Rep. Shelley Berkley’s Senate race in Nevada. She’s a veteran of EMILY’s List and American Rights at Work as well.
• Eddie Vale will be the new vice president-C-4 director for American Bridge’s not-for-profit arm and senior adviser to the PAC. He comes to American Bridge from the AFL-CIO Workers’ Voice super PAC. His previous experience includes John Edwards’ 2008 presidential campaign, Ned Lamont’s Senate race and former New York Gov. Eliot Spitzer’s gubernatorial effort.

“As we prepare to build on the success of the last election cycle, Jessica and Eddie will be valuable additions to American Bridge and bring years of experience right in line with our core mission,” said Rodell Mollineau, the president of American Bridge, in a statement. “They will further strengthen a rock-solid senior staff and organization that I couldn’t be prouder of.” Full story

Shop Talk: Franken Hires Manager; Draft Hillary PAC Gets Digital Director

Minnesota Sen. Al Franken’s re-election campaign and the Ready for Hillary super PAC made public Wednesday new hires to their organizations.

Franken’s team announced that Matt Burgess has been hired to manage the Democrat’s 2014 re-election campaign, according to Minnesota Public Radio. Burgess is a longtime Democratic operative, with former stints at EMILY’s List and the Service Employees International Union, among others.

The super PAC devoted to drafting Hillary Rodham Clinton into the 2016 presidential race, Ready for Hillary PAC, announced Wednesday that it has hired Nickie Titus to be its digital director.

Titus spent the 2012 cycle on now-Sen. Tim Kaine’s, D-Va., campaign. She previously worked for the new media firm Blue State Digital and, like Burgess, she came up through the ranks at EMILY’s List.

CQ Roll Call recently took a look at who else is behind the Draft Hillary effort.

Georgia: Gingrey Enters Senate Race

Gingrey is the second member to enter the Georgia Senate race. (Chris Maddaloni/CQ Roll Call File Photo)

On Wednesday morning, Georgia Rep. Phil Gingrey entered what’s expected to be a crowded and spirited Republican primary for the Peach State’s open Senate seat.

Speaking in his hometown of Augusta, Ga., Gingrey joined Rep. Paul Broun as the first two major candidates to announce bids for the seat of retiring GOP Sen. Saxby Chambliss. The news was not a surprise, as Gingrey has been putting together a campaign team for a statewide bid. Full story

DCCC Courts Donors at Annual Issues Conference

The Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee hosted its third annual New York Issues Conference on Saturday, featuring access to top lawmaker panels for its supporters.

The event, a brainchild of DCCC Chairman Steve Israel of New York, is intended to fete committee donors from Capitol Hill to the Empire State. House candidates attended as well, one Democrat in attendance said.

New York Rep. Carolyn McCarthy spoke on gun violence, and House Democratic Caucus Chairman Xavier Becerra and Rep. Zoe Lofgren, both of California, talked about immigration, according to a copy of the agenda obtained by CQ Roll Call. Full story

Arkansas: Pryor Disses Bloomberg’s Gun Control Media Blitz

Pryor is considered vulnerable in 2014. (Chris Maddaloni/CQ Roll Call File Photo)

The first sign that New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg’s $12 million gun control ad campaign targeting senators might not go as planned?

One of 2014′s most vulnerable Democratic incumbents, Sen. Mark Pryor of Arkansas, is using the media blitz to demonstrate political space between him and Bloomberg.

“I’ve gotten a lot of questions about NYC Mayor gun ad. My response? I don’t take gun advice from the Mayor of NYC. I listen to Arkansans,” Pryor tweeted Monday afternoon.

Bloomberg announced over the weekend that he plans to fund advertisements in 13 states during the Easter recess targeting vulnerable Democratic senators, including Pryor, and Republicans representing competitive states. The goal, according to The New York Times, is to pressure senators he believes could be persuaded to support universal background checks for firearm sales.

Full story

Hawaii: Hanabusa to Announce Plans in Next Several Weeks

(Tom Williams/CQ Roll Call File Photo)

Passed over in December for an appointment to the state’s vacant Senate seat by Gov. Neil Abercrombie in favor of now-Sen. Brian Schatz, Democratic Rep. Colleen Hanabusa is deciding whether to challenge one of them in a primary next year.

According to a source close to the congresswoman, Hanabusa will likely decide on whether to run for governor, senator or for re-election within the next couple of weeks and then announce her plans soon after.

A poll commissioned by Hanabusa and leaked to the Honolulu Star-Advertiser earlier this month showed Hanabusa leading both Abercrombie and Schatz by double-digit margins in hypothetical Democratic primaries. Should Hanabusa challenge either in a statewide contest, several Democrats would no doubt enter the race to replace her in the safely Democratic 1st District.

The Senate seat now held by Schatz became vacant after the death of longtime Democratic Sen. Daniel K. Inouye.

South Carolina: Elizabeth Colbert Busch Wins Democratic Primary

Elizabeth Colbert Busch, the sister of comedian Stephen Colbert, won the Democratic nomination for South Carolina’s open 1st District on Tuesday, easily beating frequent candidate Ben Frasier in a special-election primary.

Colbert has, so far, run a solid campaign, with significant fundraising and slick television ads. In her first spot, she shared her résumé — director of sales and marketing at a shipping company, director of business development at a former naval shipyard in North Charleston — and hammered home the message that she knew how to create jobs.

What went unmentioned was her political affiliation, which will be her biggest hurdle to coming to Congress. The comfortably Republican district voted 62 percent for then-Rep. Tim Scott in November 2012. After his appointment to the Senate, the seat became vacant, setting up this special election.

One Colbert Busch aide told CQ Roll Call that the general election campaign would be, more or less, “a nonpartisan attack on business as usual in Washington.”

Colbert Busch will face the winner of a Republican runoff on April 2.

The general election is May 7. CQ Roll Call rates the race as Likely Republican.

Shop Talk: Top Democratic Mail Firm Mack|Crounse Breaks Up

The Mack|Crounse Group, a top Democratic direct-mail firm that worked on both of President Barack Obama’s campaigns, has dissolved.

Last week, the firm’s principals, Kevin Mack and Jim Crounse, announced the formation of their own direct-mail firms in separate emails to clients and colleagues.

“We’ve come to the realization that our client bases are very different, and in today’s world of firewalls, independent expenditures, and super PAC’s [sic], this is the best step for our clients, staff and ourselves,” Crounse wrote in his email, adding that it will “take a little time to unwind” the current firm. In fact, the company’s website is still up.

“After careful consideration and some soul-searching, I have decided to set-up [sic] a new direct mail/communications firm,” Mack wrote in another email. “Moving forward, the new firm will continue to offer the same strategic, design and production excellence that we always have.”

“In fact, every member of the ‘Mack Team’ will be joining me, including my top designers and production staff,” he added.

Full story

New Poll Shows Support for Gay Marriage at All-Time High

A new ABC News/Washington Post poll found record high support — 58 percent — for gay marriage.

In a new survey released Monday, only 36 percent of those polled thought marriage for gay and lesbian couples should be illegal and 6 percent had no opinion.

Gay marriage has been one of the country’s fastest-shifting political issues of the decade. Just three years ago, the same poll found 47 percent of respondents favored legal gay marriage and 50 percent were against it.

The new numbers were released on the heels of two top officials — a Democrat and Republican — announcing that their views have evolved on the matter. Sen. Rob Portman, R-Ohio, said last week that he now supports the right of gay people to get married. On Monday, former Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton announced via video that she has evolved to support same-sex marriage. Clinton is a possible 2016 presidential frontrunner.

Full story

Shop Talk: Smoot Joins Majority PAC

Julianna Smoot, the deputy campaign manager for President Barack Obama’s 2012 re-election effort, has joined Majority PAC’s board of directors.

“We have a small, effective team to which she brings critical expertise and networks as we prepare for this election cycle and make sure we have every resource needed to keep a Democratic senate majority,” super PAC co-chair Susan McCue said in a press release Monday.

The Democratic super political action committee spent millions to boost Senate candidates in 2012, including major buys in Indiana, Ohio and other states. Full story