Louisiana: Jeff Landry Announces Bid Against Charles Boustany

(Tom Williams/CQ Roll Call File Photo)

The Member-vs.-Member battle in the Bayou has begun and this Pelican State brawl is going to get very, very dirty.

Freshman GOP Rep. Jeff Landry announced tonight he will face off with four-term Republican Rep. Charles Boustany in Louisiana’s newly configured 3rd district in the state’s November “jungle primary.” Calling himself a “consistent, common-sense, Cajun conservative,” he slammed Boustany.

“I am not your typical Congressman,” Landry said, according to his prepared remarks. “If that is what you are looking for, that’s not me; that’s the other guy.”

Full story

Arkansas: Tom Cotton Up in New 4th District Poll

A new poll shows attorney Tom Cotton has pulled ahead of 2010 GOP nominee Beth Anne Rankin in the 4th Congressional district’s GOP primary.

A May 10 Talk Business-Hendrix College survey of likely voters found Cotton garnered 51 percent to Rankin’s 33 percent. Ten percent didn’t know for whom they would vote.

An earlier poll by the same group, conducted on April 17, found the race tied at 38.5 percent each.

Cotton has been up on local TV with some strong biographical ads, which may explain his movement in the poll. Full story

Florida: Democratic Poll Shows Allen West Tied With Patrick Murphy

A poll released Thursday by Rep. Allen West's Democratic opponent showed the race as a dead heat. (Bill Clark/CQ Roll Call File Photo)

A poll released Thursday by Congressional candidate Patrick Murphy (D) found him tied with Republican Rep. Allen West 45 percent to 45 percent in a horse-race matchup. Ten percent of the likely voters polled were undecided. Murphy is challenging West in Florida’s newly configured 18th district.

The survey conducted by longtime Florida pollster Keith Frederick found that West, one of the 112th Congress’ most outspoken Members, has 83 percent name recognition in the district. The polling memo released publicly did not include Murphy’s name ID. Both decided to run for the newly-configured seat after redistricting; both were previously running in Florida’s 22nd district.

The survey found presumptive GOP White House nominee Mitt Romney leading President Barack Obama in the district. In a ballot test, Romney led with 49 percent to Obama’s 46 percent. Four percent were undecided.

Full story

Arizona: NRCC Releases New Ad Against Ron Barber

The National Republican Congressional Committee released a new ad targeting Arizona 8th district Democratic nominee Ron Barber that ties him to Medicare cuts, House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) and President Barack Obama.

Full story

California: Howard Berman Greeted Obama in Brad Sherman’s District

Neither President Barack Obama nor former President Bill Clinton have officially picked sides in the clash of Democratic Congressmen from California’s San Fernando Valley. But Obama and Clinton have dropped strong hints regarding where they stand.

It was Rep. Howard Berman — not Rep. Brad Sherman — who greeted Obama on Thursday at the Bob Hope Airport in Burbank, which is in Sherman’s current district. Berman then rode with Obama in the motorcade to a campaign fundraiser at the Studio City home of actor George Clooney, which is in the Congressman’s district. Full story

Arizona: Sheriff Paul Babeu Drops Out of House Race

Sheriff Paul Babeu has dropped his Congressional bid.

The Arizona Republican, whose recent admission that he was gay roiled his campaign, made his announcement in an overnight email to supporters.

“I have decided to end our congressional campaign and seek re-election as Pinal County Sheriff,” he wrote. “Yesterday, I informed my campaign staff and our finance team of my decision to run for re-election.”

Full story

Kentucky: Rand Paul Backs Thomas Massie in Race to Succeed Geoff Davis

(Bill Clark/CQ Roll Call File Photo)

Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.) today filmed a TV ad in support of Congressional candidate Thomas Massie and plans to endorse him soon.

“I’ve made the decision today to go ahead and help him,” Paul said in an interview today in his Senate office. “I filmed an ad for him today.”

Massie, the Lewis County judge-executive, is locked in a competitive race for Kentucky’s open 4th district seat, currently occupied by retiring Rep. Geoff Davis (R). The other two top contenders in the race are state Rep. Alecia Webb-Edgington and Boone County Judge-Executive Gary Moore. Full story

Steve Israel Projects Democratic Gains, Says Gay Marriage Not Very Relevant in House Races

(Bill Clark/CQ Roll Call File Photo)

Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee Chairman Steve Israel (N.Y.) predicted his party would make gains in this fall’s elections but stopped short of guaranteeing it would net the 25 seats needed to make Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) Speaker again.

“Whether or not we take the majority back, there will be more Democrats in the House,” he told reporters today at a Christian Science Monitor breakfast.

Full story

NRCC Loads First Round of Young Guns

Utah Congressional candidate Mia Love, who is in Washington, D.C., this week for meetings, was one of the candidates promoted to "Young Guns" status. (Douglas Graham/CQ Roll Call)

The National Republican Congressional Committee today announced its first round of Young Guns — candidates who have reached the highest tier of the committee’s recruitment and candidate support program.

The candidates are a diverse group that includes two woman, one of whom is African-American; a man of Portuguese descent; an openly gay man and a Jewish man.

“These candidates have met a series of rigorous goals that will put them in position to win on Election Day,” NRCC Chairman Pete Sessions (Texas) said in a statement. Full story

North Carolina: GOP Nominee Attacks Mike McIntyre in 7th District

State Sen. David Rouzer, who won a contested GOP primary contest Tuesday night in the 7th district, immediately took aim at his general election opponent, Rep. Mike McIntyre (D).

“He’s walked in lock step with Barack Obama and Nancy Pelosi,” Rouzer said in a short interview Wednesday, echoing national GOP talking points. “The stimulus bill in particular” would be an issue, he said. “Clearly the stimulus failed.”

Rouzer said he thought he needed to raise $1.5 million to $2 million to win. McIntyre had $764,000 in the bank in mid-April. Full story

Pete Sessions Confident GOP Will Expand House Majority in November

(Bill Clark/CQ Roll Call File Photo)

National Republican Congressional Committee Chairman Pete Sessions (Texas) took a bullish stance on House GOP prospects this morning, insisting Republicans would add to their huge gains of last cycle this November and that Democratic House candidates would be dragged down by an unpopular president.

“The landscape in 2012 is exactly the same as it was in 2010,” he said. “The dominating issues are Obamacare, big government and spending, and the economy and jobs.”

“What is out there” for November, Sessions said at the Christian Science Monitor’s breakfast, “is a Republican pickup, not a Republican loss of 10 to 15 seats,” as many House prognosticators predict. Full story

North Carolina Picks Primary Winners

Updated: 11:37 p.m. | North Carolina voters went to the polls Tuesday to select candidates in a series of primary elections, but the results may have broader implications. The winners of a number of competitive Republican contests are likely to be elected to Congress this November.

An extreme gerrymander by the GOP-controlled statehouse means Republicans could net as many as four seats from the Tar Heel State this cycle.

Voting ended at 7:30 p.m. and here are some of the top results by district, updated as they come in from the Associated Press. In primaries where no candidate got more than 40 percent, the top two finishers will battle in a runoff on July 17. Full story

Indiana: Messer, Brooks Win Open-Seat GOP Primaries

Updated 10:13 p.m.| Luke Messer, the former executive director of the state Republican Party, won the crowded primary for Rep. Mike Pence’s (R) eastern Indiana seat.

Messer defeated conservative activist Travis Hankins with almost 42 percent of the vote and 83 percent of precincts reporting, according to the Associated Press.

Pence is running for governor instead of re-election to his safe Republican seat, so Messer will serve as the next Member of Congress from the 6th district in all likelihood. Full story

Arizona: Democratic PAC Hitting TV Airwaves in Special

The Democratic-aligned House Majority PAC is placing a $340,000 television ad buy in Arizona’s 8th district special election to replace former Rep. Gabrielle Giffords (D).

The three-week buy is set to begin running Friday on broadcast and cable in Tucson, and targets Republican nominee Jesse Kelly, who faces former Giffords aide Ron Barber. The buy is intended to supplement a two week ad buy placed by the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee, which is due to expire the same day the House Majority PAC TV spot hits the airwaves.

Full story

New York: Super PAC Takes Aim at Charlie Rangel

(Tom Williams/CQ Roll Call File Photo)

The Campaign for Primary Accountability, a nonpartisan super PAC that has successfully targeted incumbents this cycle by supporting primary challengers, will next turn its substantial financial resources against longtime Rep. Charlie Rangel (D-N.Y.).

The group announced it “will make independent expenditures opposing Rep. Rangel and supporting state Sen. Adriano Espaillat.” Super PAC spokesman Curtis Ellis wouldn’t specify how much the CPA would spend against Rangel, but he noted that in its previous efforts, the group usually spends six-figure sums in its races. Full story