Republican Embraces ‘Bachmann 2.0′ Label #MN06 | The Candidate

Emmer is running for Congress. (Tom Williams/CQ Roll Call)

Kentucky Governor Mulls Redistricting Do-Over (Updated)

Updated 5:45 p.m. | Kentucky Democratic Gov. Steven L. Beshear said his state might have to redo its 2012 redistricting map, according to The Associated Press.

At issue is whether prison inmates ought to be included in district counts. Inmates were included in congressional lines but not state legislative lines. Beshear is seeking “to make sure all of them are done on a consistent basis,” per the AP.

The current map was designed for incumbent protection. Even so, one incumbent went home after the 2012 elections: Democratic Rep. Ben Chandler.

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Rep. Tim Walz Has First Republican Challenger #MN01

Democratic Rep. Tim Walz officially has a Republican opponent in Minnesota’s 1st District.

Republican state Rep. Mike Benson announced on Monday that he will run against Walz in 2014, according to a local report.

Benson’s declaration comes on the heels of Republican state Sen. Jeremy Miller’s announcement that he will not challenge Walz for the seat. Miller said he was approached to run but decided against a bid after consulting his family, according to local reports.

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Competitive House Race Surfaces in Maine | The Field #ME02

Democratic Rep. Michael H. Michaud’s Thursday announcement that he is exploring a run for governor in Maine could spark crowded primaries for his competitive 2nd District.

Michaud has won that district with comfortable margins for six terms, but his seat could be competitive if he launches a gubernatorial bid. President Barack Obama won it with 53 percent last year.

“This obviously becomes a nationally targeted race if Michaud runs for governor,” said Erik Potholm, a Republican consultant who has worked extensively in Maine politics. “For Republicans, it’s a tremendous opportunity to pick up a new seat, because the … rural areas [located in the district] do really well for Republicans.”

Local and national Republican operatives rattled off several potential GOP candidates who could run in the 2nd District. Full story

Second Republican Announces Bid for Bachmann Seat #MN06

Anoka County Commissioner Rhonda Sivarajah announced on Wednesday that she is running for Minnesota’s 6th District seat.

Sivarajah is the second GOP candidate in the primary to replace GOP Rep. Michele Bachmann, who announced last month that she would not seek re-election.

Former state Rep. Tom Emmer, a Republican who lost a 2010 gubernatorial bid, announced his candidacy last week.

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Top GOP Recruit Won’t Challenge Rahall #WV03

Rahall is a top GOP target in 2014. (Bill Clark/CQ Roll Call File Photo)

Republican state Sen. Bill Cole announced on a local radio show this week that he will not run against Rep. Nick J. Rahall II, D-W.Va., in the 3rd District.

“While I believe that now is the time for a new kind of leader to represent the 3rd District of West Virginia, I believe that I have an obligation to continue to serve those who put their trust in me by electing me to the state Senate,” Cole said later in a news release. “It is for that reason alone that I have decided not to run for a national office at this time.”

Cole’s decision is a blow for Republicans, who had been recruiting Cole since April. Rahall tops the National Republican Congressional Committee’s target list in 2014. Full story

Georgia Race Attracts Fifth GOP Candidate #GA01

A fifth Republican entered Georgia’s 1st District primary on Monday night, making the race to replace Republican Rep. Jack Kingston one of the most crowded in the country.

State Rep. Jeff Chapman announced his bid on his personal Facebook page, a day after Republican Bob Johnson’s announcement that he will also seek the 1st District seat.

“Its [sic] official, late this afternoon I filed the necessary paperwork to run for the first Congressional District seat that is being vacated by Jack Kingston who is a candidate for the US Senate,” Chapman wrote in the Facebook post.

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Bobby Schilling Eyes Rematch #IL17

Schilling is leaning towards running for his former House seat. (Tom Williams/CQ Roll Call File Photo)

Former Rep. Bobby Schilling, R-Ill., is eyeing a rematch with freshman Democratic Rep. Cheri Bustos in Illinois’ 17th District, according to a local report.

Schilling, who lost to Bustos in 2012 by 6 points, told the Quad City Times that his race last cycle was “an impossible task” with President Barack Obama on the top of the ticket.

But in a midterm election year, where turnout favors the party not in the White House, Schilling said he is “leaning toward” a rematch.

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Fourth Republican Enters Crowded Georgia Race #GA01

Kingston is running for Senate, prompting a crowded primary for his House seat. (Bill Clark/CQ Roll Call File Photo)

Another Republican entered Georgia’s already crowded 1st District race on Monday, making him the fourth GOP candidate in the open-seat race to replace GOP Rep. Jack Kingston.

Bob Johnson, a surgeon and former Army Ranger, announced on Monday that he is running.

“I pledge to you that I am not going to compromise my conservative Republican principles,” Johnson said in a news release. “I am not going to Washington to go along and get along. I am running for Congress to bring about real conservative change.”

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Alan Grayson Draws GOP Opponent #FL09

Rep. Alan Grayson, the liberal firebrand who won a comeback bid to Congress in 2012, officially has a Republican challenger in Florida’s 9th District.

Jorge Bonilla, a conservative blogger and Navy veteran, announced on Monday that he will challenge Grayson for the 9th District seat.

“The central question of the 2014 election is this,” Bonilla said in a video announcing his candidacy. “Are we the people still capable of self-rule? Or do we abandon the American revolution and concede that a small connected elite from Washington, D.C., and New York is better capable of running our lives than we are ourselves.”

Endorsement Squabble Continues in California Race (Updated) #CA31

Updated June 7, 11:04 a.m. | The debacle over former Rep. Joe Baca’s announced endorsements continued Thursday, when four local leaders declined to support the Democrat’s candidacy for California’s 31st District anymore.

Baca touted these four local leaders on a lengthy endorsement sheet a few weeks back. But now they’re backing one of Baca’s Democratic challengers, lawyer Eloise Gomez Reyes, according to an endorsement announcement provided exclusively to CQ Roll Call by her campaign.

The defectors include former Baca staffer and community college trustee Jess Vizcaino, Inland Empire Utilities Agency Director Angel Santiago, and local businessmen Gary Liaou and Leno Moreno.

“I saw them on his list and I called them because they have endorsed me,” Reyes said in a Thursday phone interview. “And there’s no question that they have been supporters of Joe’s in the past, but they are supporting me. Many of us have supported Joe in the past, but it is time for something different, a fresh perspective in Washington.”

In an interview with CQ Roll Call, Baca called Reyes’ endorsement release an attempt to mischaracterize him and attack his integrity.

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NRCC Memo: We Will Expand the Playing Field for 2014

Walden heads the National Republican Congressional Committee. (Bill Clark/CQ Roll Call File Photo)

National Republican Congressional Committee Chairman Greg Walden signaled that he plans to stay on offense in 2014 with the aim of expanding his party’s 17-seat majority.

In a Wednesday memo to the House Republican Conference obtained exclusively by CQ Roll Call, Walden says his committee will be “aggressively expanding the playing field” thanks, in part, to Democratic recruitment struggles.

“The question facing Democrats is how, if they are struggling on their home court, will they ever win the Republican-leaning districts they need to regain the majority?” Walden wrote to his colleagues.

He went on to highlight Democratic candidates who dropped their House bids early in the cycle, framing them as recruitment failures. He named-checked former candidates such as hotel magnate Jim Graves in Minnesota’s 6th District and former state Sen. Staci Appel in Iowa’s 3rd District.

Walden also cited promising polling in a handful of House seats held by Democrats, including:

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Republican to Enter Race for Bachmann Seat #MN06

Former state Rep. Tom Emmer is expected to announce on Wednesday evening that he is seeking GOP Rep. Michele Bachmann’s seat, according to local reports.

Emmer, a Republican who waged an unsuccessful gubernatorial bid in Minnesota in 2010, is the first GOP hopeful to announce his candidacy in the 6th District race since Bachmann announced her retirement last week.

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Republican Wins Missouri Special Election #MO08

State Speaker Pro Tem Jason Smith won the the special election in Missouri’s 8th District on Tuesday night, keeping the conservative territory in GOP hands.

Smith defeated state Rep. Steve Hodges, 68 percent to 27 percent, with 66 percent of precincts reporting, according to The Associated Press.

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Former Miss America Challenges GOP Freshman #IL13

Davis has a primary challenger. (Bill Clark/CQ Roll Call File Photo)

Erika Harold, the 2003 winner of the Miss America pageant, will announce on Tuesday that she plans to challenge a vulnerable freshman Republican from Illinois, according to local reports.

Harold, also a Republican, will take on Rep. Rodney Davis in the 13th District primary next year.

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