King announced last week that he will not run for Senate. (Douglas Graham/CQ Roll Call File Photo)
Updated 3:23 p.m. | Rep. Steve King declared late on May 3 that he will not run for Senate in 2014, setting off rampant speculation in the Hawkeye State about who the GOP could run for retiring Democratic Sen. Tom Harkin’s seat.
The conservative congressman marks one of several top Iowa Republicans to recently decide against a run, but a handful of lesser-known, potential GOP Senate candidates are still eyeing this open seat. Full story
(Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)
Could Mark Sanford pull off this special election on Tuesday after all? It’s more than possible.
Democrats and Republicans agree the former governor has half a shot at winning the 1st District special election Tuesday.
Only a week ago, operatives were preparing Sanford’s political obituary. But internal and public polls showed the race closing — and suddenly his return to the Palmetto State’s congressional delegation has become more than a possibility. Full story
King will not run for Senate. (Douglas Graham/CQ Roll File Photo).
Republican Rep. Steve King announced on Twitter late Friday night that he would not run for Senate:
Full storyI will not run for Senate in 2014. A Senate race takes me out of urgent battles in Congress that can't wait until 2015. Many thanks to all.
— Steve King (@SteveKingIA) May 4, 2013
Kingston's Senate bid leaves his House seat open. (Bill Clark/CQ Roll Call File Photo)
Georgia Rep. Jack Kingston’s entrance into the Senate Republican primary means there will be at least three GOP-held, open-seat House races in the Peach State in 2014.
Unfortunately for Democrats, who are looking for avenues to the majority next year, all of the seats are in Republican-leaning districts. That includes Kingston’s 1st District, which covers Georgia’s entire Atlantic coastline, stretching from Savannah south to Brunswick and the Florida state line.
The 11-term incumbent’s official announcement tour Thursday finally opened the door for ambitious Republicans from populous Savannah in search of a ladder to Congress. The list of candidates already running or mentioned as possible candidates include: Full story
The grandson of a former champion Louisiana State University football coach is the first Republican to enter the race for the Bayou State’s open 6th District.
Republican Paul Dietzel, a first-time candidate who owns a Baton Rouge, La.-based software company, announced Thursday his candidacy for the seat of GOP Rep. Bill Cassidy, who is running for Senate.
“Our country needs new leadership and new ideas, and I’m running for Congress to bring that fresh perspective we need,” Dietzel said.
He is likely to have plenty of company once the state legislative session ends.
What we’re mulling on Thursday…
Northey, left, will not run for Senate. (Tom Williams/CQ Roll Call File Photo)
Another potential GOP candidate for Iowa’s open Senate seat has announced he will not run, leaving Republicans to continue their search for a strong prospect to run in this top pick-up opportunity.
Iowa Secretary of Agriculture Bill Northey became the second Republican in as many weeks to decide not to run. The party continues to await a decision from Republican Rep. Steve King, who remains undecided about the race.
Some Republicans are concerned about a potential King candidacy, arguing that his conservative politics do not have enough statewide appeal to win. But Northey encouraged King to run in his statement about the race:
Schriock is the president of EMILY's List. (Bill Clark/Roll Call)
EMILY’s List President Stephanie Schriock has confirmed she is considering a bid for Montana’s newly open Senate seat in 2014.
Since Sen. Max Baucus, D-Mont., announced his retirement plans last week, Schriock has mostly kept quiet about the race — until she spoke with reporters at a Thursday event for EMILY’s List. Full story
Clarke, center, might run again. (Scott J. Ferrell/CQ Roll Call File Photo)
Now that Democratic Rep. Gary Peters has officially entered the Michigan Senate race, Detroit-area Democrats have started to eye his House seat for 2014.
Democrats are assured to hold this majority-minority district, which voted for President Barack Obama with more than 80 percent. Party operatives expect a crowded 14th District primary filled with familiar names of local lawmakers and candidates who have run for this or nearby seats before.
Potential candidates include: Full story
Rep. Edward J. Markey, D-Mass., has been the favorite to win the special election for Senate for months — which means his House seat has been an attractive spot for ambitious local Democrats for even longer.
A handful of Democrats have been running for nearly three months to replace Markey, who won a Senate primary on Tuesday and is in a strong position to win the special election on June 25.
Three Democrats made their congressional aspirations known in early February, and each of them turned in six-figure first-quarter fundraising reports. Other potential candidates were waiting for the outcome of Markey’s primary with Rep. Stephen F. Lynch, but nonetheless made their intentions to run for his seat known.
The list of announced candidates include: Full story
(Scott J. Ferrell/CQ Roll Call File Photo)
Democratic Rep. Nick J. Rahall II will not run for Senate next year and plans to seek re-election to West Virginia’s 3rd District instead, a Democratic strategist confirmed Tuesday evening.
His decision means that Democrats will continue to search for a top candidate to run for retiring Democratic Sen. Jay Rockefeller’s seat.
Rep. Shelley Moore Capito, a Republican, announced her candidacy for Senate last year. She got off to a big head start in fundraising in the first quarter as well.
Kingston will likely run for Senate. (Bill Clark/CQ Roll Call File Photo)
Rep. Jack Kingston, R-Ga., has scheduled two news conferences for Thursday — yet another indication he will become the third member of the state’s delegation to enter the Senate race.
The 11-term Republican congressman will make an announcement during double events in his coastal 1st District in Savannah and Brunswick. Kingston’s team would not describe the substance of his planned remarks.
“You’ll have to listen in to find out,” Kingston spokesman Chris Crawford told CQ Roll Call. Full story
Paul, above, endorsed Sanford. (Bill Clark/CQ Roll Call)
Updated 1:35 p.m. | Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky., endorsed embattled former Gov. Mark Sanford’s bid for the 1st District special election.
“Mark has proven during his time in office that watching out for taxpayers and holding the line on spending are his top priorities,” Paul said in a press release from the Sanford campaign.
“What we absolutely cannot afford is someone like his opponent, who will be yet another vote for a return to the Pelosi speakership, for disastrous programs like Obamacare, and for more spending and debt,” he added. “I am pleased to endorse Mark and stand with him in this race,” he added.
House Majority PAC, a Democratic super PAC, targeted GOP women in its closing spot for the South Carolina’s 1st District special election.
The woman featured in the ad identifies herself as a Republican before she laces into Republican nominee former Gov. Mark Sanford for the extramarital affair that led to his political downfall in 2009.
Sanford faces Democratic nominee Elizabeth Colbert Busch on May 7.
Branstad, right, spoke to reporters on Monday morning. (Tom Williams/CQ Roll Call File Photo)
Iowa Gov. Terry E. Branstad told reporters Monday morning that he advised national Republicans to recruit an “Iowa problem solver” rather than “another congressman” to run for the Hawkeye State’s open Senate seat in 2014.
The GOP governor’s comments come as Rep. Steve King, a conservative Republican, is in the final stages of deciding whether to run for retiring Democratic Sen. Tom Harkin’s seat.
According to a recording of Branstad’s weekly news conference via Radio Iowa, he said there are several Republicans in the state who would provide a good contrast with Rep. Bruce Braley, the likely Democratic nominee. Branstad noted that King did serve in the state Senate, and said his initial comments were a shot at Braley, not King.
But Branstad also clarified that he believes having someone free from ties to an unpopular Congress would give the GOP its best chance against Braley. Full story
