Pennsylvania: Schwartz Officially Enters Race for Governor

Schwartz will run for governor in 2014. (Tom Williams/CQ Roll Call File Photo)

Rep. Allyson Y. Schwartz, D-Pa., has officially entered the race for governor, filing paperwork Monday to run against GOP Gov. Tom Corbett.

If Schwartz wins a contested Democratic primary and topples Corbett later in 2014, the five-term congresswoman would be the Keystone State’s first female governor.

“I’m running to be governor, not the ‘first woman’ governor,” Schwartz told the Philadelphia Inquirer. “But the fact that I am the only woman in the congressional delegation and in a senior policymaking role means people know I can beat the odds. I have brought a different perspective. … It does change the dynamic.”

(Which other members of Congress are running for another office or retiring in 2014? See Roll Call’s Casualty List.) Full story

Georgia: Ex-Rep. Bob Barr Mounts Congressional Comeback

Barr lost a redistricting created member-vs.-member race in 2002. (Bill Clark/CQ Roll Call File Photo)

Former Georgia Rep. Bob Barr will run for Congress again in a district that overlaps part of his area he used to represent.

The Republican scheduled a news conference for Thursday morning at an outdoors store in Smyrna, Ga., to officially enter the race for the 11th District seat being vacated by GOP Rep. Phil Gingrey, who is running for Senate.

In an interview Wednesday, Barr said he already has a campaign team in place and is excited to return to Capitol Hill after more than 10 years to again work to limit “the power and scope of government.” He cited balancing the budget, changing welfare and cutting taxes as the highlights of his tenure in Congress. Full story

California: Honda Touts Additional Democratic Support

(Chris Maddaloni/CQ Roll Call File Photo)

Rep. Michael M. Honda is continuing to roll out internal polling and endorsements to scare off potential challenges from fellow Democrats.

Honda announced Monday the endorsements of California’s two Democratic senators, Dianne Feinstein and Barbara Boxer, who said in separate statements that Silicon Valley needed Honda’s leadership.

The latest endorsements come a week after Honda released an internal poll that found him well ahead in a hypothetical top-two primary against two possible challengers, a Republican who lost to him in 2012 and former Obama administration official Ro Khanna, who is rumored to be eyeing Honda’s seat. The news also comes two months after Honda was endorsed by President Barack Obama and House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi of California.

Khanna has not announced his plans yet, but his million-dollar war chest is enough to push Honda to play defense aggressively early in the cycle. The state’s top-two primary format means Honda could face Khanna in the general election, a scenario that ended the careers of two Democratic incumbents in 2012.

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: Sanford Still the Front-Runner Heading Into Runoff

(Paul J. Richards/AFP/Getty Images)

After a first-place primary finish on Tuesday, former Gov. Mark Sanford remains the front-runner to win South Carolina’s 1st District as he heads to a Republican runoff with attorney Curtis Bostic on April 2.

Bostic is less familiar to the electorate than Sanford, a former congressman from that area. The personal-injury lawyer has a smaller fundraising base, plans to eschew negative advertising during the runoff and is seen by operatives as too focused on his social conservatism in a district where fiscal conservatism is paramount.

“It looks pretty good for Sanford. He drew the ideal opponent,” said Will Folks, an influential political blogger in the state who is neutral in the race.

Sanford took 37 percent in Tuesday’s 16-person GOP primary, while Bostic took 13 percent. Because no candidate received more than 50 percent of the vote, the top two finishers head to a runoff.

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South Carolina: Sanford Heads to Runoff, but GOP Opponent Unknown

(Paul J. Richards/AFP/Getty Images)

Updated 10:52 p.m. | Former Gov. Mark Sanford will advance, as expected, to the Republican primary runoff on April 2.

With 100 percent of precincts reporting, Sanford took 37 percent, according to The Associated Press. That was enough to send him to a head-to-head matchup with another Republican, but not over the 50 percent threshold needed to win the nomination outright.

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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.

South Carolina: Sanford Is Front-Runner in 1st District Primary

(Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)

Voters in the coastal 1st District hit the polls Tuesday to cast ballots in the Democratic and Republican special-election primaries.

Insiders expect more than 30,000 people to vote in the Republican primary; 16 candidates will be on the ballot.

The front-runner is former Gov. Mark Sanford. He is expected to be the top vote-getter but will likely fall well short of 50 percent. If that happens, he will land in an April 2 runoff with the Republican who receives the second largest share of votes.

Insiders believe that the most likely candidates to make the runoff with Sanford are attorney Curtis Bostic, state Sen. Larry Grooms, former state Sen. John Kuhn, state Rep. Chip Limehouse and economics teacher Teddy Turner, the son of media mogul Ted Turner. Full story

Pennsylvania: Democrat Files to Run For Schwartz Seat

University of Pennsylvania medical professor Dr. Valeria A. Arkoosh filed a statement of candidacy to run in what will most likely be an open race for Rep. Allyson Y. Schwartz’s 13th District seat.

Schwartz has all but announced her campaign to challenge Republican Gov. Tom Corbett, in 2014. Last month, the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee replaced her as committee’s national finance chair.

Arkoosh was not immediately available for comment. But PoliticsPA, a Keystone State political blog, noted Arkoosh is a Schwartz ally and her husband is the congresswoman’s campaign treasurer.

Schwartz’s suburban Philadelphia district will likely attract several Democratic candidates once it officially becomes an open seat. Schwartz won re-election in 2012 by more than 37 points. Her successor would likely be determined in the Democratic primary.

Full story

New Jersey: Poll Shows Booker Boosted After Lautenberg Retirement Announcement

Booker's position in the polls has improved.

A new poll shows Newark Mayor Cory Booker’s commanding lead in the 2014 primary in New Jersey has increased since Sen. Frank R. Lautenberg’s retirement announcement.

Half of the respondents said they would back Booker in a new Fairleigh Dickinson PublicMind survey — a score that’s increased by 8 points since a similar January poll.

Rep. Frank Pallone Jr., another Democrat who has expressed interest in the Senate race, picked up 4 percent in the poll. Meanwhile, 7 percent supported Democratic Rep. Rush D. Holt, who has also floated his name as a contender. Thirty-two percent of respondents were undecided.

Full story

Massachusetts: New Poll Finds Markey Senate Special Election Frontrunner

Markey leads a new poll of the Senate special election in Massachusetts (Chris Maddaloni/CQ Roll Call File Photo)

Democratic Rep. Edward J. Markey remains the strong favorite to win the special election for Senate in Massachusetts, according to a new poll of registered voters released late Wednesday.

Markey led Rep. Stephen F. Lynch, his Democratic primary opponent, 50 percent to 21 percent, among polled potential Democratic voters, according to a UMass Lowell-Boston Herald survey. Twenty-three percent said they were were unsure about the primary.

Markey, a House veteran first elected in 1976, also led his all three potential GOP challengers by a comfortable margin in horserace matchups. His closest GOP competitor was former U.S. Attorney Michael Sullivan, who took 30 percent to Markey’s 48 percent. Sullivan is seen as the frontrunner in his race for the Republican nomination with state Rep. Dan Winslow and Gabriel Gomez, a private equity investor and former Navy SEAL.

Lynch also led all Republicans in horserace matchups.

Full story

Illinois: Kelly Plans to Follow Obama’s Lead on Gun Control

Kelly won the Democratic nomination in Illinois' 2nd District. (Douglas Graham/CQ Roll Call)

Democrat Robin Kelly made gun control a central issue in her successful House primary last month, and now she says she will follow the president’s lead on that very issue in Congress.

“I see myself as standing with the president in helping him pass what he wants to pass,” Kelly said about gun control in an interview during her first trip to Washington, D.C., since her victory.

Kelly added that background checks and closing gun show loopholes are realistic policy points that could positively effect the 2nd District. She won the Feb. 26 primary in the south side Chicago district, an area that has been plagued by massive gun violence in recent years.

The 2nd District is a safe Democratic seat, and Kelly is all but certain to come to Congress after the April 9 special election to succeed former Democratic Rep. Jesse L. Jackson Jr. Her Republican rival, Paul McKinley, is a convicted felon, according to The Chicago Tribune.

But Kelly’s primary garnered national attention when New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg’s super PAC spent $2.5 million to boost her campaign. Her race served as the first test case for the super PAC, which supports candidates who back gun control, after the school shootings in Newtown, Conn.

Kelly noted that she has never spoken with Bloomberg, even after her victory.

“Never talked to him before, never talked to him after [the primary],” she said. “We don’t know each other. He got involved on behalf of the families [affected by gun violence]. That’s how I look at it.”

Full story

Massachusetts: Republican Sullivan Files FEC Paperwork for Senate Run

Former U.S. Attorney Michael J. Sullivan, a Republican, filed federal paperwork Monday to run in the Senate special election in Massachusetts, becoming the third GOP candidate to officially enter the race.

“Yes, Washington is broken. Yes, it’s dysfunctional. That much is clear,” Sullivan said in a statement. “What we need now is someone who will stand up and say what’s broken and address how we can start to change it. The voters are looking for substance and real alternatives for reform.”

The Massachusetts Senate race represents a long shot for Republicans, and CQ Roll Call rates it as Likely Democratic.

Sullivan joins a GOP field that already includes state Rep. Dan Winslow and Gabriel Gomez, a private equity investor and former Navy SEAL. All three campaigns said they have collected enough certified signatures to appear on April 30 primary ballot.

The winner of the Republican primary will face off against Rep. Edward J. Markey — who is backed by many national Democrats in Washington, D.C., and influential Democrats in the Bay State — or Rep. Stephen F. Lynch, who has significant organized labor support. Markey is the frontrunner.

The general election will be held June 25.

Louisiana: Boustany Will Not Run for Senate

Boustany announced Monday that he will not run for Senate in 2014. (Photo By Bill Clark/CQ Roll Call File Photo)

Louisiana Republican Rep. Charles Boustany Jr. will not take on three-term Democratic Sen. Mary L. Landrieu in 2014.

Boustany’s name had been floated in recent weeks as a potential GOP challenger, but a spokesman for the congressman told CQ Roll Call Monday that he has opted to stay in the House.

“While Congressman Boustany is honored to have been encouraged to run for the U.S. Senate in 2014, he remains dedicated to the 3rd Congressional District of South Louisiana,” spokesman Neal Patel said in a statement. “Serving on the House Ways and Means Committee allows Congressman Boustany to focus on issues important to Louisiana ranging from trade, to comprehensive tax reform, to health care. He looks forward to continue representing South Louisiana on Capitol Hill.”

Landrieu, a Democrat in an increasingly Republican state, is seen as vulnerable. CQ Roll Call rates this race as a Tossup.

But no congressman has yet pulled the trigger on a challenge, although Pelican State GOP Reps. John Fleming and Bill Cassidy, as well as former Rep. Jeff Landry, are considering running against her. Full story

Georgia: Tom Graves Not Running for Senate

Graves will not run for Senate in 2014. (Bill Clark/CQ Roll Call)

Georgia Republican Rep. Tom Graves said Monday he would not run for the state’s open Senate seat, narrowing the potential field of GOP congressmen running statewide in 2014 to four.

“My decision rested on what would be best for my family, my district and the state of Georgia, and I have concluded that the right path for now is to forgo this Senate race and continue serving in my current role,” Graves said in a statement.

Republican Rep. Paul Broun is the only declared candidate in the Senate race. GOP Reps. Jack Kingston, Phil Gingrey and Tom Price are considering bids, along with a number of current and former state elected officials.

Democratic Rep. John Barrow is also considered a potential candidate for the seat currently held by retiring GOP Sen. Saxby Chambliss. Full story