Case might run for Congress again. (Tom Williams/CQ Roll Call File Photo)

In Hawaii politics, if at first you don’t succeed, try, try again. And again. And again.

Or, at least that’s how many candidates in the state have operated over the past few cycles.

In Thursday’s Farm Team column, Roll Call reports that former Hawaii Reps. Ed Case, a Democrat, and Charles K. Djou, a Republican, may be looking to come back to Congress this cycle in the Aloha State’s 1st District.

The seat is being vacated by Democratic Rep. Colleen Hanabusa, who is challenging appointed Sen. Brian Schatz in the primary in 2014.

Case represented Hawaii’s 2nd District until he ran an unsuccessful Democratic primary challenge to former Sen. Daniel K. Akaka in 2006. Since then, he’s made two unsuccessful attempts to rejoin the congressional delegation: a bid for the 1st District in a 2010 special election, and a loss to now-Sen. Mazie K. Hirono in last cycle’s open Senate race following Akaka’s retirement.

Djou was first elected to Congress in a 2010 special election to replace now-Gov. Neil Abercrombie. He lost later that year to Hanabusa in a general election, and failed again at unseating Hanabusa in a 2012 rematch.

Neither Case nor Djou have officially announced a bid for the 1st District race, but both were mentioned by multiple consultants in the state as potential candidates in 2014.

The post Will Perseverance Pay Off for Perennial Hawaiian Pols? appeared first on At the Races.

Israel is bringing his top recruits to town. (Douglas Graham/CQ Roll Call File Photo)

Updated 2:43 p.m. | The Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee will host a reception Wednesday night for its best recruits, according to an invitation obtained by CQ Roll Call.

Launched earlier this month, the Jumpstart program “provides early financial, communications, operational and strategic support to help top-tier candidates get a head start in these highly-targeted races,” according to a memo sent to donors and supporters upon the program’s launch.

The invitation does not list the Jumpstart candidates, but the DCCC previously announced the group. The group is:

• Michael Eggman in California’s 10th District.
• Pete Aguilar in California’s 31st District.
• Gwen Graham in Florida’s 2nd District.
• Jim Graves in Minnesota’s 6th District.
• Domenic M. Recchia Jr. in New York’s 11th District.
• Andrew Romanoff in Colorado’s 6th District.
• Kevin Strouse in Pennsylvania’s 8th District.

Update 2:43 p.m.

National Republican Congressional Committee aides hammered these Democratic candidates on Wednesday for coming to Washington, D.C., seeking to tie their campaigns to national Democrats.

But at least one of the subjects of their targeted press releases, Romanoff, will not make the trip, according to a national Democratic source.

Still, the press release is not technically inaccurate. The NRCC’s missive declared the DCCC “invited Romanoff to mingle with the D.C. elite in the DNC’s Wasserman Room.”

The post House Democrats Fete Top Recruits in D.C. appeared first on At the Races.

Former South Dakota Gov. Mike Rounds announced on Wednesday that he has retained Wadhams to help lead his campaign.

The election next year will come a decade after Wadhams’ last triumph in the state — managing now-Sen. John Thune’s 2004 upset of Senate Majority Leader Tom Daschle.

“Dick’s reputation as a battle tested strategist, coupled with his insight into South Dakota’s political landscape make him the perfect complement to our team,” Rounds said in a statement. “We’ve been considering individuals to fill this role for months and we continued to come back to Mr. Wadhams.”

(Read Stuart Rothenberg’s take on this Senate race and more on his blog.)

After the Thune race, Wadhams went on to manage then-Sen. George Allen’s unsuccessful re-election bid in Virginia in 2006 before moving to his home state of Colorado to chair the state party. Last cycle, Wadhams briefly managed Clark Durant’s unsuccessful Senate campaign in Michigan.

For now, Rounds is the only Republican seeking the seat of retiring Democratic Sen. Tim Johnson, but conservative activists are encouraging others to run as well.

Democrats hope to retain this seat but missed out on their top potential recruit, former Rep. Stephanie Herseth Sandlin. Rick Weiland, a former Daschle aide, is currently the only Democrat in the race.

(Read more about this race in Roll Call: Weiland Is Democrats’ Best Hope in S.D., for Now)

The post Mike Rounds Hires Dick Wadhams #SDSEN | Shop Talk appeared first on At the Races.

Levin endorsed Hobbs in the 14th District primary. (Chris Maddaloni/CQ Roll Call File Photo)

Rep. Sander M. Levin endorsed state House Democratic Floor Leader Rudy Hobbs on Wednesday in the Democratic primary for Michigan’s 14th District.

“When elected to the U.S. House, Rudy will be a powerful advocate and a tireless fighter for the residents throughout the 14th District in Detroit and Oakland County,” Levin said in a press release. “I look forward to actively supporting his campaign.”

Hobbs, who announced his campaign last week, is one of a number of Democrats mentioned in a recent CQ Roll Call outlook of this open-seat race. Former Rep. Hansen Clarke is expected to run again in this district, which includes parts of downtown Detroit and its suburbs.

This is a race to replace Rep. Gary Peters, who is running for Senate in 2014.

Rothenberg Political Report/Roll Call rates this race as Safe Democratic.

The post Sander Levin Picks Sides in Primary #MI14 appeared first on At the Races.

Baca is running for congress again. (Douglas Graham/CQ Roll Call File Photo)

Ten Democrats in California’s congressional delegation announced their support Wednesday morning for Redlands Mayor Pete Aguilar for the 31st District.

Their endorsements are likely an effort to push other Democratic candidates out of this competitive race — including an ex-colleague, former Rep. Joe Baca.

The party had primary problems in this district last cycle, when a bevy of candidates splintered the Democratic vote, allowing two Republicans to head to the general election. California’s primary allows the top two candidates, regardless of party, to advance to the general.

This election cycle is looking like déjà vu for Democrats in the 31st District, which is a targeted race again. In 2012, Republican Rep. Gary G. Miller won re-election in this district that President Barack Obama carried.

Baca, who lost last cycle after choosing to run in California’s 35th District following redistricting, has announced he is seeking the 31st District seat in 2014.

And EMILY’s List is looking poised to support attorney Eloise Reyes, who has announced she is running in the 31st District as well.

Aguilar, who ran an unsuccessful campaign in 2012, has the support of the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee.

The members who endorsed Aguilar on Wednesday are:

• Rep. Karen Bass
• Rep. Julia Brownley
• Rep. Judy Chu
• Rep. Janice Hahn
• Rep. Alan Lowenthal
• Rep. Scott Peters
• Rep. Adam Schiff
• Rep. Eric Swalwell
• Rep. Mark Takano
• Rep. Henry A. Waxman

They join California Democratic Reps. Loretta Sanchez and Gloria Negrete McLeod, who announced their support for Aguilar earlier this month.

The post Ten House Democrats Endorse Pete Aguilar #CA31 appeared first on At the Races.

Peters is running for Senate. (Bill Clark/CQ Roll Call File Photo)

Democratic Rep. Gary Peters has a campaign manager and a lead in the polls — but he’s still awaiting a GOP opponent for the open-seat Senate race in Michigan.

With the Republican field likely to begin to take shape next month, the third-term Democrat announced on Tuesday that Julie Petrick has signed on as campaign manager. Petrick managed Peters’ first election to Congress in 2008 and is coming from the political team at EMILY’s List.

In the race for the seat of retiring Democratic Sen. Carl Levin, the 14th District’s Peters took an early lead in a hypothetical matchup with the 8th District’s GOP Rep. Mike Rogers, who is considering a bid. The poll was conducted by EPIC-MRA and found Peters with a 7-point lead, though a third of voters were undecided.

Michigan political newsletter MIRS reported last week that Rogers will likely announce his decision next month. Former Michigan Secretary of State Terri Lynn Land told CQ Roll Call on Tuesday she is sticking with her plan to announce by June 1.

“If he does decide to run, then I will sit down and talk with him to make sure he’s committed and wants to do this,” Land said. “I know what a huge state this is, and I know what it takes to run statewide — I’ve done it a few times. I realize he’s a congressperson, but it’s a whole different program running statewide than it is in a congressional seat.”

Rogers and Land were the top two finishers in a separate poll released on Tuesday that tested nine possible candidates in a Republican primary. The poll, conducted by Murray Communications-Portable Insights-Combat Data, found Rogers ahead with 36 percent, followed by Land with 29 percent, and 3rd District Rep. Justin Amash and Holland Mayor Kurt Dykstra with 10 percent each.

Amash has given no timetable on a decision and has said only that he is considering running.

Rothenberg Political Report/Roll Call rates this race as Safe Democratic.

The post Gary Peters Leads Poll, Hires Campaign Manager #MISEN appeared first on At the Races.

Honda has announced many endorsements. (Chris Maddaloni/CQ Roll Call File Photo)

What do the president’s half sister, actor Kal Penn and Star Trek legend slash Facebook celebrity George Takei have in common?

All of them have endorsed Rep. Michael M. Honda, who on Tuesday announced support from six Asian-American and Pacific Islander leaders.

The endorsements are a sign that the California Democrat is taking seriously a challenge from Democratic opponent Ro Khanna. An Indian-American lawyer, Khanna is the first serious challenger since Honda was first elected to Congress in 2000.

Both Democrats will battle for the Asian-American community next year. The California 17th is the first Asian-American-majority district in the country and a vital constituency for 2014.

“I’m deeply honored to be endorsed by these leaders of the AAPI community,” Honda said in a news release. “I thank them for their support and their contributions to our community and our country. I look forward to continuing to work together on issues of economic opportunity, education, immigration reform and more.”

The full list of endorsements Honda touted on Tuesday includes:

• Obama Cabinet Secretary Chris Lu
• Retired Army Maj. Gen. Tony Taguba, who authored the report on the Abu Ghraib Prison in Iraq
• Obama’s half-sister Maya Soetoro-Ng, a professor
• Star Trek actor and gay rights activist George Takei
• Actor Kal Penn, former assistant director of the White House Office of Public Engagement
• TV host and lawyer Yul Kwon

The post Mike Honda’s Endorsement Parade Continues #CA17 appeared first on At the Races.

Graves is running for Congress a second time. (Tom Williams/CQ Roll Call)

Note: Every year, scores of congressional candidates visit the CQ Roll Call offices to meet with reporters and Contributing Writer Stuart Rothenberg. This new feature, “The Candidate,” will ask these congressional hopefuls five questions about their campaigns. Responses have been edited and condensed.

Have a question for a candidate? We’ll announce their visits via Twitter, and you can tweet your inquiry to @RollCall or email politics@cqrollcall.com.

The post Bachmann Opponent on Term Limits and Tipping Etiquette #MN06 | The Candidate appeared first on At the Races.

“Phil and Ron are two of the most respected communications strategists in the country today, and I couldn’t be more excited about joining their growing public affairs practice,” Walsh said in a press release. “Singer Bonjean brings a campaign approach to helping clients navigate the ever-changing environment in Washington, and I look forward to adding my experience to this effort.”

Walsh served as the NRSC’s chief spokesman during the 2010 and 2012 cycles. He has been a longtime aide to Sen. John Cornyn of Texas, who served as chairman of the committee those two cycles.

Singer Bonjean Strategies is a bipartisan firm led by Phil Singer, a Democrat, and Ron Bonjean, a Republican.

The post Top Firm Hires Ex-NRSC Spokesman | Shop Talk appeared first on At the Races.

“Jason is a promising young conservative who will bring fiscal responsibility to Washington, D.C.,” Tea Party Express Chairwoman Amy Kremer said in a news release. “Tea Partiers across the country applaud his commitment to repealing Obamacare and reining in the federal government’s out-of-control spending.”

(Read more about Smith in Roll Call: That Other Special Election)

Smith has picked up a number of other endorsements from national groups such as the National Rifle Association, the National Right to Life Political Action Committee and the National Federation of Independent Business.

He is expected to win the June 4 special election to replace GOP Rep. Jo Ann Emerson, who resigned in January.

The post Tea Party Express Backs Special-Election Candidate appeared first on At the Races.

The announcement comes less than two weeks after Elsass filed a lawsuit against his company’s last president, Nick Everhart. That dispute has fixated the GOP consultant class.

Tyler recently worked as an operative for Newt Gingrich, a past client of SGM, when the former speaker ran for president.

“I am so pleased that Rick will be putting his talents to work helping our team elect conservative leaders to public office,” Elsass said in a press release. ”His skill set is exactly what was needed in our rapidly growing group of companies.”

“I am excited to join Rex and all the people at The Strategy Group Companies in continuing their record of success,” Tyler added. “Strategy Group for Media stands alone in recognition of excellent service and exceptional products that no Washington-based competitor can match.”

The post Embroiled GOP Firm Hires Gingrich Operative | Shop Talk appeared first on At the Races.

• #IRS – CQ Roll Call’s Eliza Newlin Carney examines what the IRS mess means for campaign finance laws.
• #GASEN – Michelle Nunn, daughter of former Sen. Sam Nunn, D-Ga., will soon announce her decision on a Senate bid.
• #NC12 – A Democratic fundraiser is mulling a bid for Rep. Melvin Watt’s seat. Watt was recently nominated to run the Federal Housing Finance Agency.
• #VASEN – The Virginia GOP changed how it will nominate Democratic Sen. Mark Warner’s 2014 challenger.
• #UT04 – Sarasota Springs Mayor Mia Love announced she will challenge Democratic Rep. Jim Matheson to a rematch in 2014.

What we’re mulling on Monday …

• #IA01 – Several Democrats are giving Democratic Rep. Bruce Braley’s seat a look, via The Des Moines Register. Braley is running for Senate.
• #OH06 – State Sen. Lou Gentile is the “leading” Democratic contender to challenge Rep. Bill Johnson, R-Ohio, via The Youngstown Vindicator.
• #MA07 – Democratic contenders are lining up in the event Democratic Rep. Michael E. Capuano runs for Massachusetts governor, via Boston Magazine.

The post Remainders: And Then There Was Nunn appeared first on At the Races.

But the IRS controversy has laid bare a far more serious and far-reaching problem: the agency’s utter failure to keep pace with drastically changing campaign finance laws. For decades, the IRS has taken heat for its muddy rules governing politically active tax-exempt groups, a recent CQ Weekly story notes. Among other problems, the recent inspector general’s report found:

• IRS employees did not understand and bickered over the agency’s own rules, repeatedly changing course over how to screen groups seeking tax-exempt status.
• The IRS went so far as to reject the IG’s recommendation that the tax agency clear up guidelines for how to handle such groups. The IRS instead recommended  more staff training, an alternative the IG in turn rejected.
• Though lawmakers and watchdogs urged the IRS to curb deep-pocketed nonprofits spending hundreds of millions of dollars on the 2012 campaign, the IRS ignored the top-spending players and instead went after shoestring groups.

As the story notes:

The fallout has exposed an agency that lacks the tools, the will or even the rules to regulate increasingly wealthy and influential tax-exempt groups unfettered by the Supreme Court’s 2010 ruling to deregulate political spending.

Democrats fault the IRS for doing too little to block such groups from unrestricted spending in campaigns. They argue the IRS has interpreted tax laws far too narrowly, inviting abuses by political players who exploit nonprofit regulations to spend big money in secret. Republicans assail the agency for overpolicing activists and chilling constitutionally protected speech. But lawmakers on both sides of the aisle have failed, as has the IRS, to modernize outdated tax rules and clear up long-standing confusion over what’s permitted, particularly in the thorny arena of tax-exempt political spending.

Congress shares the blame for the IRS mess, the article concludes, but lawmakers won’t be able to ignore the questions swirling around politically active tax-exempt groups indefinitely. Such organizations are already amassing their war chests for 2014 and 2016 — even as members of Congress fixated on scoring political points kick the can yet again down the road.

Read the whole story here. (Subscription required.)

The post Why the IRS Mess Bares Big Campaign Finance Problems appeared first on At the Races.

“The national party is working with Michelle, and I think we will probably have an announcement relatively soon on whether she’s in or not,” Georgia Democratic Party Chairman Mike Berlon said Monday. “We just want to get somebody out there early enough before the election that we can actually get behind them and start putting a structure together.”

The philanthropist and daughter of former Sen. Sam Nunn, D-Ga., appeared at a Sunday fundraiser in Atlanta for the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee. President Barack Obama was the featured guest at the event, with DSCC Chairman Michael Bennet and Executive Director Guy Cecil also in attendance.

A DSCC spokesman declined to comment on whether Nunn was preparing to announce a bid.

Democrats have few offensive opportunities in 2014. Meanwhile, Republicans could win the majority by winning only seats in states the president failed to carry in 2012. Picking up even just one GOP-held seat — such as the one in Georgia — could prove crucial for Democrats.

Before introducing the president to the crowd on Sunday, Bennet said, “Georgia provides us with the greatest opportunity for a pickup.”

Earlier this month, Rep. John Barrow, D-Ga., announced he would seek re-election rather than vie for the seat of retiring GOP Sen. Saxby Chambliss. Party officials continued their recruitment efforts with Nunn, who has never run for public office.

Meanwhile, Republicans have the opposite problem: Several GOP candidates are running for Senate in Georgia. Last week, former Georgia Secretary of State Karen Handel became the fourth candidate to enter the GOP primary field.

Handel joined Reps. Paul Broun, Phil Gingrey and Jack Kingston, while other Republicans are eyeing the race as well.

The post Michelle Nunn Senate Announcement Coming Soon appeared first on At the Races.

Watt has been nominated for a post in the Obama administration. (Bill Clark/CQ Roll Call File Photo)

Scott Dworkin, a Democratic fundraiser, is considering a run for North Carolina’s 12th District, he confirmed to CQ Roll Call  Monday morning.

A number of other Democrats have been mentioned as potential candidates in the race, which is expected to be crowded if Watt is confirmed to the executive branch role.

The post Democratic Fundraiser Mulls Run for Melvin Watt Seat appeared first on At the Races.

Republicans will attempt to challenge Warner. (Bill Clark/CQ Roll Call File Photo)

Virginia Republicans voted on May 17 to hold a nominating convention next year — rather than a primary — to select a challenger to Democratic Sen. Mark Warner, the Virginian-Pilot reported.

The move, which came at the state party’s annual convention in Richmond, could affect the GOP field that vies for the nomination. Conventions, where only party activists vote, often nominate more conservative candidates than the broader GOP primary electorate.

Meanwhile, with the focus on the gubernatorial race, there has been little chatter about any candidates laying the groundwork to take on Warner. The former governor remains the most popular politician in the state. A Quinnipiac University poll released last week found Warner with a 59 percent job approval rating.

Over the weekend, the party chose three conservative candidates — Ken Cuccinelli for governor, E.W. Jackson for lieutenant governor and Mark Obenshain for attorney general — to run for the three state offices up in November. Cuccinelli faces former Democratic National Committee Chairman Terry McAuliffe in a race that recent polling has shown to be close.

For the 2014 Senate race, the GOP state central committee can still reverse course later this year and opt to hold a primary.

The post Virginia GOP to Nominate Mark Warner Challenger via Convention appeared first on At the Races.

Love is running for Congress again. (Douglas Graham/CQ Roll Call File Photo)

Sarasota Springs Mayor Mia Love officially announced this weekend that she will challenge Rep. Jim Matheson, D-Utah, again for the 4th District.

The Republican’s announcement sets up a rematch of one of last cycle’s most-targeted races. Matheson defeated Love by one of the slimmest vote margins of any House race in 2012.

National Republicans hailed Love’s candidacy and gave her a top speaking slot at the national convention. If she wins, she will be the GOP’s first black woman in Congress.

But after Love lost last cycle, many Republicans privately criticized how she and her team ran the campaign. In a press release announcing her candidacy, Love acknowledged that she had learned much from her first congressional campaign.

“We learned from 2012 and what we learned will make us successful in 2014,” she said.

She since hired a top consultant from Utah Republican Sen. Orrin G. Hatch’s team and began organizing her campaign early this year.

The post Mia Love Announces Utah Rematch appeared first on At the Races.

The NRSC raised $3.56 million last month and ended April with nearly $7.1 million on hand. The Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee raised $3.54 million and had slightly more than $8.6 million on hand as of April 30.

The figures were provided by the committees, which must file their monthly fundraising reports by Monday.

Republicans still have some catching up to do after a slow fundraising start in the first three months of the year, as the party hopes to pick up the six seats needed to win the majority. The DSCC raised nearly $7 million more than the NRSC in the first quarter.

The post NRSC Wins April Fundraising by a Nose appeared first on At the Races.

CQ Roll Call reporter Meredith Shiner has the scoop over at our new Senate blog, World’s Greatest Deliberative Body:

From #WGDB:

Eleven female chiefs of staff to Democratic senators are scheduled to hold a fundraiser Monday night for the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee, according to an invitation for the event obtained by CQ Roll Call.

The fundraiser, billed as the “Women on The Hill Dinner,” is yet another sign that it’s not just the number of female senators that is rising, but also key staffers who are building a power base within the party.

See the invitation and more at #WGDB.

The post Female Hill Staffers Fundraise for Senate Democrats appeared first on At the Races.

The Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee raised $5.4 million, according to a committee aide.  House Democrats have $10.4 million in the bank and $4.1 million in debt.

The National Republican Congressional Committee raised $5.1 million. The committee has $8.7 million in cash on hand and has $6.3 million in debt.

The Hill first published the Republicans’ numbers last week, and The Washington Post first reported the Democrats’ fundraising figures.

The post House Democrats Outraise Republicans in April appeared first on At the Races.