Maine: Candidates File to Run for Snowe’s Seat

A day before the filing deadline, several candidates turned in the 2,000 signatures necessary to run for retiring Sen. Olympia Snowe’s (R-Maine) seat.

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Maryland: Rob Garagiola Slams John Delaney Endorsements

Maryland Senate Majority Leader Rob Garagiola (above) blasted rival House candidate John Delaney for his endorsements. (Douglas Graham/ CQ Roll Call)

In a Wednesday email with the subject line “Unity,” Maryland Senate Majority Leader Rob Garagiola sharply criticized his rival for the 6th district Democratic nomination, businessman John Delaney. Full story

Florida: Democrat Announces for 6th District Seat

Nonprofit CEO and Navy veteran Heather Beaven (D) announced Wednesday a long-shot House bid in Florida’s redrawn and strongly Republican 6th district. Full story

Maine: Baldacci Opts Against Senate Run

Former Maine Gov. John Baldacci announced this morning that he would not run for Senate, becoming the third serious Democratic candidate to drop out of the race to replace Sen. Olympia Snowe (R).

“For me, politics has always been about the people you represent, the people you meet and talk to, the folks who need your help and put their trust in you, who are convinced that you can make things better. I’ve always tried to put their interests ahead of my own. This is not the right time for me personally,” Baldacci said in a statement, according to Portland television affiliate WMTW.

It is yet one more turn in a race that has proven to be one of the most bizarre this cycle.

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Alabama: Spencer Bachus Holds On to Avoid Runoff

(Scott J. Ferrell/CQ Roll Call File Photo)

House Financial Services Chairman Spencer Bachus held on to victory in tonight’s GOP primary in Alabama’s 6th district, clinching the nomination outright and avoiding a runoff after heavily outspending his most serious challenger.

Bachus led state Sen. Scott Beason 58.5 percent to 27 percent, with 79 percent of precincts reporting. Four other candidates were also on the GOP primary ballot. To avoid a runoff, a candidate has to get more than 50 percent of ballots cast. Full story

Nebraska: Bob Kerrey Goes on the Air

On the same day a conservative group went after former Sen. Bob Kerrey (D) with a carpetbagger theme, he put up his first ads, one of which is called “Welcome Home.”

It is part of Kerrey’s first big ad purchase in his run for Nebraska Senate. The first round will be part of a $100,000 buy that will air statewide, including on broadcast television. Nebraska is a relatively inexpensive state, so in that context, it’s a substantial buy.

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New York: Redistricting End Is Nigh

UPDATED 4:25 p.m. | There’s a growing bipartisan sense in top political circles in New York that the Congressional redistricting map released by a federal judge late last night represents the final lines for the 2012 cycle.

Despite certain Democrats and Republicans pushing furiously for the Legislature to draw a map — one that creates a new majority-minority district in New York City or shores up Rep. Peter King (R) on Long Island or creates better districts for Reps. Kathy Hochul (D) and Chris Gibson (R) upstate — competing agendas make it more likely than not that the judge’s map will the final one.

“At this point, I’d be surprised if something other than this is” the map, said one national Republican familiar with New York redistricting. That’s a sentiment plugged-in Empire State Democrats echoed in interviews with Roll Call.

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New York: Rep. Bob Turner to Run for Senate

(Tom Williams/CQ Roll Call File Photo)

New York Rep. Bob Turner (R), whose upset special election victory last September rocked the political world, announced today he would mount a long-shot bid for Senate against popular Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand (D).

“I will travel to the Republican State Convention in Rochester later this week and humbly ask for the Republican nomination for the United States Senate,”  Turner said in a statement. “There is serious work to be done to get this economy back on track, and I will not walk away from that work now. I will run for the Senate, and I will run to win.” Full story

Nebraska: Crossroads Hits Bob Kerrey in New Radio Ads

The conservative group American Crossroads has begun an $80,000 radio ad buy against former Sen. Bob Kerrey (D) on Nebraska radio stations.

The ad hits on persistent themes Republicans have been using in their case against Kerrey. Those include Kerrey’s New York City residence, his support for health care reform, tying him to retiring Sen. Ben Nelson (D) and accusations of “backroom deals” with Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) to entice Kerrey to run for Senate.

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Michigan: Report Says Democrats Wooing Ex-Rep. Joe Schwarz

Ex-Rep. Joe Schwarz (right), seen here at freshman orientation in 2004, is eyeing a comeback bid in Michigan as a Democrat. (Scott J. Ferrell/CQ Roll Call File Photo)

House Democrats are recruiting former Rep. Joe Schwarz, who served in Congress as a Republican, to challenge Rep. Tim Walberg (R-Mich.), according to a local report.

MIRS, a Michigan political news service, confirmed Schwarz talked with the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee last week about the race. Schwarz, a frequent critic of the GOP’s conservative wing, told MIRS that “competition would be good” for Walberg.

Schwarz’s Democratic candidacy would make the district competitive for the DCCC, which has yet to find a recruit to challenge Walberg. And if Schwarz decides to run, his bid would mark the third time he’s faced Walberg in the 7th district. Full story

Pennsylvania: Mark Critz and Jason Altmire Launch TV Ads

Pennsylvania Reps. Jason Altmire and Mark Critz will go on the air this week with their first TV ads ahead of the April 24 Democratic primary.

The early ad campaigns signal that the two are running an aggressive race against each other in this southwestern Pennsylvania district. The Keystone State lost a House seat this cycle due to lagging population growth, and Republican mapmakers moved the two Democrats into the same district, forcing them to face off next month.

Both campaigns will air their spots on broadcast television in Pittsburgh and additional, smaller markets for a total buy of about $150,000 each, according to PoliticsPA, which first broke the news. See the ads after the jump. Full story

EMILY’s List Backs Four More House Candidates

EMILY’s List released the names of four House candidates who have received its “On the List” designation for the 2012 cycle.

The group, which supports Democratic pro-abortion-rights female candidates, announced today that it is backing Jessica Ehrlich, who running in the Democratic primary to challenge Rep. Bill Young (R-Fla.); Joyce Healy-Abrams, who is challenging Rep. Bob Gibbs (R-Ohio); attorney Shelley Adler, who is hoping to reclaim her late husband’s seat from Rep. Jon Runyan (R-N.J.) and Assemblywoman Julia Brownley, who is one of several Democrats running in the California’s 26th district open-seat race.

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Illinois: New Jesse Jackson Jr. Poll Shows Huge Primary Lead

(Scott J. Ferrell/CQ Roll Call File Photo)

CHICAGO — With one week to go before the Democratic primary, Rep. Jesse Jackson Jr. released a poll that showed him with a massive 36-point lead over former Rep. Debbie Halvorson.

Jackson led Halvorson 59 percent to 23 percent, according to the internal poll given to Roll Call by one of the Illinois Congressman’s top campaign aides.

The two Democrats are squaring off in the March 20 primary in the redrawn 2nd district, which spans from southern Chicago to rural Kankakee County. The district is heavily Democratic, and the winner of the primary will serve in the next Congress in all likelihood. Full story

New York: Judge Issues New — and Potentially Final — Congressional Lines

GOP Rep. Bob Turner is among the Members threatened under the proposed map. (Tom Williams/CQ Roll Call File Photo)

Updated 12:40 a.m. | A New York federal judge released a tweaked redistricting map late Monday night that closely resembled her earlier plan.

The new map, which could represent the final Empire State lines, imperils Reps. Kathy Hochul (D), Chris Gibson (R) and Bob Turner (R). It also leaves Rep. Gary Ackerman (D) with a tough election slog. Full story

Maryland: Washington Post, MoveOn.org Endorse in 6th District

The Washington Post endorsed John Delaney in Maryland's 6th district Democratic primary. (Tom Williams/CQ Roll Call File Photo)

The endorsements keep coming in Maryland’s 6th district Democratic primary, with the top two contenders each scoring notable support in recent days.

Businessman John Delaney earned the support Sunday from the editorial board of region’s most influential newspaper, the Washington Post. Meanwhile, state Senate Majority Leader Rob Garagiola announced that MoveOn.org is backing his candidacy.

The two men are currently engaged in what has become a largely negative primary. Almost daily, one campaign or the other releases negative opposition research on his opponent’s record. The primary is April 3.