| President
Georgia: A new Rasmussen survey in Georgia finds Newt Gingrich with a small lead in the GOP presidential race with 33%, followed by Rick Santorum at 28%, Mitt Romney at 20% and Ron Paul at 9%. The Georgia primary is on March 6.
Huntsman: Despite endorsing Mitt Romney this year, Jon Huntsman called for a third party movement in American politics. "Someone's going to step up at some point and say we've had enough of this," he said. "The real issues are not being addressed, and it's time that we put forward an alternative vision, a bold thinking. We might not win, but we can certainly influence the debate." Huntsman ruled out a third party bid for himself.
Indiana: Rick Santorum looks like he will get on the Indiana ballot after all. The Marion County Board of Voter Registration initially said Santorum fell eight signatures short of the 500 needed in Indiana's 7th District when he filed for Indiana's May primary. But board member Cindy Mowery said she recertified Santorum for the ballot with 500 signatures Thursday morning.
Michigan: A new Mitchell/Rosetta Stone poll in Michigan taken the night after the CNN debate shows Mitt Romney leading Rick Santorum 36 to 33%, with Ron Paul at 12%, followed by Newt Gingrich at 9%. Undecided voters dropped in half to 11%. A third of the voters (33%) said that Romney won the debate compared to only 13% who said Santorum, 10% who said Paul, and 9% who said Gingrich.
Senate
Florida: The Florida Senate race turned nasty when former Sen. George LeMeiux held a press conference and said, "Connie Mack IV is the Charlie Sheen of Florida politics. Mack IV does not have the temperament or the character to serve in the United States Senate." LeMeiux was referencing a Miami Herald story that detailed four physical confrontations Mack had when he was in his early 20s, one arrest and then a host of financial troubles that became clear during his divorce shortly after he was elected to Congress.
Missouri: Former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee has endorsed Rep. Todd Akin in the Senate race. Huckabee will appear in southwest Missouri for a rally on behalf of Akin in Joplin on March 3. A St. Louis area candidate, Akin's ability to cut into Sarah Steelman's base of support in the southwest will be critical to his chances.
Montana: A Rasmusses Reports poll of the Montana Senate race finds Rep. Denny Rehberg with a three point lead over incumbent Sen. John Tester. Rehberg leads 47 to 44% with 5% undecided.
Nevada: The Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee is launching a new round of Spanish language radio ads targeting Sen. Dean Heller that calls the senator "another Sharron Angle" running "an anti-Latino campaign" tying him to the former Senate candidate who was unpopular with voters and Latinos in particular last year.
North Dakota: Rep. Rick Berg is out with his first television ad of his Senate campaign, a biographical spot which stars his mom and only mentions his support for a balanced budget amendment.
House
AZ-6: Sen. Jon Kyl has endorsed Rep. Ben Quayle in his member versus member matchup with Rep. David Schweikert. Kyl said that Quayle's voting record is closest to his in the Arizona delegation. "And he's approached the issues in a very thoughtful way," the senator said, "so I think he deserves my support."
LA-4: Democrats are said to be courting Brian Crawford, former Shreveport fire chief and currently the city's assistant chief administrative officer, to take on Rep. John Fleming this year. Democrats point out the fact that Fleming defeated Democratic candidate Paul Carmouche in 2008 by only 350 votes and that the election was moved to another date other than the presidential election because of problems caused by hurricanes in the state. However, with the district only giving Obama 40% in 2008, any Democrat will have an uphill race here.
NJ: Roll Call is out with race ratings for New Jersey house races. They forcast a 6-6 delegation from the current 7 Democrats to 6 Republicans. Rep. Jon Runyan may have the most competitive race, facing the widow of former Rep. John Adler. The 3rd District is rated lean Republican.
OH-3: Former Speaker Nancy Pelosi has endorsed former Rep. Mary Joe Kilroy in the primary for OH-3 by giving her two $2,000 campaign contributions. A recent Public Policy Polling survey, commissioned by candidate Joyce Beatty, showed the former Ohio House Democratic Leader in a virtual tie with Kilroy. That survey, taken this week, put Kilroy at 35 percent to Beatty's 34 percent.
PA-12: Rep. Jason Altmire hit back over charges from the Critz campaign that he did not have enough valid signatures to qualify for the ballot. "After reviewing the baseless challenge to my campaign's nominating petitions, the facts are as clear today as they were when the petitions were filed - we have met the required threshold of 1,000 valid signatures to appear on the primary ballot," Altmire said in a statement. A hearing has been scheduled for March 2 in Pittsburgh.
Governor
Ohio: Former Gov. Ted Strickland has not ruled out a rematch with Gov. John Kasich in 2014. Strickland was among the 35 people named as national co chairmen for President Barack Obama's reelection campaign this week.
Texas: Rick Perry told the Texas Tribune that he is leaning toward running for reelection in 2014 and possibly again for the White House two years after that. There are no term limits in Texas. If he does run, Perry could wind up serving a total of 18 years in the governor's office and would complicate the plans of others who are thought preparing to run for governor. At the top of that list would be Attorney General Greg Abbott.
Redistricting
Missouri: The Senate Apportionment Commission approved a tentative state Senate redistricting plan. A special panel of appellate judges drew a map after the commission deadlocked last year, but the Missouri Supreme Court rejected that map in January, and the process started from scratch with the appointment of a new redistricting commission.
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