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Two More Senators Back Same-Sex Marriage

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Sen. Mark Kirk (R-IL) announced his support for same-sex marriage, becoming the second sitting GOP senator to do so, The Hill reports.

Said Kirk: “Our time on this earth is limited, I know that better than most. Life comes down to who you love and who loves you back — government has no place in the middle.”

Meanwhile, The Hill also reports that Sen. Tom Carper (D-DE) said he now supports same-sex marriage, now leaving just seven Senate Democrats who have not publicly voiced support for allowing gays to marry.


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Landrieu Gets a Challenger

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Rep. Bill Cassidy (R-LA) will challenge Sen. Mary Landrieu (D-LA), “in what’s likely to be one of the most competitive races of 2014,” Roll Call reports.

“Cassidy has long been mentioned as a top potential contender to Landrieu, who is seeking a fourth term in a state President Obama lost by 18 points in November. Cassidy had more than $2 million in the bank by the end of 2012, and his campaign announced Monday that he raised $500,000 in the first quarter.”

Can Democrats Retake the House in 2014?

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Stu Rothenberg:
“If the question is whether there is any evidence right now that
Democrats can retake the House next year (especially considering
historical trends and the number of swing districts), the answer has to
be no. This conclusion is based on the evidence now, and if the evidence
changes, so could my conclusion. Perhaps the best answer to the
question, from my point of view, is one that some will find
unsatisfactory: I don’t know. Ask me again in a year, and then a few
months after that, and then again in October 2014.”

Last Act in the Budget Wars

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David Hawkings: “April in Washington is supposed to be all about immigration and gun control, with potentially climactic moments on course for both. But those expectations will prove illusory in the first days after the House and Senate return from recess next week, when headlines will come from a couple of high-profile maneuvers in the budget wars.”

“The maneuvers will be largely meaningless, despite the headlines, but the consequences for the outcome could be immense, one way or the other.”

Donor Says He and Menendez Are Like Brothers

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Salomon Melgen, the Florida political donor at the center of a criminal probe, told Bloomberg that he and Sen. Robert Menendez (D-NJ) are “like brothers” who spoke weekly, yet his companies never benefited and he broke no laws.

Said Melgen: “I don’t have any business interests at all that have been helped by any politicians.”

Quote of the Day

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“No one has done more for gun ownership than Barack Obama. If you look at the number of people who have bought guns since he became president, he has been the most successful salesman for people having the right to bear arms in modern history.”

— Newt Gingrich, in an interview with Newsmax.

Mystery Man Behind Bachmann Probes

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The Minneapolis Star Tribune runs a fascinating profile of Peter Waldron, the man behind a pair of campaign finance inquiries that have given Rep. Michele Bachmann (R-MN) “more bad publicity than anything lobbed her way by the political left.”

“Close Bachmann associates write Waldron off as a loose cannon and disgruntled employee. But for Waldron, a former radio evangelist, his actions are consistent with his decades long mission to spread the word of God and follow his Christian precepts.”

Sanford Expected to Win Runoff Today

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Roll Call:
“For a candidate known for one of the past decade’s most colossal
political mistakes, former Gov. Mark Sanford has run a nearly flawless
campaign for the 1st District. As a result, Sanford is on track to win
the Republican runoff and maintains a solid position in the special
election for the coastal, GOP-leaning district.”

First Read: “Following American politics can be fascinating… You can’t make this up.”

Cruz Will Speak in South Carolina

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Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX) will be the keynote speaker at the South Carolina Republican Party’s Silver Elephant Celebration on May 3, The State reports.

Cruz is “widely considered to be a presidential candidate in 2016. His speech in South Carolina — which holds the crucial first in the South presidential primaries — will only intensify that speculation.”

Lawmaker Seeks to End Senate Primaries

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Tennessee state Sen. Frank Niceley (R) introduced a bill to give Tennessee lawmakers the power to select nominees to the U.S. Senate, the AP reports.

“Under the bill, primary elections would be replaced with caucus votes in the General Assembly… the measure is aimed at returning to a system more closely resembling the era before the 17th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution ended legislatures’ power to directly appoint senators in 1913.”

Charlie Cook: “You can hear bad ideas almost every day. But only occasionally do you hear a colossally bad, ill-conceived idea, one that leaves you wondering who dreamed it up.”

Pols Arrested in Plot to Rig New York City Mayoral Race

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New York State Sen. Malcolm Smith (D) and City Councilman Dan Halloran (R) “were arrested this morning on charges they plotted to rig this year’s mayoral election through fraud and bribes,” the New York Post reports.

“The pols allegedly formed an alliance built on cash payments and fraud to get Smith — one of the state’s top Democrats — placed on the GOP mayoral ballot, sources said.”

Law enforcement sources tell NBC 4 New York that Smith “was allegedly involved in a plot to try to get onto this year’s GOP mayoral ballot by offering payments to Republican county chairmen.”

Rubio Slows Down Immigration Debate

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Aides to Sen. Marco Rubio (R-FL) told Roll Call that the senator “views a lengthy, traditional process that includes hearings, a healthy committee markup and an open floor debate during which senators can offer amendments as key to his ability to build and maintain conservative support for a comprehensive immigration rewrite. Rubio does not have a specific timetable in mind. But anything viewed as ‘rushed’ would violate promises he made to grass-roots conservatives and could cost his support, even if he is OK with the bill in principle.”

Edward Morrissey: “No one doubts that momentum has quickly developed for a deal on
comprehensive immigration reform and border security. But by rushing to
get a deal done and working behind closed doors, Congress is cravenly
trying to sneak reform through without a full hearing before the
American public.”

About Political Wire

goddard-bw-snapshotTaegan Goddard is the founder of Political Wire, one of the earliest and most influential political web sites. He also runs Political Job Hunt, Electoral Vote Map and the Political Dictionary.

Goddard spent more than a decade as managing director and chief operating officer of a prominent investment firm in New York City. Previously, he was a policy adviser to a U.S. Senator and Governor.

Goddard is also co-author of You Won - Now What? (Scribner, 1998), a political management book hailed by prominent journalists and politicians from both parties. In addition, Goddard's essays on politics and public policy have appeared in dozens of newspapers across the country.

Goddard earned degrees from Vassar College and Harvard University. He lives in New York with his wife and three sons.

Goddard is the owner of Goddard Media LLC.

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