Republican voters picked ex-convict Paul McKinley (R) as their nominee to run for the seat recently ceded by former Rep. Jesse Jackson Jr, the Chicago Tribune reports.
McKinley, a convicted felon who served nearly 20 years in state prison for burglaries, armed robberies and aggravated battery, declared victory, beat businessman Eric Wallace (R) by 23 votes.
Former Nixon Commerce Secretary Pete Peterson tells Businessweek that he’s already spent $500 million — half of his fortune — on the cause of deficit reduction.
First Read explains why yesterday’s decision by Rep. Tom Latham (R-IA) not to run for Senate in Iowa — opening a much clearer path for Rep. Steve King (R-IA) — is so important: “If you take this seat off the map for Republicans – and it’s very premature to do that – then they almost have to run the table on all their other Senate opportunities to win back the Senate.”
“Remember, Republicans have to pick up six seats to take control of the upper chamber. If you give them West Virginia (Rockefeller retiring) and South Dakota (possible Tim Johnson retirement), then Republicans still needs to win four out of these five seats where Dems are probably running for re-election: Alaska (Begich), Arkansas (Pryor), Louisiana (Landrieu), Montana (Baucus), and North Carolina (Hagan). In other words, if Iowa is in play for Republicans, they don’t need to knock off as many Dem incumbents. If it isn’t in play, then they almost have to run the table.”
“One other point here: King would probably have little chance of winning a Senate contest in a presidential year, but he does have a chance in a midterm cycle, so folks ought to be careful making assumptions.”
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Karl Rove defended his move to get involved in Republican primary races across the country, saying a new vetting process would prevent “poor candidates” from giving Democrats an edge in critical races, the Dallas Morning News reports.
Said Rove: “My posterior was shredded a little bit by donors wondering why we are writing checks for people who then turn around a run such lousy campaigns.”
Time has new details on the White House debate in which President Obama ultimately committed to preventing an Iranian nuke by force if necessary.
“Every current and former official interviewed for this story believes Obama will resort to war if necessary to prevent Iran from getting a nuclear weapon. But only Obama knows for sure… As a former senior official says of the coming year, ‘we are entering the final stages of this drama.'”
A new Brown University poll in Rhode Island finds Providence Mayor Angel Taveras (D), a likely candidate for governor next year, is the most popular politician in Rhode Island with a job approval rating of 64%. Another potential candidate, Treasurer Gina Raimondo (D), scored a 56% approval rating.
In contrast, Gov. Lincoln Chafee’s (I) approval rating is a dismal 26%.
First Read: “A bad spending cut for many Republicans is easier to defend than any supposed fair tax hike on anyone. So if the White House really wants to stop the sequester, they might have to come up with their own set of $85 billion in spending cuts for this year to replace it. In this political environment, there is no way Boehner, McConnell and Cornyn can politically survive doing anything short of that. The president can still get more revenue down the road on tax reform, but he may have to fold on sequester if he wants a chance at winning in the long run. But that’s also a hard thing to ask a president who just won re-election on this very issue.”
According to Roll Call, Boehner yesterday told Republicans, “We’re on the side of the angels.”
A key suspect in a criminal case tied to former Rep. David Rivera (R-FL) “will officially switch his plea to guilty in three federal charges for illegal campaign activity,” the Miami Herald reports.
“Justin Lamar Sternad’s admission of wrongdoing next Wednesday will be another sign that he’s cooperating with the federal government in its investigation of Rivera.”
Steve Kornacki says that, despite his snub by CPAC, Chris Christie still should be considered a very viable candidate for the 2016 presidential nomination.
“He hasn’t passed the ideological point of no return on any litmus test issues, is much more conservative than the ‘moderate’ label that’s frequently attached to him suggests, and will be free after this November to recalibrate himself for the national GOP stage. There’s also the matter of his personality. Political science tells us that this doesn’t matter in campaigns, but I don’t quite agree. His charisma isn’t the only reason Christie rocketed to national political fame over the past few years, but it’s certainly a big part of the equation. I may be a little biased on this, since I began watching Christie up-close a decade ago, but I’ve long believed there’s is something about his style that makes people – especially Republicans – want to like him and support him.”
Matt Lewis: Christie is the new Jon Huntsman.
“Watching Woodward last two days is like imagining my idol Mike Schmidt facing live pitching again. Perfection gained once is rarely repeated.”
— Former Obama adviser David Plouffe, quoted by ABC News.
Bob Woodward said last night that a senior White House official threatened him and BuzzFeed reports the official in question is Gene Sperling, economic adviser to the president.
Politico has the email exchange between the two and Woodward seems not bothered by the exchange. In response to
Sperling, he wrote, “I for one welcome a little heat; there should more
given the importance. I also welcome your personal advice. I am
listening.”
A new Quinnipiac poll in Ohio finds Gov. John Kasich’s (R) job approval is at an all-time high, 53% to 32%, the first time in two
years that he tops 50 percent.
Said pollster Peter Brown: “What a difference a few months make. Not that long ago, Democrats were licking their lips at
the prospect of taking on an unpopular governor who had a disapproval rating in the 50s. Now
his job disapproval rating is just 32% and his chances of re-election appear to be much
better than they were thought to be as recently as December.”
Minnesota state Rep. Glenn Gruenhagen (R) said that homosexuality is a choice and form of sexual addiction, the Minneapolis Star Tribune reports.
Said Gruenhagen: “It’s an unhealthy, sexual addiction.”
“Gruenhagen made the statements after advocates unveiled their proposal to legalize same-sex marriage, which would make Minnesota among nearly a dozen states that allow gays and lesbians to wed.”
Bob Woodward told CNN he was threatened by a senior Obama administration official following his reporting on the White House’s handling of the sequester.
Said Woodward: “They’re not happy at all. It was said very clearly, you will regret doing this.”
“Injecting millions of dollars into elections from coast to coast, billionaire New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg is building on a large-scale effort that began last fall to expand his influence beyond his home turf,” the Wall Street Journal reports.
“His growing national profile was on display Wednesday when he visited the White House to talk to Vice President Joe Biden about new gun laws. The trip came one day after a Chicago congressional candidate backed by $2.5 million of Mr. Bloomberg’s money came from behind and won a special Democratic primary for former Rep. Jesse Jackson Jr.’s seat.”
Said Bloomberg: “Is it a harbinger of what’s to come? I think so.”
Stu Rothenberg
isn’t impressed:
“Pick a fight in a place where you have a substantial advantage and
where almost nobody else is playing, dump a ton of money attacking one
candidate and supporting another, and then declare victory when —
surprise! surprise! — your candidate wins.”
“Slavery and abortion are the two most horrendous things this country has done but when you think about the immorality of wild, lavish spending on our generation and forcing future generations to do without essentials just so we can live lavishly now, it’s pretty immoral.”
— Rep. Louis Gohmert (R-TX), in an interview with Newsmax.
The Senate confirmed Jacob Lew to be Treasury secretary, “despite opposition from some GOP senators who criticized Lew’s part in budget negotiations and questioned his personal finances and connections with Wall Street,” Roll Call reports.
The vote was 71 to 26 to confirm Lew.
The Italian political crisis deepened “when two party leaders ruled out the most likely options to form a government and avoid a new election,” Reuters reports.
“Populist leader Beppe Grillo slammed the door on overtures from center-left boss Pier Luigi Bersani with a stream of insults while Nichi Vendola, Bersani’s junior coalition partner, ruled out a government alliance with the center-right.”
These two options are currently seen as the only way to avoid another election.
Taegan 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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