Kyle Kondik updates the House forecast at Larry Sabato’s Crystal Ball: “Democrats need to win 25 additional House seats to retake the speaker’s gavel next year. In order for them to do that, President Obama will need to win next year, and that probably won’t be enough. What Democrats really need is a poisonous, damaged Republican nominee who not only loses to Obama but causes harm down the ticket.”

“At this point, we believe that 341 of the 435 House seats are safe for the Republicans (189) or the Democrats (152), which leaves the other 94 as potentially competitive. Ultimately, if Republicans win all the seats we currently favor them to win, and Democrats win all the seats they are favored to win plus all 15 toss ups, Republicans would still hold a 233-202 edge in the House.”

The five remaining Republican presidential candidates take part in yet another presidential debate tonight from 8 pm to 10 pm ET.

The debate will be televised on CNN.

Earlier this week, Newt Gingrich’s ex-wife, Marianne Gingrich, conducted an interview with ABC News, according to the Drudge Report.

She spoke to investigative reporter Brian Ross for two hours and “her explosive revelations are set to rock the trail.”

The AP reports the interview is likely to air on Nightline Thursday night.

“Although it is not apparent on his financial disclosure form, Mitt Romney has millions of dollars of his personal wealth in investment funds set up in the Cayman Islands, a notorious Caribbean tax haven,” ABC News reports.

“As the race for the Republican nomination heats up, Mitt Romney is finding it increasingly difficult to maintain a shroud of secrecy around the details about his vast personal wealth, including, as ABC News has discovered, his investment in funds located offshore and his ability to pay a lower tax rate.”

A Super PAC backing Newt Gingrich imagines a general election debate between Mitt Romney and President Obama in a new animated ad.

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A new CNN/Time poll in South Carolina shows Mitt Romney slipping and Newt Gingrich gaining.

Romney leads with 33%, followed by Gingrich at 23%, Rick Santorum at 16%, Ron Paul at 13% and Rick Perry at 6%.

Said pollster Keating Holland: “Gingrich appears to be the only candidate with momentum as the race in South Carolina enters the final few days. Support for Romney and Santorum appears to be slipping, and Paul and Perry seem flat. Gingrich, however, has gained ground and cut Romney’s lead in half since early January.”

President Obama’s campaign has begun buying advertising time in a
handful of key battleground states — in Michigan, Virginia, Ohio and North Carolina — making his first purchase of
television time so far this election, the New York Times reports.

“So far the purchase appears quite limited, according to someone who monitors political advertising. The ads were placed for one day only, Thursday. And the number of states where they will run could expand.”

Wall Street Journal: “A clutch of little-known records from what is now the University of West Georgia in Carrollton suggests the ambition and intellectual grandeur of Newt 2012 aren’t a long way from the 1970s vintage. In addition to seeking the college presidency, Mr. Gingrich was often absent as he pursued political goals. He embarked on an effort to moonlight as a paid consultant. And, it turns out, he spent little time teaching history.”

Rep. Maurice Hinchey (D-NY) will not seek re-election, the Poughkeepsie Journal reports.

The 73-year-old congressman underwent a second round of surgery for colon cancer earlier this month.

A new Des Moines Register Iowa Poll shows Mitt Romney leading at 24%, followed by Ron Paul at 22%, Rick Santorum at 15%, Newt Gingrich at 12%, Rick Perry at 11%, Michele Bachmann at 7%.

“But the four-day results don’t reflect just how quickly momentum is shifting in a race that has remained highly fluid for months. If the final two days of polling are considered separately, Santorum rises to second place, with 21%, pushing Paul to third, at 18%. Romney remains the same, at 24%.”

Rick Perry has signed up 1,500 precinct leaders in Iowa, a source inside the campaign tells CNN. There are a total 1,774 Republican caucus precincts around the state, about 900 of which are combined.

Only Mitt Romney and Ron Paul have put in similar efforts to build a ground operation for the caucuses on Tuesday.

The Perry campaign also has 470 out-of-state volunteers descending on Iowa this weekend.

Newt Gingrich said he “would consider asking Sarah Palin to serve as his number two or in his Cabinet if he became president,” CBS News reports.

Said Gingrich: “She is certainly one of the people you would look at. I am a great admirer of hers and she was a remarkable reform governor of Alaska, she’s somebody who I think brings a great deal to the possibility of helping in government and that would be one of the possibilities.”