Stu Rothenberg: “The first Senate primary contest will be March 4 in Texas. Rep.
Steve Stockman’s last-minute challenge to GOP Sen. John Cornyn got
plenty of media attention. But unless Stockman can find a pot of gold
(worth at least $10 million or so) at the end of a rainbow, Cornyn will
cruise to victory. … The next incumbent senator facing a primary is
Minority Leader Mitch McConnell in Kentucky on May 20. Gauging Matt
Bevin’s credibility and McConnell’s vulnerability in a primary is not
easy. But up to this point, most observers believe McConnell will
survive. … So right out of the gate, it’s very possible that two of the
highest ranking Republicans in the Senate — McConnell and Cornyn — win
their primaries and hand the anti-establishment crowd two high-profile
losses.”

“The question that we have is, will it be the Hillary that leads the progressives? Or is it the Hillary that says, ‘I’m already going to win the Democratic nomination, and so I can shift hard right on Day 1.’ We can’t afford any more hard right. We had eight years of George Bush. Now we’ve had five years of Obama, [who], I would argue, in many cases has been a corporatist.”

— Former Montana Gov. Brian Schweitzer (D), quoted by the Weekly Standard.

[Read more…]

“The recount in Virginia’s attorney general race began Monday and will likely conclude toward the end of this week,” Politico reports.

If Mark Herring (D) “prevails after the recount, Democrats will control all three statewide constitutional offices for the first time since 1989.”

A new Public Policy Polling survey in Kentucky finds Sen. Mitch McConnell (R-KY) clinging to a one point lead over challenger Alison Lundergran Grimes (D), 43% to 42%.

Key finding: McConnell’s approval rating is a dismal 31% to 61%.

A new Public Policy Polling survey in Arkansas finds Sen. Mark Pryor (D-AR) in a dead heat with Rep. Tom Cotton (R), 44% to 44%.

Mike Huckabee will launch the “Huckabee Post” in January 2014, ABC News reports.

The site will cover a range of topics from news and politics to sports and pop culture, according to the former governor’s son, David Huckabee.

A new Des Moines Register poll finds Iowans “see their state headed in the right direction and widely approve of Republican Terry Branstad’s job as governor.”

Key finding: 55% of Iowans say the state is headed in the right direction, against 33% who say it’s on the wrong track. In addition, 58% also approve of Branstad’s job as
governor while just 33% disapprove of his performance.

A new Quinnipiac poll finds Branstad’s approval at 58% to 32% and by 50% to 41% think he should be reelected.

Former Sen. Scott Brown (R-MA) “plans to move to New Hampshire, the latest sign that he’s considering a U.S. Senate bid there, which would complicate Democrats’ effort to hold their majority in the chamber,” Bloomberg reports.

“Brown, 54, has found a buyer for his Wrentham home and is set to close on that deal this week, Andrew I. Glincher, managing partner and chief executive officer at Brown’s employer Nixon Peabody LLP, said in an interview. Brown will continue to work out of the law firm’s Boston office because he isn’t licensed to practice law in New Hampshire.”