Ed Koch Won’t Support Turner In His Bid To Oust Gillibrand
Representative Bob Turner (R-NY) said Tuesday that he's going to run against Senator Kirsten Gillibrand. Because of his upset win in the special election to replace Rep. Anthony Weiner, the seat is likely to be lost in York's redistricting process, giving him an incentive to challenge Gillibrand, who was appointed by then Governor David Paterson to the seat vacated when Hillary Clinton became Secretary of State. While Gillibrand has been considered vulnerable, an aggressive push by Chuck Schumer, the state’s senior senator, has so far kept out all of her potential primary challengers. Turner’s House race win—aided in no small part by the aggressive support of Ed Koch, who used his endorsement to try and push Obama rightward on Israel—made national headlines. But the former New York City mayor, who has a history of endorsing Republicans, told The Daily Beast’s Ben Jacobs Tuesday that he'll be supporting Gillibrand this year.
Sen. Ben Cardin Targets African American Voters in New Ad
Part of Senator Ben Cardin's six-figure ad buy is starting to air this week. Cardin, a Democrat who's been in office since 2007, has drawn 19 Democratic and Republican challengers this year, but seems to be most threatened by state Senator Anthony Muse judging by the tone of his first advertisement ahead of April's primary. Muse, a fellow Democrat, is also African American and Cardin's advertisement focuses on mostly African American children who thank their "friend Ben" for passing a law that provides dental care for all children.
Campaign for Primary Accountability Targets Rep. Bachus, Other Incumbents
Earlier in the 2012 race, the Campaign for Primary Accountability—a Texas-based, anti-incumbent super PAC—helped Brad Westrup take down Rep. Jean Schmidt in Ohio. Now, the super PAC aims to unseat Alabama Rep. Spencer Bachus, helping state Senator Scott Beason's campaign against the incumbent by calling Bachus a "debt-raising status quo politician" with "Wall Street buddies." The 2012 election looks like it's going to be the hardest Bachus has experienced as a Congressman in what’s been a solidly Republican district. Compared to the other super PAC's influencing the 2012 campaign cycle, the Campaign for Primary Accountability has been under the radar, and underfunded, but it's determined to oust longstanding Congressmembers, regardless of party. In addition to Schmidt and Bachus, the group has also set its sights on Rep. Jo Bonner of Alabama. "We serve as the equalizer," the super PAC's spokesman Curtis Ellis told NPR. "We want to make sure that challengers have a shot against the incumbents, who have all the advantages."
Alabama Supreme Court Hopeful Rides to Polls on Horseback
Alabama Supreme Court hopeful Roy Moore plans to show off that he's fully recovered from a horseback riding accident--and presumably attract some last-minute support--by riding to the polling station on horseback Tuesday. Moore actually served as Chief Justice of the Alabama Supreme Court from 2001-2003, but was ousted from office when he defied a federal judge's order to remove a monument of the Ten Commandments from the state Judicial Building.
