Tuesday's Starting Lineup
Good Tuesday morning. Voters are voting in primaries and runoffs in NC, SC, MS and UT, where key matchups this fall will be set today.
Here's today's Starting Lineup, previewing the people who will make a difference in politics this Tuesday:
REP. JIM MATHESON: The UT Dem, who represents the Salt Lake City area south to the AZ border and St. George, leads his Dem challenger -- activist Claudia Wright -- by a 52%-33% margin, unimpressive for an incumbent of his stature. Matheson looks like he's on the verge of becoming the latest Dem to win renomination with less than stellar numbers.
Also up today, UT voters pick a replacement GOP nominee after GOPers eliminated Sen. Bob Bennett's bid for another term at last month's conventions. Businessman Tim Bridgewater has support from the Chamber of Commerce, while attorney Mike Lee is a Tea Party favorite. The last time the 2 groups clashed, in KY over Rand Paul (R-Tea Party) and Trey Grayson (R-Chamber), Tea Partiers came out ahead. Polls here show divergent results.
And voters in NC will choose a Dem nominee to face off against Sen. Richard Burr (R) in perhaps the Dems' best shot against a GOP incumbent. But "best shot" is still a long shot; polls show Burr cruising against both Sec/State Elaine Marshall (D) and state Sen. Cal Cunningham (D). Polls also showed Sen. Elizabeth Dole (R) winning at this point in her bid, but Burr has made sure he actually visits home now and then, wisely learning from his former colleague's fate.
REP. BOB INGLIS: Just 2 weeks after coming in second place in his primary contest, Inglis is likely to lose his battle for another term today. He spent his time during the runoff election on positive messages, though Spartanburg Co. Solicitor Trey Gowdy (R) has hammered him on votes for TARP and other projects GOPers don't like.
SC state Rep. Nikki Haley (R) faces off against Rep. Gresham Barrett (R) in the Palmetto State after a 2-week sprint runoff. Haley has been largely invisible, riding a wave of national popularity that has boosted her impressive initial performance. Barrett's only hope was for Haley to implode; that didn't happen, making the congressman a long shot today.
And the Club for Growth is the latest group to wade in to the race to replace outgoing Rep. Henry Brown (R) in his Charleston-based district. Tea Partiers and Sarah Palin have already cast their lot with state Rep. Tim Scott (R), who could become the first African American GOP congressman since J.C. Watts (R) if he can beat his rival today. Forget his race -- if he wins, Scott will have beaten the progeny of 2 of the state's political icons in businessman Carroll "Tumpy" Campbell (R), son of the late governor, and Charleston Co. Commis. Paul Thurmond (R), son of the late senator. Scott faces Thurmond today in a runoff.
LABOR SEC. HILDA SOLIS: To recognize Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender Pride month, Pres. Obama's top labor official will announce on Wednesday an order to extend leave benefits to gay employees caring for children or relatives, the Associated Press reported last night.
It's a significant step, and the latest in a WH that has been more friendly to gay Americans than any in history. But Obama isn't getting a lot of credit from the LGBT community itself; despite steps he's taken, Obama has been repeatedly booed and heckled during fundraisers, most recently in San Francisco and L.A. on behalf of Sen. Barbara Boxer (D). The gay and lesbian community, it seems, won't see any steps as good enough until "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" is repealed.
Obama's order to open unpaid leave policies to gays and lesbians will come a day after he meets with community leaders, celebrating Pride Month, at the WH. How telling, of the national political landscape, that 6 years after Sen. John Kerry's (D-MA) WH campaign was impacted by gay marriage initiatives on several ballots, that Obama is actively engaging the gay community just 5 months before a midterm election. What was once a wedge issue is now little more than a political test for the GOP.