Hotline Sort: Romney's Rebound
Welcome back to Hotline Sort. Lots of kumbaya at the final Republican presidential debate before Iowa, a court upholds Illinois Democrats' congressional map, Dan Liljenquist inches closer to a Hatch challenge and Romney gets a big boost from Nikki Haley. Here's today's rundown:
9) Rep. Colleen Hanabusa, D-Hawaii, tells Roll Call she will not take sides in the Hawaii Democratic Senate primary.
8) EMILY's List has put two more female congressional candidates "On the List" -- Honolulu City Councilwoman Tulsi Gabbard in the open Hawaii's 2nd District and Bernalillo Count Commissioner Michelle Lujan Grisham in the open New Mexico's 1st District. While both are in safe Democratic seats, each face uphill fights in their competitive primaries.
7) Former Rep. Tom Perriello, D-Va., has a new gig: President and CEO of the Center for American Progress Action Fund.
6) While Wisconsin recall activists announced on Thursday that they had nearly collected enough signatures to trigger a recall election against Wisconsin GOP Gov. Scott Walker, the governor had an announcement of his own: he has raised over $5.1 million and has over $3 million in the bank.
5) According to the latest Allstate/National Journal Heartland Monitor poll, 44 percent say they approve of President Obama's job performance, while 49 percent disapprove.
A bit of encouraging news for the president in the survey: Thirty-eight percent say that the country is "significantly worse off because of the policies" Obama has pursued, while 11 percent say that the nation is "significantly better off." But another 43 percent say that while the country is not yet significantly better off because of his agenda, it is "beginning to move in the right direction."
4) Good news for Illinois Democrats: A federal court has upheld their redistricting map that Republicans had challenged. The cements the 16th District Manzullo/Kinzinger GOP primary matchup -- the only member versus member showdown in the state, since Republican Joe Walsh opted to run in the 8th District.
3) Here's the clearest sign yet that Utah state Sen. Dan Liljenquist will mount a GOP primary bid against Sen. Orrin Hatch: He resigned his seat in the legislature. Liljenquist told the Salt Lake Tribune on Thursday that he's made a decision about his future and, "I'll make an official announcement about my plans early next year."
2) A big get for Mitt Romney in a state he could face very stiff competition in from Newt Gingrich: South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley has endorsed the former Bay State governor. The two will campaign together in the Palmetto State later today.
1) The final debate before the Iowa caucuses was a relatively subdued affair, but Romney rebounded from his weak performance last Saturday. Romney stayed positive the entire debate, avoiding tit-for-tats with Newt Gingrich and Rick Perry. And he also tweaked his message, acknowledging the occasional misstep during his time at Bain, accentuating the differences in economic philosophy between himself and the president, and effectively blasting him over Solyndra and foreign policy. Meanwhile, the other candidates (Michele Bachmann and Ron Paul) landed their punches on Gingrich.
If Romney wins the nomination, we'll look back at this debate as where he captured that necessary momentum. He looked presidential in the last debate before the caucuses. If Gingrich falters, polls have shown Romney being the candidate getting the lion's share of his supporters. Romney may be winning the nomination more by default - thanks to the glaring flaws of his opponents - but in last night's debate, he articulated a positive, conservative vision that could rally some conservatives to his side, as well. The endorsement from Haley, a Tea Party favorite,. looks like a leading indicator of that.
Jessica Taylor contributed
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