Hotline Sort: Palmetto Prizefight
Welcome back to Hotline Sort. Thursday night's debate capped a day of upheaval in the GOP presidential race, Elizabeth Warren raises more in a day than many candidates will raise this quarter, Rehberg gets a primary and Bob Kerrey is still thinking about a Senate run of his own. Here's today's rundown:
9) Florida Republican underdog Senate candidate Craig Miller, the former CEO of Ruth's Chris Steakhouse will run an ad on Fox News starting on Sunday that features Herman Cain. By the way, if you didn't catch it on Thursday, Cain made an endorsement in the GOP presidential race: "The American people."
8) "No decision yet," on the Nebraska Senate race, former Democratic Sen. Bob Kerrey tells WOWT.
7) Rep. Denny Rehberg's, R-Mont., Senate campaign is getting a primary challenge. Dennis Teske is a political newcomer and will run to Rehberg's right.
6) Former North Dakota Attorney General Heidi Heitkamp is holding a conference call this morning to urge President Obama to reverse his rejection of the Keystone XL pipeline. His decision puts her in a tough position in the Senate race: North Dakota is a major energy producer and that part of the country is pro-pipeline. She is breaking with the president on the issue in no uncertain terms, which could help her make her case that is an independent voice. But headlines about Obama's decision to reject approval in Great Plains papers is bad news for Democrats in the region.
5) Former Pennsylvania state Rep. Sam Rohrer raised $122,000 during an abbreviated fourth quarter (he launched his Senate campaign in late November) but finished with about $69,000 in the bank. That pales in comparison to $5 million that Tom Smith loaned his campaign in the fourth quarter and the million bucks Steve Welch loaned himself. So Rohrer faces a steep uphill climb. Rohrer is set today to come out against the state GOP's endorsement process endorsement process.
4) Rep. Tammy Baldwin, D-Wis., raised over $1.1 million during the fourth quarter of 2011, wrapping up the year with over $1.8 million cash on hand. Baldwin doubled up former Republican Rep. Mark Neumann, who brought in $518,000 during the period. Still in the TBD camp: former Gov. Tommy Thompson and state Assembly Speaker Jeff Fitzgerald.
3) Kentucky lawmakers are trying to strike an agreement on a congressional map following passage of two different versions in the state House and Senate. The Louisville Courier-Journal:
The Democratic-controlled House approved a version of the measure, House Bill 2, that makes the state's 1st, 5th and 6th congressional districts more Democratic.
The GOP-controlled Senate passed a plan that preserves Republican voting tendencies in the 1st and 5th districts and makes the 6th District, where Rep. Ben Chandler only narrowly won re-election in 2010, more Republican.
2) Two years ago yesterday, Sen. Scott Brown, R-Mass., was elected to the Senate in one of the most unlikely victories in recent history. He kicked off his campaign on Thursday touting his independence and casting himself as non-establishment candidate.
But the bigger story on Thursday was Elizabeth Warren, who launched a moneybomb to coincide with Brown's launch. She raised a million bucks in 24 hours, which is more than many Senate candidates will report for the entire first quarter of 2012. Her total, according to her campaign's website, is almost up to $1.2 million now.
1) Thursday night's debate capped a day that reset the narrative in the Republican presidential race. When the week kicked off, we were talking about Mitt Romney being 2-0, up double digits in South Carolina polling and poised to all but end the GOP nominating contest with a victory in South Carolina.
But on Thursday, with Rick Perry dropping out and endorsing Newt Gingrich, the Iowa totals being reset, and the former speaker turning in a solid debate performance while Romney was shaky when explaining his taxes, Romney's grip on South Carolina appears to be in jeopardy. If Gingrich pulls off the come from behind win, the state that could have potentially sealed the deal for Romney could mark only the beginning of the contest's next chapter.
It was a tough day in one respect for Gingrich, as an interview ABC News conducted with his ex-wife forced him to answer questions about his personal life. But Ron Fournier writes that in the debate, Gingrich deflected his failed marriages better than Romney defended his success in businesses.
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