Hotline Sort: McCaskill Fights Back
Welcome back to Hotline Sort. Santorum gets rough reviews in what could be the final debate of the primary season Meanwhile, McCaskill hits the airwaves to push back against outside attacks, Huckabee enters the Missouri Senate fray, Brown heads south to raise money for Rubio and add another name to the list of maybes in the Wisconsin Senate recall race. Here's today's rundown:
9) Add former Wisconsin Secretary of State Doug La Follette to the list of possible Democratic challengers to Republican Gov. Scott Walker. He did not say for sure that he is running, but he's filing paperwork to make it possible.
Democratic strategists in the state don't view La Follette as a top-tier candidate on par with Kathleen Falk or Tom Barrett (who is still mulling a bid).
8) New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie will raise money for Sen. Scott Brown, R-Mass., on March 5.
Brown, meanwhile, is in Florida today raising money for Sen. Marco Rubio, R-Fla.
7) The Arizona Attorney General's Office on Wednesday designated Solicitor General Dave Cole as the head of an investigation into allegations of abuse of power against Pinal County Sheriff Paul Babeu, per the Arizona Republic. Attorney General Tom Horne recused himself because of a political connection to Babeu.
6) Sen. Claire McCaskill, D-Mo., is pushing back against attacks from outside groups with launching of her first TV ad. She's been targeted by Crossroads, including in a recent ad by the GOP-aligned group.
Mike Huckabee is wading into the Missouri Senate race; his PAC is backing Rep. Todd Akin, putting him at odds with Sen. Mike Lee, R-Utah, who is backing Sarah Steelman.
But don't forget about state Auditor Tom Schweich: He's been talking about federal issues and is considering entering the Senate race against McCaskill.
5) The Hispanic vote will be crucial in the Nevada Senate race (Harry Reid enjoyed strong support from Latinos in 2010, helping propel him to a close victory) and that's evident in the NRSC/DSCC Spanish language radio ad war in the race that is underway.
4) Sen. Richard Lugar, R-Ind., and his challenger, Treasurer Richard Mourdock have agreed to an April 11 debate.
3) Not to be outdone by Democrats during an election year, House Republicans intend to push ahead with their 'Plan for American Job Creators' -- but even if it passes, it will likely be DOA in the Senate, where as ABC News notes, the number of House-passed jobs bills that have yet to be considered in the upper chamber is 30.
2) Mitt Romney is rolling out his tax plan in phases; previewing it on the stump on Wednesday and releasing an op-ed in the Wall Street Journal this morning in advance of a Friday speech in Detroit:
First, I will make an across-the-board, 20% reduction in marginal individual income tax rates. This bold stroke reduces the tax on the next dollar of income earned by all taxpayers. It also reduces tax rates for the many businesses that pay at individual rates and employ the majority of private-sector American workers, thus driving significant increases in hiring and wages.
1) Wednesday's debate in Mesa, Arizona was largely a back-and-forth between the two frontrunners in current polling -- Romney and former Sen. Rick Santorum. As the Atlanta Journal-Constitution notes, Newt Gingrich, "arms folded and legs crossed under his chair, mostly stayed out of the crossfire."
Among Ron Brownstein's key takeaways: Santorum turned in his weakest debate performance in months while Romney delivered a good performance, though some of his answers could come back to haunt him.
So what's next? Michigan, Michigan, Michigan, where Santorum is hoping for an upset and Romney hopes to deliver in a state that months ago, many believed was in the bag for him. The Grand Rapids Press is backing Romney, who also has the endorsement of both Detroit papers -- the Free-Press and the News -- and the Oakland Press.
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