“I got a call from the NRCC (National Republican Congressional Committee) earlier today,” Mumpower said Thursday afternoon. “And I told them we were not interested in their money. I believe that organization has passively supported our leadership in abandoning their principles, and I have no interest in aligning myself with a self-serving organization.”

Mumpower said the caller was “a little stunned.”

“But I’m not interested in the tail wagging the dog,” he said. “I’m going to run an authentic maverick campaign.”

Asheville Citizen-Times

Wow, that is awesome! Tell me hearing that doesn’t make you feel warm all over.

Carl Mumpower is the Republican nominee for North Carolina’s 11th Congressional District. This is a seat we lost in 2006. The former representative, Charles Taylor, was defeated by former NFL Quarterback Heath Shuler. Shuler is not going to be an easy opponent to beat. There are more Democrats in this district than Republicans, but it’s very socially conservative and Shuler is a good fit being a socially conservative Democrat, pro-life and pro-gun. However, it sounds like Mumpower is going to run a 1994 style campaign which might put him over the edge.

The drunk driving arrest wasn’t enough so I guess he felt the need to one up it with the ole “Who’s Your Daddy” play. You can chalk this one up to be another lost Congressional seat in November. Honestly, I’m amazed there are still Republicans left in this country after the past few years.

WASHINGTON - Representative Vito Fossella of New York ran a red light and wrecked his life. A drunken driving arrest last week led to talk of an extramarital affair, and then finally yesterday, an admission of a child from that affair.

“My personal failings and imperfections have caused enormous pain to the people I love and I am truly sorry,” said Fossella, a Republican, who lives in his Staten Island, N.Y., district with his wife and their three children.

Fossella is the only Republican member of Congress from New York City and the paternity revelation could lead to the loss of a seat in Congress at a time when the House GOP faces the possibility of a second grim November of election setbacks.

The House minority leader, John Boehner, said he expected Fossella to make decisions about his future in a matter of days, not months.

The Boston Globe

The Senate
“The Democratic Party loves to recruit losers.” So says Dekalb County CEO and Democratic Candidate for Senate Vernon Jones. Jones also claimed he voted for President Bush… twice. I doubt that. He knows he has little or no chance to unseat Senator Saxby Chambliss. Another “Pass the Popcorn” Democratic Primary race as Jones dukes it out against Jim Martin and former TV Reporter Dale Cardwell.

GA 8th
Republican candidate Rick Goddard has landed the endorsement of congressman Jack Kingston (R - GA1). This is no surprise at all but Kingston is well liked across Georgia, especially in south Georgia. Lets not forget Kingston was the lone Member of Congress to oppose the resolution honoring the the 2006 National championship by the Florida Gators. I am a Tech fan but I must admit that was pretty funny. I would love to jump in and fully support Goddard, but I am cautious about Republican candidates with such strong NRCC backing.

GA 5th
It appears Rep. John Lewis (D - GA5) is none too happy to have opponents for the July primary.

“I’m going to give them a non-violent kick,” promised Lewis, still a proper follower of Martin Luther King Jr. and Mahatma Gandhi.

A “non-violent kick”? Is that possible? I guess he meant a love tap. Lewis said he was

“somewhat surprised that someone would challenge me and talk about change. That’s what I’ve been about all my life. I am change.”

Like most Washington Politicians, Lewis feels entitled to his job. “Change” in the 5th is definitely in order.

!UPDATE!
GA 12
Herodotus in the comments asked for an update on GA 12. The GA GOP has failed to find a great candidate for the 12th. Despite the fact former Congressman Max Burns gave incumbent Democrat John Barrow a close race in 2006, losing by less than 1,000 votes. There are 3 candidates facing off in the primary:

Ray McKinney, a mechanical engineer from Savannah
Ben Crystal, a talk show host from Savannah
John Stone, former aide for Rep. Burns and Rep. Norwood from Augusta

Of the three I would put my money on Stone. He has the connections, but some questionable policy decisions. This time last year McKinney was running for President. I do not know much about Crystal.

State Representative Don Cazayoux defeated a former state legislator in Louisiana’s Sixth Congressional District last night, marking the second time in two months that Democrats have won a special election seat previously held by Republicans. Cazayoux took 49% of the vote to newspaper publisher and longtime political hand Woody Jenkins’ 46%.Cazayoux won Baton Rouge, the southern and western suburbs and most of West Feliciana and St. Helena Parishes, as well as the precincts surrounding Lake Pontchartrain. Jenkins took more traditionally Republican territory south and east of the city, as well as most of Livingston Parish. The two candidates split East Feliciana Parish, north of Baton Rouge along the Mississippi border.The special election win marks the first time in three decades since 1975 that a Democrat will represent the district, based around Baton Rouge and east to Livingston Parish, near the northwest shores of Lake Pontchartrain. More importantly, Cazayoux’s win offers further evidence that Republicans may face another Congressional landscape as difficult as the 2006 election, when the GOP lost thirty seats and the majority. A CBS News/New York Times poll out this week suggested 50% of Americans prefered a generic Democratic candidate for Congress, while just 32% prefered the Republican contender.

RealClearPolitics

Another seat that should not have been lost. I wonder how many more seats have to be lost before the party will get its act straight.

Retired Major General Rick Goddard is challenging Democratic Incumbent Jim Marshall in Georgia’s 8th Congressional district. In 2006 former Congressman Mac Collins lost to Representative Marshall in a close election in this relatively conservative district. The 8th tends to vote democratic locally, but trends Republican in Federal elections. General Goddard was recruited by the NRCC and should have access to quite a bit of money. Both Marshall and Collins spent boat loads of money in 2006, and this race looks like it is going to be the same.

This is Goddard’s first campaign so we will see how this race pans out. On paper he appears to be conservative but you never can tell. Mac Collins is rumored to run again but without NRCC support I think he will stay retired. State Senators Cecil Staton and Ross Tolleson have both spoken publicly about running as well, but Goddard is the presumptive Republican nominee.

JUNEAU — Some top Republican legislators, including the speaker of the House, say Sean Parnell should resign as lieutenant governor to campaign for Congress, but Parnell says he has no intention of quitting.

Republican Parnell dropped a major surprise Friday at the state GOP convention in Anchorage when he announced he would challenge U.S. Rep. Don Young. Young, also a Republican, has held his congressional seat since 1973.

Anchorage Daily News

As was pointed out to us by newred, Alaska’s Lieutenant Governor, Sean Parnell, has thrown his hat in the ring to try and take down Congressman Don Young in the Republican Primary. This is good news for conservatives. In my opinion, the Alaskan delegation to Washington is the most disappointing of them all. Alaska is a solid Republican state. Democrats can certainly win under the right circumstances and may very well prevail this year if Parnell does not, but it is solid enough for the GOP that anything less than two Reagan conservatives in the Senate and one in the House is unacceptable. For years we’ve been zero for three on that front.

Young, Stevens, and the Murkowskis have represented everything that is wrong with today’s Republican party. They have no principle to stand on. They are corrupt, engage in political favoritism, and care of nothing more than enriching themselves at the taxpayer’s expense. There have been past challenges against some of them that have not succeeded, but Governor Sarah Palin gave us hope in 2006 when she knocked off former Governor Frank Murkowski in the primary election. Murkowski’s approval ratings were in the toilet and had Palin not mounted a winning campaign the Democrats would have likely taken the governorship from us, similar to Fletcher’s demise in Kentucky this past year.

With Palin’s approval ratings in the 80 percentile, which is just unbelievable, I think Parnell has a better than average chance at beating Young. My only concern is that he is not the only Republican challenger so there is fear of the anti-Young vote being diluted between him and the other challenger, State Senator Gabrielle LeDoux (R-Kodiak). If Young eeks through then this race moves from likely Republican to toss up in November as Young’s disapproval rating is over 50%. Same goes with his porker-in-crime, Ted Stevens, who is also up for reelection in the U.S. Senate and facing an investigation by the FBI.

The problem with career politicians like Young and Stevens is that they don’t know when it’s time to quit. It’s not about the good of the country or the good of the Republican Party; it’s all about them. The Republican establishment cannot be counted on to remedy the situation either. The GOP powers that be seem to prefer shooting themselves in the foot and losing seats than sending ripples through the old boys club, as we saw two weeks ago in Illinois. It’s up to us on the ground to force the changes.

On a related note, a bid to oust the Alaskan Republican Chairman narrowly failed last night by a vote of 167 to 133. The reform movement is definitely present, but last night’s vote shows there are still obstacles in our way.

House Republicans got a rare bit of encouraging news today when Rep. Bud Cramer (D-Ala.) announced he would be stepping down after nine terms in Congress, opening up a conservative-minded seat in northern Alabama.“I have been truly blessed to be able to serve this district in Washington,” Cramer said in a statement. “While I am closing my career as a member of Congress I will continue to be active in the life, growth and development of the community that I, my parents and my grandchildren will always call home.”A founder of the conservative-leaning Blue Dog Democrats, Cramer has maintained a centrist voting record during his 18 years in Congress. He has been a leading advocate for the district’s sizable aerospace industry, concentrated at the Marshall Space Flight Center.

The district, centered in Huntsville, has leaned Republican in federal races, but has a history of supporting Democrats as well. It gave President Bush 60 percent of the vote in 2004, and 54 percent in 2000.

CBS News

This should be a lean Republican race now. As long as the Alabama GOP doesn’t screw it up like they did in Illinois last week by nominating a candidate who has lost every election he has ever ran in or someone who is a complete RINO, we should end up with this seat and produce a strong Reagan conservative. We still have a few of these districts lingering around the south, occupied by old school Democrat incumbents who are keeping us from flipping these seats red: GA-12, GA-8, and SC-5 come to mind immediately.

Well, Jon Elrod gave it a good shot and he was a great candidate, but it looks like he is going to come up short tonight.  With 325 of 445 precincts reporting, Democrat Andre Carson is leading with 53% of the vote to Elrod’s 44%.  It got close for a little bit when the two were almost neck and neck at 49-47, but it’s widening out again.  Overall, not a bad showing for an inner city district.

Today is the special election for Hastert’s former House seat in Illinois and the race has been polling neck and neck. This should be an easy GOP hold, but the Democrat, Bill Foster, has campaigned hard and I have heard grumblings from Republicans on other Web sites of some dissatisfaction with our candidate, Jim Oberweis, over an alleged incident of him employing illegal immigrants at his dairy farm and paying wages slightly over $3 an hour. Oberweis denied the allegations and claimed it was a smear job. I don’t know that it was ever proven one way or another.

Update: With 74% of precincts reporting, Frost is leading Oberweis 53% to 47%. We’re going to lose this seat.  The Illinois GOP will once again prove to be incompetent.

Rep. Ron Paul, the 72-year-old libertarian-like, 10-term Texas congressman who’s also running for the Republican presidential nomination, easily won his 14th District primary Tuesday and is set for easy re-election in November.

With about half the precincts counted (what’s the rush — it’s Texas) Paul was thumping Friendswood City Councilman Chris Peden by two-to-one.

Now, Paul can set his sights on this other old-timer, 71-year-old Sen. John McCain, who claims to have won more than the 1,191 GOP delegates for the Republican presidential nomination this September at the National Convention in St. Paul (no relation to the congressman).

The LA Times

Ron Paul easily won reelection in the Republican Primary this past Tuesday, which I never doubted. The neocons thought they could take him down, but they clearly don’t know the people of the 14th Congressional District. Thankfully we can look forward to a few more years of him standing up and protecting our Constitution, one of the very few that do.

I do believe it is time for him to leave the Presidential race, though.  I would rather him save up all of that money he raised and use it for a gubernatorial run in 2010.

Most conservatives are familiar with California State Senator Tom McClintock, the conservative voice of California. According to an email sent out, he will be announcing a run for the Fourth Congressional District this Tuesday morning.

Dear E-Team:

THANK YOU for your outpouring of support and encouragement in response to my consideration of a congressional candidacy. I am deeply grateful for the generosity and kind wishes that so many have expressed.

The polling from the 4th Congressional district has been overwhelming. As you may know, a conservative advocacy group commissioned a poll at the beginning of this month and it reported that I would begin the campaign with a 33-point lead over the nearest rival. I subsequently commissioned a full benchmark poll by a different firm that reported a margin of 38 points.

And so, I will be announcing my intentions at 10AM on Tuesday, March 4th at Auburn’s Historic Courthouse (101 Maple Street, Auburn). I would be honored to have you join me for this announcement.

Despite this very sizeable lead, I must first defeat a liberal millionaire to represent this solidly conservative district. He has already vowed in the press that he will immediately unleash a $500,000 advertising blitz if I dare to challenge him.

You have stood with me through many challenges and I need your help to start this campaign on a strong note. Will you make an urgently needed contribution so that we will have the resources necessary to counter his promised media buy? Federal law limits contributions to $2,300 per individual and corporate contributions are prohibited. You may contribute securely on our website or mail checks to:

McClintock for Congress
c/o Igor Birman
1029 K Street, Suite 44
Sacramento CA 95814

Thank you again for your enthusiastic and early support. This campaign will determine whether a consistent conservative will represent this district in Congress, and I intend to fight vigorously for that goal. After all, we will not be able to take back the Congress until we first take back our party. I have been fortunate and honored to have supporters like you at my side in times like these and will do the very best I can to be worthy of your confidence.

Best wishes,
Tom McClintock

David Cappiello is a Republican State Senator in Connecticut who is looking to regain the seat held by Nancy Johnson until her defeat during the Democrat sweep in 2006. I really like this guy. He is a strong fiscal conservative which we direly need in Washington. The video below is from about a year ago when Connecticut Governor Jodi Rell proposed her very liberal budget last year with a 10% increase in the income tax for education (as if they need more money), despite the fact that the state already had over a billion dollars in its rainy day fund. Cappiello pretty much took her to task in this interview over her entire irresponsible budget. Eventually the budget was passed by the heavily Democrat controlled legislature without the income increase.

The first two minutes of the video is Rell BSing everyone as to why they need to raise taxes. After that the interview begins.

 

Republican Rep. Rick Renzi was indicted Friday on charges of extortion, wire fraud, money laundering and other matters in an Arizona land swap scam that allegedly helped him collect hundreds of thousands of dollars in payoffs.

A 26-page federal indictment unsealed in Arizona accuses Renzi and two former business partners of conspiring to promote the sale of land that buyers could swap for property owned by the federal government. The sale netted one of Renzi’s former partners $4.5 million.

Renzi is a three-term member of the House. He announced in August that he would not seek re-election.

The Charlotte Observer

Okay, do we have any other outstanding corruption cases going on within the House GOP that we need to be aware going into election season?  Jeez, what is with these guys?

At the end of the day, there are two things that are important to me: My family and the fight for freedom. I had consulted with my family and reached the decision that I would fight for freedom from somewhere else. And there has been a reaction to that decision. The overwhelming reaction has been that people would like me to keep up the fight for freedom inside the U.S. House.I am overwhelmed and humbled by the reaction of my colleagues. When the conservative movement asks you to stick around, that’s a pretty tough request to turn down.”

National Review

Sweeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeet

I Believe in Miracles

Sometimes it seems that our political situation in the United States is so completely out of control that we just might need a miracle to get our country back on track. I believe in miracles. I will be asking the people in Gold Country- and the rest of California’s 4th Congressional District - for their vote in the June 3, 2008 Republican primaries. Open discussions regarding my candidacy are taking place at places like myspace, youtube and livejournal.
I invite you to join in the free discussions, I’m listening.Best wishes,

Theodore Terbolizard

I really hope Turbo Lizard wins just because his name is awesome.

Erick Erickson at RedState has been pushing Eric Egland for this race.

 

Democrat Andre Carson and Republican Jon Elrod were featured speakers at their respective events, which drew about 1,000 of each party’s faithful. Democrats gathered at the State Fairgrounds, Republicans at the Wayne Township fire training facility.

 

While Republicans marveled at how far they had come since last year, signs of intraparty strife were visible at the Democratic event.

 

A year ago, Elrod said, Republicans had a brand new party chairman and no candidate for mayor to take on incumbent Bart Peterson. Despite predictions that Democrats might win 20 seats on the City-County Council, Republicans took control, and Greg Ballard scored a major upset.

 

“From those inauspicious beginnings, we had a revolution,” Elrod said.

 

Elrod faces Carson in a March 11 special election to complete the remainder of the term of Julia Carson, Andre’s grandmother, who died in December.

 

The Indianapolis Star

 

We have a great chance of picking up this Congressional seat from the Democrats. Jon Elrod has proven to be capable of winning in Democratic districts as he won a seat on the Center Township Advisory Board and on to a State House seat in heavily Democratic areas. The GOP has come close in the past few races for the Seventh Congressional District of picking off the late Julia Carson and with it now being an open seat coming off of a huge Republican wave in Indianapolis this past November and a young, well known challenger, we might finally grab the brass ring on this one.

CHESTERTOWN, Md. (WBOC/AP)- Incumbent Republican Congressman Wayne Gilchrest was defeated Tuesday by state Senator Andy Harris, a year after Gilchrest was one of two Republicans in Congress to vote for a withdrawal timeline in Iraq.

Gilchrest voted to go to war in Iraq but later said he regretted the decision and that President Bush bungled the war.

Harris called Gilchrest too liberal.

Gilchrest called the campaign the most intense of his political career.

He had Republican challengers just a few months after being inaugurated into his ninth term.

After hearing that he had lost, Gilchrest said he needs time to digest the news and determine how he feels about it.

WBOC-TV

I don’t know how Gilchrest feels but I feel pretty darn great!  Gilchrest was like the Lincoln Chafee of the House.  Harris was backed by the Club for Growth and will not disappoint.

This just ruined my day.

WASHINGTON (AP) — Rep. John Shadegg, R-Ariz., said Monday he will not be seeking re-election.

“I have no intention of letting up in the fight for my beliefs,” Shadegg said in an e-mail. “I simply believe it is time for me to do so in some other capacity.”

Shadegg, a seven-term Republican, becomes the 29th House Republican in the past 13 months to either leave or decline to seek re-election at the end of this term.

Shadegg, 58, said he believes a Republican will win his seat in November.

He is best known for his unsuccessful challenge to House Republican leader John Boehner, R-Ohio, and Minority Whip Roy Blunt, R-Mo., for the top GOP position after Texas Rep. Tom DeLay’s resignation.

“He was a smart, honest and honorable rival during the race to be Republican majority leader in 2006, and has continued to be a valued part of our Republican team since,” Boehner said. “I will be sorry to see him go.”

The Arizona congressman said he is in good health, and raised more than $1 million last year that could be used to defend his seat in the November elections.

“The bottom line is that this is a personal decision between my family and me, about our dreams, goals and ambitions,” Shadegg said. “We have concluded that it is time for me to seek a new challenge in a different venue to advance the cause of freedom.”

AP

Lou Barletta, the famous Hazleton, PA mayor has entered the race for Congress for Pennsylvania’s 11th Congressional District currently occupied by Democrat incumbent Paul Kanjorski. If this were anyone other than Barletta, I’d say that Kanjo is relatively safe, but with Barletta’s nationwide name recognition he has the ability to raise serious money for this race. Additionally, Kanjorski has not been getting good press over the past year or so as he has had some ethical missteps. It’s hard to say really how this will turn out because there are so many odd factors in this election year. I would honestly say that this race still leans in favor of Kanjorski, but he is not an insurmountable challenge for Barletta.

In 2006, a group of Democratic anti-war veterans got tremendous press coverage for their candidacies for congress.

In 2008, a number of Republican pro-troops Iraq war veterans have gathered together to run on a message of victory in Iraq.

The group, led by Kieran Michael Lalor of New York, is called IraqVetsforCongress.

Mr. Lalor stopped by and chatted with me here at CPAC a few minutes ago. He is running against a first-term Democrat in New York’s 19th district. The group includes a number of veterans, including Duncan Hunter Jr., who is running for his father’s seat.