Big Tuesday Rundown

South Dakota: Senator Tim Johnson is preparing to return to the Senate. Great news. Like Jordan coming back for the second three-peat... if Senator Johnson had a better fifteen foot shot and the Senate held sessions in a gym. Still, a remarkable comeback.

Minnesota: New polling, with some disheartening results: Coleman-Franken at 54-32 and Coleman-Ciresi at 52-29. The silver lining of the poll is that it found Smilin' Norm Coleman dipping below 50% for the first time, with only 48% saying Coleman was doing a "good" or "excellenet" job and only 43% having a favorable opinion of him. Also, the poll saw Amy Klobuchar's approval significantly higher than Coleman's and her disapproval significantly lower. MNCR notes that Ciresi's camp suggests that the poll is more favorable to him than Franken, as Franken's name ID stands at around 80% while voters are just getting reacquainted with Ciresi. So Coleman is vulnerable and not too popular, but neither Franken nor Ciresi have yet to catch fire. Could this motivate others to enter the DFL primary?

Colorado: Colorado Confidential has the goods on state AG John Suthers and retired General Bentley Rayburn both passing on a Senate bid in favor of conservative former Rep. Bob Schaffer. Looks like a bloody CO-GOP primary might be avoided after all. Bummer. Meanwhile, Colorado Pols looks at "Backwards" Bob Schaffer's last two weeks. Oh, and while you're at it, throw a few bucks Congressman Mark Udall's way.

North Carolina: Blue South announces that DraftBradMiller.org is up and running. Check it out!

Illinois: It looks like the IL-GOP may have found a sacrificial lamb: Steven Sauerberg, a suburban doctor with "little history of political involvement." When I hear something like "little history of political involvement," the first thing I'd like the Durbin camp to do is go through voting records for the last decade and highlight the number of elections in which the opponent didn't show up to vote. Always a crowd-pleaser.

Maine: Endless Iraq War fan Joe Lieberman (CfL-CT) will be raising money for endless Iraq War fan Susan Collins. (Note that WaPo's Cillizza incorrectly dubs this a "bipartisan" fundraiser. Lieberman is not a member of the Democratic Party.) Welcome Joe-mentum to Maine by contributing to Congressman Tom Allen's campaign to unseat Two-Faced Susan Collins.

New Jersey: GOP state assemblyman Michael Doherty, considered one of the most conservative members of the NJ state Legislature, is getting serious about a Senate bid.

Nebraska: Republican Hal Daub begins a listening tour to drum up support for a possible Senate bid.

Georgia: DKos diarist biglib offers a thorough rundown of possible GA-Dem Senate challengers to "Shameless" Saxby Chambliss. Nothing definitive, though, besides my yearning for former Senator and true patriot Max Cleland to reconsider and seek a rematch.

Greatest thing ever! Slate offers us an illustrated guide to GOP scandals! (HT: MN Publius)