Monday Rundown

Texas: San Antonio Express-News columnist Jaime Castillo uses Republican Henry Bonilla's recent ouster from office as a bellwether marking John Cornyn's vulnerability. Oh, and Cornyn's lousy approval numbers are a good indicator, too.

New Hampshire: CQPolitics profiles Portsmouth Mayor Steve Marchand and looks at the New Hampshire Senate race dynamics.

Maine: NPR reports: "In Maine as in many states, the war in Iraq is the foremost issue on the minds of voters." Tough news for Susan Collins, who has repeatedly voted in support of Bush's unlimited Iraq War, without oversight or timetables, and who has endorsed the Presidential field's most vocal pro-unlimited-Iraq-War voice in John McCain.

Kentucky: Draft Forgy is on the job with two more pieces of bad press for Mitch McConnell. First, from the Washington Times: McConnell's hypocrisy on immigration reform. Second, from the Louisville Courier-Journal: constituent displeasure with McConnell over immigration.

Minnesota: Now that he is a candidate for office, Al Franken recognizes one of the values of public financing of elections: more time with voters discussing issues and less contributor call time. It would be extra-classy of Franken, should he discuss public financing in the future, if he notes something to the effect of, "Hey, I have my Hollywood money and Mike Ciresi has his lawyer money. We have the resources to run for office. But somebody like Dr. Peter Agre, who has a unique background and might have good ideas to contribute, doesn't have comparable resources. Another reason we need public financing to balance the playing field."

Alaska: The contractor employed in Ted Stevens' RenovationGate is lawyering up and no longer publicly commenting.