Happy Valentine's Day

NRSC Chair John Ensign is once again publicly chiding Republican Senators for not contributing enough to the NRSC. I guess times must be really tough over at the NRSC. And Ensign must be really concerned about how bad the 2008 Senate race results will make him look.

Minnesota: Holy cow. Republican Norm Coleman could face a big-time 2008 Senate primary challenge: former Senator Rod Grams. Commented Grams, "I haven’t said yes; I haven’t said no." With both polls and dollars trending against Coleman, a truly difficult primary could likely prove terminal for his re-election bid. Go Grams! Meanwhile, a new Survey USA poll again sees Coleman and Al Franken neck and neck, but sees Mike Ciresi falling 11 points behind Coleman. Expect the Franken camp to point this poll out to every DFL Convention delegate.

Colorado: Rasmussen Reports sees a dead heat in the 2008 Senate race between Democrat Mark Udall and Republican Bob Schaffer, though Udall leads among independents by a 43-32 margin.

Alaska: Former Unalaska city councilmember Rocky Caldero has withdrawn his candidacy from the 2008 Senate race, and has even pre-endorsed Anchorage Mayor Mark Begich should Begich enter the race.

New Mexico: The filing deadline for the Land of Enchantment passed this week and Congressman Tom Udall was the only Democrat to file for Senate. Republican Congresscritters Steve Pearce and Heather Wilson were the only filers for the GOP.

Mississippi: Republican Thad Cochran's pork-barrel earmark tally is approaching $1 billion. Couple that with Robert Novak calling ethically-questionable Republican Senate-appointee Roger Wicker "a poster child for an earmark moratorium" and you see a clear earmark addiction among Mississippi Republicans.

Arizona: John McCain's Senate office says that he has "no current plans" to resign his Senate seat as he campaigns for President. Note that, if he does resign mid-term, state law requires that the gubernatorial appointment to fill the vacancy until a special election be of the same political Party as the resigning officeholder.

The Senate Ethics Committee has issued Republican Larry Craig a "letter of admonition" in response to the events surrounding his airport bathroom arrest. So we know that the Senate Ethics Committee does, in fact, exist. Still, they have a great deal more work to do.

Holy cow! Former Republican Senator Lincoln Chafee of Rhode Island is endorsing Democratic Senator Barack Obama for President.