Politics - Congressional Quarterly

With the defending Republicans facing twists and turns confirming that truth can be stranger than fiction, the Democrats now appear to hold a solid edge in the battle for the seat New York Republican Rep. Vito J. Fossella left open -- after the married father of three admitted in May that he has a daughter from an ongoing extramarital relationship.

Like many avid bicyclists, Tim Blumenthal takes care to use his energy sparingly. But that didn't stop him from interrupting a recent vacation in Paris to fly back to the United States, then almost immediately turn around and rejoin his wife in the City of Light.

Retired Army Gen. Wesley Clark won CQ Politics' reader-driven Democratic vice presidential contest, edging out Sen. Joseph R. Biden Jr. in the final round even as he came under fire for questioning the value of presumed Republican nominee John McCain's military service.

Supporters of two-term Maine Sen.

North Carolina Republican Sen. Elizabeth Dole holds the edge in her bid this year for a second term. But fluctuating polls over the month and a half since state Sen. Kay Hagan won the May 6 Democratic primary have raised questions about how solid and secure Dole is in her status as the favorite.

The National Association of Home Builders is bringing out the big guns for its lobbying battle on the housing bill.

Republican Rep. Chris Cannon's loss to challenger Jason Chaffetz in Utah's 3rd District Tuesday marked the third defeat of a U.S.

The previous Jigsaw Politics provided a Top 10 list of the "All-Around Battleground" states -- this year's hottest of political hotbeds, where the Democrats and Republicans will stage pitched battles both for president and for other major offices.

Video: Pew Research Center editor Richard Morin explains discrepancies in different presidential polls

The Supreme Court's decision Thursday striking down the so-called "millionaires amendment" is not expected to have much of an impact on federal elections, although it could force a handful of this year's congressional candidates to rethink their game plans.

Illinois Democratic Sen. Barack Obama and his advisers have taken this lesson from the past two presidential elections, in which Democratic nominees lost narrowly: focusing all of the party's campaign efforts on the Democratic-leaning states and a handful of crucial "swing" states is a very limiting -- and risky -- strategy.

The Democrats didn't endure many disappointments in the 2006 mid-term elections -- their smashing successes included their biggest political gains in the U.S.

Illinois Sen. Barack Obama's move to help New York Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton pay off her presidential campaign debt is making headlines, but there are a handful of other former Democratic primary rivals who could use his assistance, as well.

Six-term Utah Republican Rep. Chris Cannon on Tuesday became the third House member unseated in a primary election this year, losing by a wide margin to first-time candidate Jason Chaffetz in the state's 3rd District.

Her return was a well-choreographed spectacle, complete with cheering fans waiting on the Capitol steps, but Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton said Tuesday she wants nothing more than to represent New York in the Senate again and help Democrats overcome Republican resistance to their agenda.

The Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee (DSCC), the political arm of the Democratic majority in the U.S. Senate, raised $5.9 million in May, according to a report it filed Friday. Its partisan counterpart, the National Republican Senatorial Committee (NRSC), reported raising $4.9 million last month.

It has been nearly two years since six-term Republican Mark Foley resigned as representative of Florida's 16th District, after revelations that he had sent sexually explicit online messages to House pages.

The rhetoric in Tuesday's Republican primary in Utah's 3rd Congressional District has a lot in common with the Democratic presidential primaries. While the candidates espouse similar positions, six-term incumbent Rep. Chris Cannon is running on his record of accomplishments and experience, and challenger Jason Chaffetz is running as an agent of change.

For one month, Barack Obama did not have the big fundraising edge over John McCain that he has enjoyed through most of the election season. But the Illinois Democrat continued to outraise his GOP foe.

John McCain continued his steady fundraising progress in May, and his moderate spending allowed him to boost his cash on hand by $10 million, new financial reports show. The presumed Republican presidential nominee took in $21.8 million for the month, up from $18.5 million in April and $15.4 million in March. The campaign spent $11.7 million in May, and ended the month with $31.6 million in the bank.

Presumed Democratic presidential nominee Barack Obama will opt out of public financing for his campaign, reversing an earlier stance on the role of private funding in presidential campaigns.

Should candidate Joan Fitz-Gerald win her bid this year for Colorado's open 2nd District seat, she would enter the U.S. House as a member of a Democratic Party that appears certain to maintain a solid majority. That prospect gives obvious pleasure to Fitz-Gerald, who was in both the minority and the majority during a seven-year tenure in the state legislature that culminated in her serving as president of the Colorado Senate.

A new round of Democratic challengers across the country will be getting financial and organizational support from the national party, the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee announced today.

Lanham, Md.-- Democrat Donna Edwards, best known for defeating incumbent Rep. Albert R. Wynn in a February primary, defeated Republican Peter James in Tuesday's special election in Maryland's 4th District.

House Latinas Irked by Obama's Neglect

Presumed Democratic presidential nominee Barack Obama is launching an aggressive Capitol Hill campaign to bring former supporters of vanquished primary rival Hillary Rodham Clinton fully into his camp.

Democratic presidential frontrunner Barack Obama fired a powerful salvo today at former rival Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton by hiring her deposed and estranged campaign manager, Patti Solis Doyle, to serve as chief of staff to an unnamed vice presidential candidate.

Texas Rep. Ron Paul has officially called off his quest for the Republican presidential nomination, more than two months after John McCain secured enough delegates to clinch the nomination. But with frequent events scheduled in the next two months, Paul apparently has no intention of giving up his libertarian fight.