Ohio Secretary of State and Republican gubernatorial candidate Ken Blackwell’s forays into the 2004 election are by now infamous. A New York Times editorial provided a rundown of his election law history, including an “almost certainly illegal” order that county boards of elections reject voter registrations completed on a certain kind of paper. Now, with critics charging that recently-enacted Ohio legislation governing voter-registration would create unnecessary roadblocks for registrars trying to sign up voters, Blackwell has been thrust back into the voting-laws limelight.

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News from the great state of Texas – Rasmussen has a new poll out showing that if you have a nickname, odds are you will do better than Democratic candidate Chris Bell. The poll shows incumbent Governor Rick Perry (R) leading with 38% of the vote, independent Kinky Freidman with 20% (Kinky is his nickname, but it will appear on the ballot), Carole Keeton Strayhorn with 19% (Strayhorn is fighting to appear as “Grandma Strayhorn” on the ballot), and Chris Bell (D) in 4th place with 14% of the vote.

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The House voted to strip Rep. William Jefferson (D-La.) of his powerful position on the Ways and Means Committee today. House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) instigated the vote after meeting with the Democratic Caucus yesterday. The Democrats voted 99-58 for his removal. In the full House, there was no debate or roll call.

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In 1988, Joe Lieberman ran a campaign ad casting his opponent, Sen. Lowell Weicker Jr., as a bear who snored through crucial Senate votes. Now that Weicker is raising money for Ned Lamont’s primary challenge, Lieberman has brought the bear back. In a new cartoon ad, a large brown bear (Weicker) forces a high-voiced cub in a pink polo shirt (Lamont) to go after Lieberman because he’s too lazy to do it himself. "One thing about cubs; they always do what they are told," the ad concludes. You really should watch the ad yourself here.

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Chris Cillizza’s Friday Line includes a note on Wisconsin’s race for governor. Incumbent Jim Doyle (D) was facing low approval ratings even before this week, when state official Georgia Thompson was convicted on charges that she steered a $750,000 travel contract to Doyle campaign contributors.

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Logging companies are investing heavily in businessman Ron Saxton’s (R) campaign to unseat Oregon Gov. Ted Kulongoski (D). Fundraising reports released yesterday show that Saxton has raised $255,000 since the May 16 primary, while the governor has raised only $105,000. A large part of the difference is covered by two logging companies that gave Saxton $50,000 each. All in all, the logging industry has provided 1 of every 5 dollars Saxton has raised.

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It’s hard to imagine Saturday Night Live coming up with a more absurd spoof than the current round of television and radio ads launched by the National Republican Senatorial Committee in Montana this week against Democratic Senate candidate Jon Tester.

Tester is running neck and neck with incumbent Senator Conrad Burns (R), who is seen as vulnerable due to his connections with Jack Abramoff.

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Despite the fact that several political handicappers have predicted a potentially close race in New York’s 20^th district, a new Zogby Poll published in Thursday’s Times-Union of Albany shows incumbent John Sweeney (R) with a distinct advantage over his challenger, Hudson attorney Kirsten Gillibrand (D).

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Rasmussen has released two new sets of polls for Rhode Island, one for the Senate race and one for the Governor’s race. Short version – in the Senate, incumbent Sen. Lincoln Chafee (R) 44% - state Attorney General Sheldon Whitehouse (D) 42% and in the Governor’s race, Lt. Gov. Charles Fogarty (D) 41% - incumbent Gov. Donald Carcieri (R) 40 %.

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Incumbent governor Ed Rendell (D) is safe but Senator Rick Santorum (R) is not, according to a Strategic Vision poll of likely voters that came out today. If the election were held today, Rendell (D) would beat Lynn Swann (R) 49% to 38%, and challenger Bob Casey (D) would beat Santorum 49% to 40%. Rendell would win even though more voters were favorable towards Swann—50% vs. 46%.

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At a press briefing in Washington yesterday, Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee (DSCC) Chairman Chuck Schumer (D-NY) said that Joe Lieberman has the committee’s “full support.” He would not promise that the DSCC would withdraw their support if Lieberman left the party, saying there were different kinds of independents. "You can run as an independent, you can run as an independent Democrat who pledges to vote for Harry Reid as Majority Leader," Schumer said. (A more complete version is here, but you need a subscription.)

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A new poll from the Michigan governor’s race highlights Democrats’ continuing challenges in luring Reagan Democrats back to the party in the Midwest.

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Former Secretary of the Navy Jim Webb (D) edged out businessman and IT lobbyist Harris Miller (D) in Virginia’s Democratic Primary for U.S. Senate on Tuesday, which is bad news for incumbent Senator George Allen (R).

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Last week the AFSCME split its endorsement of Democratic gubernatorial candidates Jim Davis and Rod Smith, making it the state’s third union to hedge its bet before Florida’s September 5 primary.

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Representative Harold Ford, Jr. is in a statistical dead heat with the three GOP primary candidates in the race for Tennessee's open Senate seat, according to a poll released yesterday by Zogby International.

Ford, who is unopposed for the Democratic nomination, trails former Chattanooga mayor Bob Corker 42% to 46%, which is within the poll's 4.5% margin of error.

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Former Gov. Lowell Weicker, who lost his Senate seat to Joe Lieberman in 1988, is jumping on the chance for a little revenge. Weicker will host a fundraiser for Ned Lamont, Lieberman’s primary challenger, the Hartford Courant reports. Lamont "is 100 percent opposed to the war in Iraq and so am I," Weicker said. He was considering challenging Lieberman himself before Lamont stepped into the race.

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Oscar Lovelace, the upstart Republican challenger to South Carolina’s incumbent governor, Mark Sanford, managed to do better than expected in yesterday’s primary, indicating that the general election may be more competitive than previously assumed.

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With 95% of precincts reporting in yesterday's primary, State Sen. Chandler Woodcock (R) is leading State Sen. Peter Mills (R) 38% to 35%. Former U.S. Representative David Emery (R) received 25% of the vote and has conceded defeat. Much to the annoyance of Woodcock’s campaign, Mills has not conceded yet and the primary has not been called. Governor John Baldacci easily defeated opponent Christopher Miller in the Democratic primary. Baldacci and the winning Republican will face Green-Independent candidate Pat LaMarche, State Sen. Barbara Merrill, and businessman David Jones. (Mainetoday.com)

LATE UPDATE: Peter Mills (R) has now conceded. Chandler Woodcock will face John Baldacci, Pat LaMarche, Barbara Merrill, and David Jones in November.

Things appear not to be going too well on Election Day for South Carolina Republican governor hopeful Oscar Lovelace. In a press release put out this afternoon, his campaign reports that due to inclement weather caused by Tropical Storm Alberto Lovelace has cancelled his planned “Fly-Around” the state today.

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In what has become a heated battle, Virginia voters will choose today between former Secretary of the Navy Jim Webb and businessman and IT lobbyist Harris Miller. The race has gained significant national attention with unusual early endorsements and participation from the DSCC and other senators. Sen. Charles Schumer (D-NY), leader of the DSCC endorsed Webb, drawing the ire of local Democratic officials, who felt the DSCC should have stuck with tradition and stayed out of the fight until after the primary. John Kerry has also thrown his support behind Webb, appearing with him at events yesterday.

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The counsel for ex-Governor Don Siegelman offered a surprisingly terse defense of his client on racketeering charges yesterday after the prosecution spent six weeks building its case.

"Governor Siegelman rests, your honor," was attorney Vince Kilborn's answer to the charges against Siegelman, who was standing trial along with four others for allegedly providing government favors while he was in office.

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A prominent ally of Joe Lieberman’s, former Democratic state chairman John F. Droney, is urging the senator to run as an independent and not leave his fate in the hands of primary voters. "I think to be terrorized through the summer by an extremely small group of the Democratic Party, much less the voting population, is total insanity for a person who is a three-term senator," Droney said. Not many people vote in primaries, he argues, and enthusiastic Ned Lamont supporters might have a disproportionate say. "Every single weirdo in the left wing will be there. That's what the Lamont strategy is all about," he said.

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“Everyday, the same thing. Another day’s news, another scandal in Washington,” the new web ad begins. “We’ve got Congressmen on the take and lobbyists eager to make a deal. The whole system’s broken and they’ve lost all respect for things important to us.”

An ad for moveon.org? The DCCC?

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California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger betrayed some confusion over his exact campaign strategy late last week, displaying just how hard it is to model oneself as a high-minded bipartisan in the midst of a tight reelection race.

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Ken Blackwell is Ohio’s Secretary of State, and so is responsible for overseeing the state’s election results and issuing rules governing the voter registration process. That he is also the Republican candidate for governor has his opponent, Ted Strickland, calling for Blackwell to step aside and let the state’s Republican Attorney General or a Franklin County common pleas judge oversee the election. Blackwell has no intention of doing so.

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John Edwards is the top presidential choice of likely Iowa caucus participants, a Des Moines Register poll shows. He won 30% of the vote. Hillary Clinton was close behind with 26%. John Kerry came in third with 12%. Iowa Governor Tom Vilsack, despite his popularity with constituents, came in fourth with only 10% of the vote.

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