Buried in a long Washington Post article profiling GOP Rep. John Hostettler, there's a line which shows that the Hostettler campaign is doing reams of "opposition research" -- a.k.a. dirt-digging -- on Dem challenger Brad Ellsworth's 19-year-old daughter:

A visit to the Republican's office highlights how he has kept a distinctly Hoosier profile even after a dozen years in Washington. Pictures of the congressman and a framed copy of the Evansville Courier & Press trumpeting his 1994 primary victory dot the walls. The other employees, Hammonds said, are two "data-entry ladies" and Stan Barringer, the opposition-research director. Barringer has been busy. Several binders that sit on a shelf in the office carry printed labels such as "budget," "China" and "anti-Christian." There is even a binder labeled with the name of Ellsworth's daughter. The sheriff's 19-year-old stumbled into controversy last year when she was shown in photographs drinking beer.

Lovely. Recall that only a few days after Ellsworth announced his candidacy, pictures popped up on the web site of a Hostettler supporter showing Ellsworth's daughter drinking. The Hostettler campaign denied all involvement. Still -- you can't help but wonder whether those pictures are in that binder, can you?

Dem Bob Casey has just released a ferociously hard-hitting ad blasting back at GOP Senator Rick Santorum's recent ad depicting Casey donors behind bars. Casey's TV spot features popular Dem governor Ed Rendell mounting an aggressive defense of Casey: "To somehow insinuate that there are crooks or criminals behind his campaign, that sort of stuff is trash." The ad continues: "And it was Santorum who created a corrupt lobbying system exploited by felon Jack Abramoff." It concludes that Santorum is "everything that's wrong with Washington." Don't miss this very tough ad -- you can view it right here.

Remember Rick O'Donnell? He's the GOP House candidate who's being attacked by Dem foe Ed Perlumtter for writing nearly 12 years ago that "for freedom's sake," we should "eliminate Social Security." Now O'Donnell is officially surrendering on the issue. The Rocky Mountain News reports that O'Donnell is about to release a new TV ad formally apologizing for his past writing, saying it was the work of a "know-it-all kid." And in another clear sign that Dems have drawn blood, he's even got a new flyer in which he pleads for forgiveness. Note two pictures from the flyer below -- including one of O'Donnell kneeling before an old lady.

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GOP Senator Rick Santorum -- who's trailing Dem Bob Casey in recent polls -- has now called in the Rudy Giuliani cavalry. He's just released a new ad featuring Rudy that's set in a firehouse (not exactly an original choice of setting for an ad featuring Rudy) and shows firemen sitting in rapt silence as Rudy says of Santorum: "When he tells you what he thinks, you know that it's coming from his mind and his heart and his conscience. It's not just something that you want to hear." The ad appears to be trying to take two two of Rudy's best-known perceived strengths -- his post-9/11 association with first responders, and his alleged tendency to say what he thinks -- and transfer them over to Santorum.

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Seems we jumped the gun yesterday and Republican candidate Bob Corker did end up appearing on CNBC's "Kudlow And Company," though he didn't actually debate Dem opponent Harold Ford on the program. Without a direct debate no fireworks flared between the canddiate, but a comment of Ford's did spark our attention -- apparently he believes describing someone as liberal is tantamount to "name calling." More after the jump.

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What party does Michael Steele belong to? His newest campaign sign features the word "Steele" over the word "Democrat." Anyone seeing the sign in a window would probably conclude that Steele is a Dem. But they would be wrong — he's the Republican nominee for U.S. Senate. So what gives? His campaign told the Baltimore Sun that the sign is meant to identify the person holding or displaying it — that is, a Dem who supports Steele. The campaign insists it's not meant to mislead people about Steele himself. But Dems aren't buying it. Says DSCC spokesman Phil Singer: "Michael Steele is trying to hide the fact that his campaign is funded and directed by George Bush and the Republican party." Judge for yourself.

The battle between GOP Rep. Rob Simmons and Dem challenger Joe Courtney over a local sub base is ballooning into a huge controversy. A few days ago, Simmons released an ad which slammed Courtney for doing "nothing" and touted Simmons' own role in saving a local sub base. But as Election Central reported Wednesday, Courtney pointed to a voicemail message Simmons had left Courtney just after the base was saved, in which Simmons thanked Courtney for his help saving the same base Simmons boasted about having saved himself. Now the story has hit big-time: Local News Channel 8 is airing a long segment on the controversy which quotes Courtney hammering Simmons as a "hypocrite." Watch the segment below; you can even hear Simmons' voicemail.

Joe Lieberman has just picked up another Republican endorsement. GOP Senator Susan Collins of Maine is hoping to campaign for Lieberman, according to a TV appearance by Collins quoted on the Times political blog The Caucus. Collins said: "In October, I’m going to be going in to Connecticut and I really hope that Senator Lieberman is re-elected."

New developments today in the leaked ad controversy surrounding Dem Amy Klobuchar's Senate campaign. The Minneapolis Star Tribune reports on internet logs that reveal blogger Noah Kunin made 18 attempts to access a website containing unreleased ads for GOP candidate Rep. Mark Kennedy, information that seems to contradict his own benign account of the ordeal. In terms of the political fallout, the Kennedy campaign is still pushing hard for Klobuchar to answer the list of questions they released on Thursday. Kennedy campaign manager Pat Shortridge issued a statement after an FBI agent visited the campaign's office:

"Following my conversation with the FBI agent, it was made clear to us that Amy Klobuchar's campaign could, without interfering with the investigation, answer many of the serious questions we asked yesterday, such as why did they wait five days to notify us."

Finally, a poll released by the Humphrey Institute Thursday night had Klobuchar leading Kennedy 52% to 36%. The poll, however, was conducted before the ad controversy broke and it remains to be seen what effect it will have on the race.

Democrat Diane Farrell has just released a hard-hitting new ad hammering pro-war GOP Rep. Chris Shays for being wrong on Iraq despite having taken 14 trips overseas to witness the carnage first-hand. Shays likes to hold up his frequent trips to Iraq as a sign of his expertise on the war. But Farrell turns the trips against him, quoting the rosy assessments Shays made of the situation after four of the trips -- even as the number of U.S. soldiers killed at that point flashes on the screen. The ad concludes: "Chris Shays on Iraq: Wrong for too long."

Are heartland Republicans turning on the GOP? Reuters interviewed voters in a dozen heartland districts and found that many of them are willing to vote Democratic, but mainly as a vote against the GOP. "Heartland districts held by Republicans are among the most at risk," Reuters says. "Seven Republican seats now lean Democratic, including three in Indiana and one each in Iowa, Texas, Colorado and Arizona. Another 10 Republican seats nationwide are considered pure toss-ups...No Democrat seat is considered at risk."

Democratic candidate Diane Farrell has released a new ad attacking Shays for his strong support for the War in Iraq. The ad pulls four quotes from his fourteen trips to Iraq, each of them enthusiastically supporting the effort saying things like "We've seen amazing progress!" As Shays tries to wiggle out of his position on the war and the President, Farrell is going right at him. Watch the ad here.

Fresh off of his decisive primary victory on Tuesday, Deval Patrick received a very public warning from a conservative member of his own party that he wouldn't be electable if voters saw him as bringing Massachusetts back to "the Mike Dukakis era." The AP reports that Rep. Eugene O'Flaherty and two other Democratic legislators had high praise for Patrick's Republican opponent, Lt. Governor Kerry Healey, at a bill signing ceremony yesterday, a sign that Patrick's campaign to "change the culture on Beacon Hill" may not have resonated as well within the Democratically controlled legislature as it did with Democratic primary voters. O'Flaherty added, referring to Patrick's campaign slogan: "'In order for conservative Democrats like myself to be comfortable with the Democratic nominee, we need to know a little more about him. It needs to be a little more than 'together, we can.'" I think they'll need to start by defining "we."

Despite a blitz of ads from GOP Senator Rick Santorum, Dem challenger Bob Casey continues to hold a comfortable lead over the incumbent. A new Rasmussen Reports poll finds that Casey holds a 10-point edge, 49%-39% -- a two-point increase since August.

The Journal Inquirer of Connecticut reported Wednesday that GOP Rep. Nancy Johnson is scheduled to hold a stealth fundraiser next month in Massachusetts:

That event, a $500-per-person cocktail party at a hotel near the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, is being sponsored by several associates of former Gov. John G. Rowland and state Treasurer Paul J. Silvester, both of whom were convicted and jailed on federal corruption charges.

Rowland served a year after pleading guilty to felony conspiracy charges and Silvester served four for racketeering and conspiracy to launder money. And it gets worse.

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http://connecticutblog.blogspot.com/2006/09/nancy-johnson-proves-again-that-shell.html
http://thepoliticker.observer.com/2006/09/i-dont-want-to-take-back-the-congress.html
http://www.joe2006.com/blog_details.asp?ID=68
http://www.courant.com/news/politics/hc-ctsenate0920.artsep20,0,5693835.story?coll=hc-headlines-politics-state
http://www.ctfamily.org/Crosshairs.html
http://connecticutblog.blogspot.com/2006/09/diane-farrell-unveils-latest-tv-ad.html
http://connecticutblog.blogspot.com/2006/09/gov-rell-blinks.html
http://www.boston.com/news/local/massachusetts/articles/2006/09/21/healeys_leadership_gets_endorsement_from_democratic_lawmakers/?rss_id=Boston.com+--+Massachusetts+news
http://empirezone.blogs.nytimes.com/?p=785
http://ohio2006elections.blogspot.com/2006/09/cong-oh-13-sutton-d-announces-plan-on.html
http://www.buckeyestateblog.com/zack_space_crushing_the_american_dream_girl
http://thepoliticker.observer.com/2006/09/warmup-debates.html

National Republicans appear to have given up on Randy Graf, the GOP House candidate battlling Dem Gabrielle Giffords for the seat of retiring Rep. Jim Kolbe. The National Republican Congressional Committee has decided to drop plans for nonstop TV advertising through election day, the Associated Press reports. Officials in both parties tell the AP that private polling shows Graf well behind Giffords.

GOP Senator George Allen -- reeling from Macacagate and new revelations that his mom is Jewish -- had his big "come-clean" damage control interview on CNN today with Wolf Blitzer. It was a real disappointment. Blitzer lobbed one softball after another in Allen's direction, letting Allen narrate the story of his family ancestry, along with what sounded like a scripted soliloquy on the value of tolerance. The only interesting bit came at the end, when Blitzer asked Allen about the North African origins of the term "Macaca" in light of his mother's background. Watch some highlights below.

Former RNC finance chair and current Scooter Libby defender Mel Sembler has just hosted a fundraiser for Joe Lieberman. From the Associated Press:

A prominent Republican who chairs I. Lewis "Scooter" Libby's legal defense fund co-hosted a fundraiser Wednesday for Sen. Joe Lieberman, who is running for re-election as an independent after losing the Democratic primary.

Mel Sembler, a former Republican National Committee finance committee chairman, helped organize a reception that raised about a "couple hundred thousand dollars" for Lieberman, who was in attendance. Sembler said the event at his firm's office in St. Petersburg, Fla., drew a mix of Republican, Democratic and independent donors.

Sembler claims Lieberman backed him in 1989, when his nomination to become ambassador to Australia stalled in the Senate. More on this later.

Bad news for Dems in Minnesota. The state GOP today is beating the heck out of Senate candidate Amy Klobuchar, who announced yesterday that she'd fired her communications director, Tara McGuinness, a few days ago after learning that the young aide got hold of an unreleased ad cut by GOP opponent Mark Kennedy. The Kennedy campaign is milking the story for all it's worth, saying that they are shutting down the campaign web site to ensure that it will remain secure -- though the Kennedy camp has left its campain donation page open. But did Klobuchar do anything wrong?

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Is Dem Sherrod Brown pulling away from GOP Senator Mike DeWine? A new SurveyUSA poll finds that Brown has opened a 10-point lead over DeWine, besting him 52%-42%. Brown leads by 27 points among independents.

After refusing to debate Dem Harold Ford on Meet the Press, GOP Senate candidate Bob Corker is dodging another debate invitation, this time from Larry Kudlow of CNBC. The Jackson Sun is not at all pleased:

We continue to be disappointed by U.S. Senate candidate Bob Corker's reluctance to face his opponent Rep. Harold Ford Jr. in open debate. The latest instance is Corker's refusal to appear live with Ford on the Larry Kudlow show in CNBC.

The Republican candidate in one of the nation's most important political races must be willing to stand side-by-side with his opponent and face the tough questions. To his credit, the Democrat Ford has accepted every invitation to do so. In a nutshell, Corker is short-changing voters.

Corker continues to avoid face-to-face meetings with Ford on television and in campaign debates, including a televised debate proposed by The Jackson Sun. One only can wonder why...Corker's reluctance on this point is troubling.

It's hard to know what to make of this one. A Montana TV station has yanked a DSCC ad attacking Conrad Burns because the ad contains foul language -- that is, foul language from Burns. As we reported yesterday, the DSCC's new ad slams Burns for his now-notorious remark that firefighters did a "piss poor job" battling a Montana blaze. Now, however, a local TV station is refusing to run the ad because the language is "offensive" and it fears fines from the Federal Election Commission, the Montana station KPAX-TV reports. Given that the foul language in question is that of Burns, it's kind of funny that he's the one benefitting from the station's decision. More after the jump.

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Martin Luther King, Jr., was a Republican. That's the startling claim made in a new radio ad being aired in Maryland by a new group called the National Black Republican Association in its latest attempt to attract African Americans to the GOP. The ad — which can be heard here — features a dialogue between two women who are apparently African American. Among other things, they tell each other that Democrats founded the Ku Klux Klan and that Martin Luther King, Jr. was a Republican — a curious assertion immediately dismissed by King experts. Quotes from the ad and more after the jump.

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Arizona Democrats lobbed a guilt-by-association attack on GOP candidate Randy Graf with a press release Wednesday challenging the former state Representative to "sever his ties" to former Knights of the Ku Klux Klan founder David Duke. The alleged ties are rather tenuous as they stem from a link to Graf's campaign website that Duke placed on his own website. Responding to the charge, Graf campaign manager R.T. Gregg told the Arizona Daily Star, "We have no ties nor have we ever had ties with David Duke or any of his racist crazies."

Though never saying that Graf supports or even agrees with Duke, the Democrats challenge paints Graf's hardline stances as attractive to extremists like Duke, a move that could benefit Dem. candidate Gabrielle Giffords if voters end up associating Graf with Duke. We must point out though that Democrats are misrepresenting the facts when they claim Graf "is associating himself" with Duke as Graf has no control over who links to his website. However, Graf has done himself no favors by refusing to personally call on Duke to remove the link.

Usually it's Dems who say that electronic voting machines are dangerous for our elections. But now a prominent Republican Governor has just come out and not only said exactly the same thing, but has also called for scrapping the $100 million voting machine system he oversees. According to the Washington Post Gov. Robert Erlich has called for dumping the state's Diebold voting machines in the wake of widespread malfunctions in last week's primaries — and it's the state Dems who oppose him on it. More after the jump.

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As Election Central reported recently, the conservative group Progress for America recently cut an ad to run in battleground states which shows a montage of terrorists and images of the burning Twin Towers as a voiceover intones: "These people want to kill us." The ad's now running in Ohio -- and it turns out that Ohio residents despise it. The ad ran during a broadcast of the football game between Ohio State and Cincinnati universities last weekend, and the Columbus Dispatch reports that the station was flooded with complaints about it. Many griped that it was unsuitable for family TV time. The station manager of WBNS-TV, Tom Griesdorn, has stopped running it before 9 P.M.

A new flyer sent out by national Republicans contains demonstrable falsehoods about Patty Wetterling, the Dem House candidate who's trailing GOP opponent Michelle Bachmann in polls. What impresses us about this flyer is how audacious it is -- the claims in it can be exposed as lies with incredible ease. The flyer, which is produced by the National Republican Congressional Committee, says that Wetterling failed to vote in the past three Federal elections. But the Minneapolis Star-Tribune checked the records in the Secretary of State's Office. And yep, she had in fact voted in the last three elections. Go figure. View flyer here.

GOP gubernatorial nominee Dick DeVos is now saying that he backs teaching Intelligent Design in public school classes. Here's why this is interesting: DeVos has cast his candidacy on the model of a successful businessman-turned-politician, not that of a conservative activist, and the businessman model generally rests on a pragmatic approach to social issues. But DeVos, who's running close in polls to Dem Governor Jennifer Granholm, has now thrown in his lot with a movement that has been repudiated both scientifically and legally. It's ample evidence of the degree to which the GOP has become an outright religion-based party, if we're seeing this kind of talk even from a guy like DeVos.

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Over the weekend, the South Bend Tribune conducted an independent poll that showed Dem challenger Joe Donnelly with an eight point lead over Rep. Chris Chocola. This week, the Chocola campaign hit back with its own poll, conducted by Republican pollster Mercury Public Affairs. MPA's response to the numbers from the independent poll? They "believe [their] numbers are better than" the South Bend Tribune's numbers. Oh, and Chocola's campaign only released three questions from the poll. Which one do you trust?

Almost two years on, controversy surrounding Ohio Secretary of State Ken Blackwell's decision to simultaneously co-chair the Bush/Cheney campaign in Ohio and act as Chief Election Officer overseeing that same election hasn't completely subsided. That's why Blackwell's prospective GOP successor was pressed on the question yesterday by a local Ohio newspaper.

Having avoided the question previously, Republican candidate Greg Hartman admitted that Blackwell's decision has been "a mistake," and not just in retrospect. Things already aren't going well for the controversial gubernatorial candidate, so having prominent members of his own party turn against him can't help.

Is GOP Rep. Nancy Johnson's new ad the most despicable political ad in human history? That's the question that the New Haven Independent is asking about Johnson's ad assaulting Dem challenger Chris Murphy for opposing warantless wiretapping of domestic to international calls. In a post entitled "Most Evil Campaign Ad ... Ever?" The Independent's Paul Bass opines that the ad "may be the lowest campaign ad in history." And it is awfully vile. For one thing, the central claim -- that you need to get warrants before doing the wiretapping -- is flat out false. What's more, the ominous-looking paperwork that flashes across the screen is actually a set of student aid spreadsheets. View the ad here.

From the Hartford Courant:

Joe Lieberman, who's opposed various health care reforms in the past and opposed Bill Clinton's plan, is now saying that he supports the "goal" of universal health care. Today's Hartford Courant reports that Lieberman held a conference call with reporters designed to counter Ned Lamont's recent proposal on health care. In the call, he said: "I have long supported the goal of universal health care." But as the Courant documents, his backing for the "goal" of health care hasn't exactly translated into backing for measures that might help accomplish that goal, though he has championed some reform efforts.

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We didn't think it was possible to cut an anti-immigrant ad worse than the crotch-grabbing shot released recently by Vernon Robinson. But GOP House candidate Mac Collins has given an awfully good go at it. The ad by Collins -- who's trying to oust Dem Rep. Jim Marshall in a newly redrawn district in Georgia, the one front where Dems are struggling -- warns viewers: "Jim Marshall voted with his liberal leader Nancy Pelosi and voted to waste our tax dollars printing election ballots in Spanish." Then a sneering voice ads in Spanish: "Muchas Gracias, Señor Jim Marshall." Why doesn't Mac Collins want new American citizens to be able to vote? Ad after the jump.

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Is GOP Rep. Sue Kelly -- who's reelection isn't a race seen as competitive by national Dem strategists -- actually in a close contest? Today's Times Herald-Record reports that an internal poll by Dem challenger John Hall puts the spread at only five points, with Kelly leading 49%-44%. Notably, those numbers reflect a question in which respondents weren't given a description of the candidates, as often happens in internal polls. The paper, however, treats the poll skeptically, noting that the poll was designed to drum up interest "ahead of meetings with big Beltway donors." The Kelly camp's opinion? "Hogwash," a Kelly rep says.

Echoing a theme employed by most Democrats running against Republican incumbents, a new ad by Patrick Murphy slams his opponent for his submissive and unwavering support of Bush and his Iraq policy. The ad titled “Leader”, shows the situation in Iraq spiraling out of control and states that Mike Fitzpatrick, “can’t name one thing” he would do different from George Bush. Murphy makes an appearance at the end to tell us that “reasonable people can disagree on Iraq, but leaders take a stand.” His stand is for a “phased redeployment” of US troops out of Iraq. Democrats like Murphy clearly hope that come November people will be thinking about Iraq and the choice between more of the same or a way out.

GOP Senator Rick Santorum's ad campaign against Dem challenger Bob Casey appears to be doing little to help him. A new Patriot-News poll shows that Casey's lead over Santorum has widened to seven points among registered voters, who pick the Dem 45%-38%, a two point improvement from last month. Among likely voters, Casey leads 46%-41%.

VA-SEN: The Midterm Roundup Will Respectfully Refrain from Attempting Any Sort of Religion-Related Joke/Pun/Fake Quote in This Headline

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The latest New York Times poll has just been published, and it finds that President Bush and the GOP have gotten zip in the way of bounce from their weeks-long Iraq-and-terror road show. The poll finds that Bush's approval rating is stuck at 37%, essentially unchanged since August, and says that Dems are leading the GOP in the generic Congressional matchup by 15 points, 50%-35%. Still, the poll isn't without bright spots for Bush: His approval rating on Iraq has gone up six points -- to 36%. The rub in this poll is that it was completed later than other recent ones showing a slight rise in Bush's numbers, suggesting that whatever rise he garnered from Sept. 11 may have worn off.

Another House GOP incumbent fighting for her political life? A new poll out from SurveyUSA says that GOP Rep. Jean "Mean Jean" Schmidt is hanging on to a bare three point lead -- 45%-42% -- over Dem challenger Amy Wulsin, a statistically insignificant edge.

This is a good one. GOP Rep. Rob Simmons has released a blistering new ad which touts his own record in helping "save" a local submarine base and slams Dem challenger Joe Courtney for having accomplished "nothing." But there's just one problem with Simmons' line of attack: It appears that Simmons himself actually thanked Courtney for -- you guessed it -- having played a role in helping save the base Simmons is patting himself on the back for rescuing. Today's Norwich Bulletin has the details. View the ad here.

As noted previously, a Georgia state judge today rightly struck down as unconstitutional a Voter-ID law that might have blocked poor and elderly people from voting. Now Republicans at the federal level have just revealed that they share the same veneration of open democracy as those who tried to get the Georgia law passed: The House voted today to enact a similar national Voter-ID bill.

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Warning: Graphic content. The Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee is targeting GOP Senator Conrad Burns and his repeated gaffes with a new ad that opens as follows: "The following contains language by Conrad Burns unsuitable for Montana." It highlights Burns' now-notorious tirade at a group of firefighters, during which he accused them of doing a "piss poor job," and concludes: "Senator Burns has forgotten. But that's not how we treat people in Montana." What interests us about this ad is not just the highlighting of an obvious Burns negative, but how it seeks to coopt two traditional GOP strengths -- the GOP's alleged respect for people in uniform, and its emphasis on values -- and turns them both against him. View the ad here.

The Economic Freedom Fund -- that nefarious multi-million dollar 527 being financed by reclusive swift boat funder Bob Parry -- is now dumping big money into an ad campaign against moderate Dem John Barrow, who is facing a tough re-election fight in the wake of a mid-decade redistricting. TPMmuckraker's Paul Kiel has the details.

This race is getting hotter. The National Republican Senatorial Committee just plunked down nearly a million bucks to target Claire McCaskill, the Dem challenger to increasingly endangered GOP Senator Jim Talent. Records just filed with the Federal Election Commission show that the NRSC yesterday dumped $836,379 into the race, almost all of it for ads. Get ready for slime time.

Dem candidate Mary Jo Kilroy challenged GOP Rep. Deborah Pryce today to strip disgraced Congressman Bob Ney of his pension. In a press release posted on her website, Kilroy accused Pryce, the fourth-ranking member of the House, of "not moving beyond rhetoric and taking decisive action to strip Ney of his pension." Although he has plead guilty to federal corruption charges, Ney has not only refused to to leave Congress, but will also be eligible to recieve his Congressional pension after he serves his prison sentence. Pryce has joined other Republicans in calling for Ney to resign, but has made no mention of his pension. Her reaction to the challenge could provide a signal as to whether attempts by Democrats to turn GOP corruption into a national issue will have any traction in November.

Rep. Heather Wilson (R-NM) brandished her surveillance bill