Here's today's run-down of the Congressional races:

GOP Releases Excerpt From The Kentucky Voice Recorder
The Kentucky voice-recorder saga -- involving a criminal complaint by the NRSC that the campaign of Dem Senate candidate Bruce Lunsford allegedly erased content from a voice recorder they secretly planted at his podium -- just keeps getting weirder. The NRSC has released this piece of audio recovered from the recorder after its return, of what appears to be an angry Lunsford telling his staffers not to give the recorder back:

This has got to be one of the most bizarre allegations of a dirty trick ever: That a campaign secretly planted a bug on an opposing candidate, then complained when the bug was not initially returned and may have been erased.

Murtha's Opponent Blasts Him On Racist/Redneck Comments
Check out this new ad from William Russell, the GOP candidate against Jack Murtha, hammering Murtha for referring to his western Pennsylvania constituents as rednecks and racists:

Murtha is usually a safe bet for re-election, but this gaffe may have landed him in serious trouble. A recent Susquehanna poll shows Murtha just edging out Russell 46%-41%. A fun part of this ad is its use of a computer interface to show videos of Murtha -- as if to say that the people of western Pennsylvania do in fact know how to read and use a computer.

McCain: Stevens Should Resign
John McCain has now called upon Ted Stevens, the long-time GOP Senator from Alaska and now a convicted felon, to resign from the Senate -- as sure a sign as any that the GOP has cut Stevens off a week before he faces the voters. For his part, Stevens has vowed to press on with his campaign, but is widely expected to lose to Democrat Mark Begich in this usually deep-red state.

NRCC Ad: Voting Dem Only Makes Things Worse
This new NRCC ad against Kay Barnes, the Dem candidate against Rep. Sam Graves (R-MO), recycles the highly peculiar slogan we've noticed from the GOP. The announcer says bluntly that things are bad, but warns that electing the Democratic candidate will only make it worse:

"The stormy economy is an out-of-control disaster," the announcer says. "And Kay Barnes will only make it worse."

Dem Ad: Get Rid Of The Diaz-Balart Brothers
This new DCCC goes after not one but two incumbent GOP Congressmen -- the Diaz-Balart brothers of southern Florida, who find themselves in tight races against their Dem opponents this year:

"Yep, they've made memories with Bush," the announcer says, over a graphic of a family photo album. "So now let's close the book on the Diaz-Balart brothers."

Poll: Blue Dog Congressman In Tight Race
A new SurveyUSA poll shows that Rep. Jim Marshall, a relatively conservative Democrat from Georgia, is in a tight race against GOP candidate Rick Goddard -- who is perhaps best known for referring to an African-American newscaster for NBC as "uppity." The numbers: Marshall 49%, Goddard 45%, with a ±3.9% margin of error.

Poll: Dem Ahead In GOP-Held House Seat
A new SurveyUSA poll shows Mary Jo Kilroy, who narrowly lost a House campaign in 2006, ahead in the race for the seat now that the incumbent has retired. The numbers: Kilroy 47%, GOP candidate Steve Stivers 41%, with a ±4% margin of error.

Poll: Dem Nick Lampson Way Behind For Re-Election
Rep. Nick Lampson (D-TX), who won the deep-red House seat of Tom DeLay in a bizarre 2006 that involved his opponent having to run as a write-in candidate, probably won't be so lucky this year. A new Zogby poll has Lampson trailing Republican candidate Pete Olson by a wide margin: Olson 53%, Lampson 36%

Schaffer Related To Joe The Plumber
The Rocky Mountain News reports that GOP Senate candidate Bob Schaffer, who has been abandoned by his national party in the face of bad poll numbers, is related by marriage to Joe "The Plumber" Wurzelbacher. This actually makes a lot of sense -- Schaffer's campaign is in the toilet.