NYT Goes After Obama On Ethanol
Barack Obama's squeaky-clean image is targeted in a new article this morning in the New York Times, challenging his support of corn-ethanol subsidies. "And when it comes to domestic ethanol, almost all of which is made from corn," the paper says, "he also has advisers and prominent supporters with close ties to the industry at a time when energy policy is a point of sharp contrast between the parties and their presidential candidates."

McCain To Propose Cash Prize For Clean Car Technology
John McCain is set to deliver a speech today in Fresno, where he will lay out his proposals to encourage cleaner cars. The key proposals will be to offer a $5,000 tax credit to the auto companies for every customer that buys a yet to be developed zero-emissions vehicle, and to offer a $300 million prize for the successful development of battery technology that can overtake current plug-in auto solutions.

Obama Courting Women Voters In New Mexico
In a further act of outreach to women voters who supported Hillary Clinton, Barack Obama will be holding a campaign event in Albuquerque today to discuss "the unique economic challenges facing working women," according to his campaign's morning e-mail to reporters.

Obama Campaign Working To Turn Out Black Voters
The Obama campaign is working to boost African-American turnout in crucial swing states like Florida, Virginia, North Carolina and others in order to turn those states from red to blue. It will be a delicate balancing act, though -- while Florida has more than half a million black voters who didn't turn out in 2004, for example, the campaign will have to focus on that community without embracing identity politics and alienating white voters.

SurveyUSA: Obama's Lead Slipping In Oregon
A new SurveyUSA poll of Oregon gives Barack Obama only a 48%-45% lead, within the ±4.3% margin of error. Their last poll from three weeks ago gave Obama a 49%-39% lead.

Alaska AFL-CIO Endorses Dem Against Ted Stevens
In a blow to the re-election campaign of GOP Sen. Ted Stevens, the Alaska AFL-CIO has endorsed his Democratic opponent, Anchorage Mayor Mark Begich. Unlike most states, unions in Alaska often endorse the dominant Republicans, and the AFL-CIO has endorsed Stevens in all his past re-election campaigns -- but his lagging both numbers and ethics investigations may have changed the calculations this time.

Democrats could be in for a major Senate win in the GOP stronghold of Alaska, a new poll finds.

The survey by local firm Hellenthal and Associates finds Anchorage Mayor Mark Begich leading longtime incumbent Republican Ted Stevens by a margin of 51%-44%, thanks in large measure to the ethics investigations that have dogged the incumbent.

Democrats haven't won a federal election in Alaska since 1974, so a win here would definitely be a really big deal.

Meanwhile, the poll also shows Rep. Don Young (R) narrowly trailing his primary opponent, Lt. Gov. Sean Parnell, by 37%-34%. The data shows that Young would likely lose the general election by a 58%-38% landslide against likely Dem nominee Ethan Berkowitz, while Parnell edges out Berkowitz 43%-38% in a trial heat.

Yet another poll is showing that Republicans are in danger of losing a once-safe Senate seat in their stronghold state of Alaska, with Anchorage Mayor Mark Begich (D) edging out scandal-plagued Sen. Ted Stevens (R) in a statistical dead heat.

The new numbers from Rasmussen:

Begich (D) 47%
Stevens (R) 45%

Sample size: 500 Likely voters.
Margin of error: ±4%.

This is roughly in line with a Research 2000 poll from earlier this week, which showed Begich ahead of Stevens by five points.

Now this is really something. New polling shows that not one but two scandal-plagued incumbent Republicans are seriously in danger of losing their seats -- and to top it off, both are in a state that has historically been a GOP stronghold, Alaska.

The two GOPers in question are TPMmuckraker all-stars: Sen. Ted Stevens, who is at the center of a corruption investigation; and Rep. Don Young, whose potential involvement in the Coconut Road earmark has landed him in the hotseat. Both are trailing their Dem challengers.

From the new polls commissioned by Daily Kos, and conducted by the non-partisan firm Research 2000:

Senate
Begich (D) 48%
Stevens (R) 43%

House
Berkowitz (D) 50%
Young (R) 40%

Sample size: 600 likely voters.
Margin of error: ±4%.

Democrats have not won a federal race in Alaska since 1974, when Mike Gravel was elected to a second term in the Senate. But it's looking like this could be a big year indeed.

Another red state super-del comes out for Obama this afternoon, the campaign announces: Audra Ostergard, Associate Chair of the Nebraska Democratic Party.

Both campaigns were looking to roll out super-del support today, to show momentum heading out of Pennsylvania, and there was some talk in political circles to the effect that Obama would be showcasing a bunch of them today.

As of now, Obama has rolled out two super-dels today to Hillary's one.

A new Rasmussen poll of Alaska shows Sen. Ted Stevens — a key Senate appropriate and TPMmuckraker all-star — in serious danger of losing re-election after nearly 40 years in office. The numbers: Stevens (R) 46%, Anchorage Mayor Mark Begich (D) 45%.

Due to the various investigations against Stevens and his family, his favorable rating is now only 50% while his unfavorable number is 47% — meaning that Senate Republicans could have yet another seat to worry about during a bad year.

A new round of Research 2000 polling, commissioned by Daily Kos, finds two longtime — and scandal-plagued – incumbents trailing in Alaska. Congressman Don Young (R) trails former state Rep. Ethan Berkowitz (D) by a 49%-42% margin, while Senator Ted Stevens (R) is behind Anchorage Mayor Mark Begich (D) 47%-41%.

Berkowitz currently faces a Democratic primary against two opponents, while Begich has yet to announce whether he will run for Senate. If one or even both were to win in November 2008, it would be a huge milestone — the last time a Democrat won a federal election in heavily-GOP Alaska was in 1974.

A new poll from Alaska firm Hays Research shows Senator Ted Stevens (R) and Congressman Don Young (R), who have both been caught up in ethics scandals, suffering from pretty bad ratings.

Only 44% of respondents gave Ted Stevens a positive ratings, compared to 38% who feel negatively about him. But as it turns out, Stevens' numbers are the good ones. Young has a positive rating of 34%, with 48% negative.

Democrats have yet to find an opponent for Stevens, but have been courting Anchorage Mayor Mark Begich. Former state House Minority Leader Ethan Berkowitz and former state Democratic chair Jake Metcalfe are both seeking the Dem nomination to run against Young.

National Democratic strategists are eyeing Alaska as a state ripe for a major pickup in 2008 — and a new poll of the state's voters suggests that Dems have some reason to be optimistic about making a big gain there.

National Dems have been working overtime to recruit Anchorage Mayor Mark Begich to run for Congress in 2008 — either against powerhouse Senator Ted Stevens or against Representative Don Young. While snatching Stevens' Senate seat obviously would be a bigger coup, knocking off Young would be a more than decent prize, too.

Now a new poll suggests that both GOP targets may be a good deal more vulnerable than initially thought.

Details after the jump.

Read more »

The office of Senator Ted Stevens' son, State Senate President Ben Stevens, has just been raided by the Feds:

Federal agents swarmed legislative offices around the state Thursday, executing search warrants in a coordinated series of raids that appeared to target the longstanding relationship between the oil-field service company Veco and leading lawmakers.

Above Anchorage’s 4th Avenue, FBI agents spent most of the afternoon behind the closed doors and drawn blinds of the fifth-floor offices of Senate President Ben Stevens and Senate Rules Committee Chairman John Cowdery, both Anchorage Republicans. Through slits in the blinds, one agent in Stevens’ office, wearing rubber gloves, could be seen packing away evidence in a container.

No word yet on who the target of the probe is. Senator Stevens has yet to comment.