Mike McWherter, a Democrat who had planned to challenge Sen. Lamar Alexander (R-TN) next year, is expected to drop his Senate bid. Former state Democratic Party Chair Bob Tuke and Nashville insurance lawyer Kevin Doherty, both potential candidates for the seat themselves, say that they received calls from McWherter to inform them of his decision to pull out of the race.

This isn't good news for Democrats, who had hoped that McWherter, a wealthy businessman and the son of a popular former Governor, could use his deep pockets to make Alexander sweat. However, the race was always seen as a long shot.

It looks as if the midterm elections may claim another casualty: The career of Johanna Goldsmith, the perky actress who said, "Harold, call me!" in the RNC's infamous "bimbo" ad. The actress tells the Houston Chronicle's political blog that she's worried that the ad will forever typecast her as an actress who plays...blond bimbos. "I can be serious," Goldsmith tells the Chronicle. "I can be a mom." As it happens, however, her next role, is not that of a mother. She'll be playing the trophy wife of an Italian mobster. As the Chronicle notes wryly: "No stereotype there."

So what's next for Harold Ford, Jr., now that his surprisingly strong challenge to GOP Senator-elect Bob Corker earned him national attention?

Sources tell Election Central that Ford is mulling a range of options, from a challenge to GOP Senator Lamar Alexander in 2008 to a possible talk show on CNN. The network has contacted Ford to discuss a possible on-air role, a source says.

A senior adviser to Ford says an Alexander challenge is "unlikely," because it would be a massive uphill struggle, but says it remains possible. "The typical Democratic performance in Tennessee is 43%, and we showed we can move the ball to 48%," the adviser says. "But Alexander has 30 years of good-will built up in Tennessee. The Alexander brand is strong. And the negativity thrown at Ford would be enormous, just as it was this time around. Ford had seven negative ads running against him at one time."

"I think it's accurate to say all options are on the table and no options are off," the adviser continues. "It's unlikely that he would challenge Lamar, but it's possible. He doesn't know what he wants to do."

A CNN talk show is also a possibility. On the morning after Ford's defeat on Election Day, CNN contacted Ford to explore the possibility of his becoming a talk show host, according to a source familiar with the discussions. "CNN's talent division contacted him three times before 10 A.M.," the source says. (A CNN spokesperson couldn't immediately be reached for comment.)

Ford is 36 years old.

A glance at PM election stories shows voters are coming out in record numbers, at least in states with tight races:

Virginia: "A state elections official says reports from around Virginia early Tuesday indicated an extraordinarily high turnout for a midterm election- with perhaps 65 percent of registered voters expected to cast ballots. That would double the midterm turnout in 2002." (AP)

Missouri: "Election officials raced across St. Louis to deliver additional voting machines as exceptionally high turnout at many polling places led to long lines and short tempers. . . . 'We've never had this kind of turnout -- ever,' St. Louis Board of Election Supervisors Matt Potter said[.]" (WSJ)

Montana: “'The line for late registration is a good hour wait,' Missoula County Clerk and Recorder Vickie Zeier said at 1:15 p.m. Tuesday. 'There are so many people, it’s unbelievable.' . . . Elsewhere in Missoula County, polling places were reporting heavy traffic." (Missoulian)

Tennessee : "Even in rainy Tennessee, officials are noting a nearly 50 percent jump in turnout over the 2002 midterms." (AP)

Is the Tennessee Senate race really over? The newest polls show the race evening out, and the behavior of the parties themselves show continuing suspense about it. Going into the home stretch of a campaign, you can tell a lot about the parties' priorities by where they send their big guns. Yesterday, both Corker and Ford held rallies featuring some considerable starpower: Bob Corker's rally featured John McCain, while Harold Ford Jr. brought in Barack Obama. So apparently the Dems think an appearance by Obama could potentially fire up supporters to win the race, while the Corker campaign felt the need to bring in McCain to secure their current lead.

The campaign of Dem Harold Ford, Jr., is claiming that a U.S.A. Today poll will soon show that the race with GOP candidate Bob Corker is approaching a dead-heat race, with Ford trailing by a statistically insignificant three points. The U.S.A. Today numbers aren't yet online but were sent out in a press release by the Ford campaign. The U.S.A. Today poll will show Corker up 49%-46%, the Ford camp says, adding that the poll has a margin of error of plus or minus 5 points. We'll bring you the U.S.A. Today poll as soon as it's available. We don't know how significant this poll is, given recent independent polls showing a Corker lead, but we're passing it along for your enjoyment and edification, anyway.

"Bimbo"-gate has claimed its first casualty. Terry Nelson, the top-flight GOP consultant who was political director of Bush-Cheney 2004, has lost his gig as a consultant to Wal-Mart because of his role in helping produce the "bimbo" ad targeting Dem Harold Ford, Jr. Nelson had been hired a month ago by Wal-Mart to help the company develop its new voter-registration drive, but because of Nelson's role in producing the racially-charged ad, Wal-Mart found itself targeted by severe criticism from Jesse Jackson and others who demanded that the company fire Nelson. Wal-Mart media relations director David Tovar just issued a statement saying that Nelson had "sent a letter to Wal-Mart ending its working relationship with our company. We believe this is the right course of action." Moral: It's not good for business to attach your name to ads like the "bimbo" spot.

Wal-Mart is refusing to comment on reports that the company has decided to ax GOP consultant Terry Nelson for helping to produce the RNC's controversial "bimbo" ad. Wal-Mart hired Nelson last month to help with its new voter registration drive. After news broke that Nelson, who was political director for Bush-Cheney '04, was a key producer of "bimbo," Jesse Jackson and an anti-Wal-Mart union group yesterday demanded that the company fire Nelson to prove it doesn't tolerate racism. Today the Huffington Post claimed that Wal-Mart has decided to toss Nelson, a report which is also circulating in Tennessee political circles. In a phone interview, Election Central gave Wal-Mart spokesman Dave Tovar several chances to deny that Nelson was getting fired; each time, he declined to comment. Stay tuned.

Here's some news likely to give rise to more bitter recriminations in the already-white-hot race between GOPer Bob Corker and Dem Harold Ford, Jr. A story just posted over at the Jewish Daily Forward says that the Tennessee GOP has sent out a flyer which says across the top: "Vote early to preserve your way of life." The recipient of the flyer, Rabbi Louis Zivic of Knoxville’s Heska Amuna Synagogue, tells the paper that he sees it as a "subtle message," adding: "I think this is all pitched sub rosa to people who have a tendency to be discriminatory." As the Forward puts it, "in earlier decades, some white leaders used similar language in opposing civil rights for blacks." More after the jump.

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The now infamous RNC "bimbo" ad has sparked plenty of controversy in the US for its possible racial undertones, but it's making waves in Canada for another reason. Canadian ambassador Michael Wilson called the Bush admnistration Wednesday to complain about a line in the ad that insults Canada as a foreign policy freeloader. “Canada can take care of North Korea," an actor in the ad declares. "They're not busy." Speaking to the Canadian Press, another Canadian official pointed out that Canada was busy in US-led wars, reminding "Republicans that Canada is playing an active role in rebuilding Afghanistan."

Okay, so we have a bit more for you on that "jungle drums" radio ad by GOP candidate Bob Corker we reported on below: The Corker campaign is trying to knock down the charges that the ads are "racist," as a radio producer in Tennessee told us yesterday. The suggestion that the ad is racially coded had also come up on at least one Tennessee talk show. But now the Associated Press reports:

The Corker campaign said it was preposterous to suggest the radio spot had a coded racial message. The same music, with drums, appears in a Corker TV commercial that doesn't mention Ford.

But does it? More after the jump.

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Okay, so we have a bit more for you on that "jungle drums" ad we reported on yesterday: The Corker campaign is trying to knock down the charges made by radio talk show hosts and a radio producer in Tennessee who suggest the ads are "racist." The Associated Press reports:

The Corker campaign said it was preposterous to suggest the radio spot had a coded racial message. The same music, with drums, appears in a Corker TV commercial that doesn't mention Ford.

But does it? More after the jump.

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At least two Tennessee stations are refusing to run a new Republican National Committee ad attacking Dem Harold Ford, Jr., saying that they want more factual documentation of the ads from the RNC before running them, a Ford senior adviser, Tom Lee, has told Election Central. The new ad, called "Shaky," is the ad the RNC has designated to replace its controversial "bimbo" ad, which came off the air today. The stations' rejection of the RNC's new ad comes after the bimbo spot generated days of controversy amid charges that it was trying to play on fears of interracial sex. More after the jump.

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Okay, so Election Central has just obtained a radio ad which you've got to hear: It actually has what sounds like tom-tom drums playing in the background every time the ad talks about Dem Harold Ford, Jr. The ad -- which says it was paid for by the campaign of GOP Senate candidate Bob Corker -- can be heard right here. When the ad mentions Corker, the music soars and no tom-toms are audible. Throughout the entire minute-long ad, you hear the rumble of tom-toms every time Ford is mentioned. This ad, keep in mind, quotes Bob Corker himself as having "approved" the message -- meaning it wasn't the work of the Republican National Committee, as in the case of the recent "bimbo" TV ad which drew charges of racism. More after the jump.

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Okay, so here's a bit more on the Republican National Committee's "bimbo" ad targeting Dem Harold Ford, Jr., which you can view in all its lowbrow glory right here. As noted below, Ken Mehlman defended the ad today on MSNBC, saying he doesn't "have the authority" to get it pulled down. But we checked in with election law expert David Donnelly of the nonpartisan Public Campaign Action Fund, and he says that Mehlman's argument is "weak." More after the jump.

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By now you may have seen this exceptionally tasteful Republican National Committee ad attacking Dem Harold Ford, Jr., in which a somewhat, shall we say, crass looking young woman says: "I met Harold at the Playboy Party!"

Harold Ford, Jr's newest ad,"Big Issue," places Iraq at centerstage in this key Senate race. Opening with footage of GOP opponent Bob Corker declaring to "stay the course" juxtaposed over images of violence in Iraq, Ford uses the recently declassified National Intelligence Estimate -- it's first appearance in a campaign ad that we've seen -- to aggressively argue that "America should always be strong, but we've got to be smart and honest too. We need a new direction to win this fight." Check out the video here.

Dem Rep. Harold Ford, Jr. blasted Republican Bob Corker in a press conference today for denying in Saturday's debate that he had ever advocated "staying the course" in Iraq. "There’s nothing wrong with changing your mind," Ford said. "But to make the point that you didn’t say something when you did say it, suggests there is not a seriousness to how you calculate this things.” Todd Womack, a spokesman for Corker, backpedaled for his boss, admitting to the Chattanooga Free Times that Corker had used the words "stay the course" before, but had "never described that as maintaining the status quo.” The Ford Report, a partisan TN blog, quickly found three past instances of Corker saying the US should "stay the course" in Iraq. Ford intends to press the issue further in a debate tonight at the University of Tennessee-Chattanooga.

In Republican Bob Corker's latest ad "Record," a chorus of Chattanoogans heap praise on him for his performance as mayor, testifying that he "transformed our city" and "never let us down." On it's face it's a pretty effective positive ad with nary a mention of Corker's Dem opponent, Rep. Harold Ford Jr. But it does have one problem: not everyone in the ad is actually from Chattanooga. Though the ad begins with a woman declaring "We're from Chattanooga," the AP reports that some of the speakers in the ad are actually from outlying towns with their own mayors. So, in other words, Bob Corker wasn't their hometown mayor. Check the ad out here.

As we told you yesterday, Dem Rep. Harold Ford Jr. has a new ad slamming GOP opponent Bob Corker for "freezing the pay of Chattanooga’s police and firefighters." Calling it "100 percent verifiably false," the Corker campaign was quick to dispute the ad. So, the Nashville City Paper examined the city budget ordinances for Chattanooga during the years Corker was mayor, only to find that the pay of police officers and firefighters had increased each year Corker served. Sorry Mr. Ford, but it seems some smears are just too good to be true.

Harold Ford Jr.'s newest add spoofs "Lifestyles of the Rich and Famous" to highlight Republican Bob Corker's tremendous personal wealth. "Bob Corker lives in a 30 room mansion, is worth over $200 million, and owns six SUVs," says the announcer in an upbeat tone parodying "Lifestyles" host Robin Leach. "As Mayor, he took three pay increases, while freezing the pay of Chattanooga's police and firefighters...As Senator, who do you think he'll look out for?" View the ad here.

In another sign that Dem Harold Ford Jr. has a real shot at beating GOP candidate Bob Corker for Senator Bill Frist's seat, CQ has just changed its rating of the race from "Leans Republican" to "No Clear Favorite":

[C]andidates’ campaigns matter. And the consensus among state and national politics watchers is that Ford, since the primary, has run a much more effective campaign than Corker, who has faced some dissent among staunch GOP conservatives and repeated allegations launched by Ford and other Democrats about his actions as mayor and his personal financial dealings...

Nonetheless, the balance in this up-for-grabs race likely will be decided by whether Ford can win enough voters with his self-portrayal as a Democratic moderate — or if Corker’s conservative message has more appeal in a state that just two years ago gave 57 percent of its presidential votes to Bush.

“One of the things [Corker] hasn’t demonstrated yet is that he has the candidate skills that Ford has,” said [political scientist Bruce] Oppenheimer. But Oppenheimer added that charisma isn’t everything. “Is that enough to offset a 10-point Republican lean in the state?” he asked.

CQ's full analysis here.

Dem Senate candidate Harold Ford Jr. is slamming GOP opponent Bob Corker as a "wimp" for refusing to debate him. Ford yesterday encouraged Corker to add a Knoxville debate to three that are already scheduled, but Corker demurred. "We're the Volunteer State; we're not the wimp state," Ford told the Associated Press. "And he's behaving more like a wimp than like a Volunteer."