Congressional Elections

WASHINGTON (AFP) - Barack Obama surpassed Hillary Clinton for the first time Saturday in the fight for the all-important superdelegates whose votes will be decisive in choosing the Democratic party's White House nominee.

WASHINGTON - The American Federation of Government Employees endorsed Barack Obama Friday, giving the Illinois senator fresh momentum toward capturing the Democratic nomination for president.

WASHINGTON - Minnesota Sen. Norm Coleman — who quit the Democratic Party 12 years ago to become a Republican — has accused likely Democratic opponent Al Franken of changing positions, demeanor and rhetoric in his attempt to win a Senate seat.

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. - Florida's Democratic congressional delegation called on the national party Thursday to seat the state's delegation based on its January primary, and the state party is growing more hopeful that the campaigns will agree on a plan by the end of the month.

WEST POINT, Miss. - Democratic congressional candidate Travis Childers isn't afraid to get dirty to win.

COLUMBUS, Ohio - As a sex scandal involving Ohio's attorney general becomes the butt of national jokes, Democratic congressional candidates who will face the state's voters this fall are scrambling to distance themselves from him.

WASHINGTON (AFP) - Hillary Clinton's White House campaign chairman said Thursday the Democrats' bitter nominating race would be swiftly concluded in June and that she would back Barack Obama if he is the nominee.

WASHINGTON - The House on Thursday passed a massive homeowner rescue plan to provide cheaper, government-backed mortgages to half a million debt-ridden borrowers and bolster an economy crippled by the housing crisis.

CONCORD, N.H. - A former congressional candidate who was convicted of faking his own disappearance during the campaign will be released from jail but be subject to electronic monitoring for violating his bail conditions, his attorney said Wednesday.

ANCHORAGE, Alaska - A Democratic congressional candidate abruptly dropped out of the race Wednesday and said a former campaign worker was linked to an Internet smear aimed at a rival.

May 7 (Bloomberg) -- Former Senator George McGovern is switching his support for Hillary Clinton in this year's race for the Democratic presidential nomination to Barack Obama, and he urged her to drop her bid so the party can unify behind one candidate.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Veteran Democratic Party figure George McGovern dropped his support for Hillary Clinton on Wednesday and endorsed Barack Obama, saying the Illinois senator seemed certain to win the party's nomination for the November presidential election.

May 7 (Bloomberg) -- Former Senator George McGovern is switching his support for Hillary Clinton in this year's race for the Democratic presidential nomination to Barack Obama, and he urged her to drop her bid so that the party could unify behind one candidate.

RALEIGH, N.C. - Democratic primary races for the governors' offices in North Carolina and Indiana echoed the contests on the presidential level — one was over quickly, the other was down to the wire.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Barack Obama took a commanding lead in the Democratic presidential race on Wednesday, but Hillary Clinton said she would fight on after loaning her campaign $6.4 million to keep it alive.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The White House and Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid on Tuesday moved to break the deadlock at the Federal Election Commission, which had been without a ruling majority in a pivotal campaign year.

WASHINGTON - President Bush sent the Senate a new slate of Federal Election Commission nominees Tuesday, an attempt to break a Senate confirmation deadlock that was greeted coolly by the Democratic leader.

WASHINGTON - Don Cazayoux became Louisiana's newest Democratic congressman on Tuesday as Democrats celebrated their capture of a longtime Republican seat in the South.

WASHINGTON (AFP) - US President George W. Bush on Monday distanced himself from his confident prediction late last year that Senator Hillary Clinton would win the Democratic White House nomination.

Indiana Republican Rep. Dan Burton is as ensconced in the U.S.

NEW ORLEANS (Reuters) - A Louisiana Democrat won a special congressional election in a district held by Republicans for more than two decades, increasing her party's majority in the House of Representatives, results from the state showed on Sunday.

Democratic state Rep. Don Cazayoux scored a nationally significant takeover victory in Saturday's election to fill the vacant and formerly Republican-held seat in Louisiana's 6th Congressional District. A Democrat who projects a conservative image, Cazayoux scored a close but clear victory over Republican Woody Jenkins, a former state House member.

Republican presidential contender John McCain will be able to sufficiently distance himself from the unpopular president of his own party in the upcoming general election, according to a top adviser to the Arizona senator.

Even though election day isn't until Tuesday, North Carolina's primary has already drawn record turnout. While the Democratic presidential nomination contest will be the marquee event, the primary will also set the fields for the state's Senate and gubernatorial races, as well as several key House races.

The stakes are high in the hotly contested House special election that will be held May 13 in Mississippi's vacant 1st District -- and both parties' national House campaign units have ratcheted up their already expensive independent advertising campaigns backing the contenders: Democrat Travis Childers, the Prentiss County chancery clerk, and Republican Greg Davis, mayor of Southaven.

WASHINGTON (AFP) - The spotlight shines on an oft forgotten part of US territory this weekend when the tiny, remote Pacific island of Guam gets its chance to help make history in the US presidential campaign.

EAGAN, Minn. - Senate candidate Al Franken wants to talk about jobs, health care and global warming. Republican blogger Michael Brodkorb wants to talk about Franken's failure to pay all his income taxes on time.

INDIANAPOLIS - U.S. Rep. Andre Carson has barely had time to settle into his new office in Washington, but he might not want to get too comfortable.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - An election-year push in the U.S. Congress to clamp down on illegal immigration has stalled as concerns grow about the cost of verifying the status of millions of workers, a leading congressional Democrat said on Thursday.