Congressional Elections

Thomas E. Perez, whose nomination to the nation's top civil rights post was held up for more than six months by Republican opposition, won Senate confirmation Tuesday. Full Story »

It’s a question few in the Senate will ask aloud but one that’s creeping into the chamber’s collective consciousness: What happens to Democrats if Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid really does get knocked off in the 2010 midterm elections? Full Story »

The Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee was eager Tuesday to talk about its recruiting successes for Republican-held and open-seat Senate races. Full Story »

The National Republican Congressional Committee is going after New York congressional candidate Bill Owens in an ad campaign begun a day after the Democrat started introducing himself to special election voters. Full Story »

Seizing on an issue that has been trumpeted by conservative media, Republican congressional leaders have launched an all-out campaign to choke off any federal dollars from going to ACORN, the scandal-plagued anti-poverty group. Full Story »

Scott P. Brown, one of the handful of Republicans in the Massachusetts Senate, announced Saturday afternoon that he is a candidate for the state's vacant U.S. Senate seat. And his bid for the GOP nomination received a boost late Friday night when Andrew Card -- former chief of staff to President George W. Bush -- revealed that he will not run in the upcoming special election to replace the late Democratic Sen. Edward M. Kennedy. Full Story »

Imagine power companies spending millions of dollars on ads in the run-up to the 2010 midterm elections accusing congressmen who supported climate change legislation of trying to increase electric rates and urging votes against them, or unions buying airtime to support primary challenges to conservative Democratic senators who opposed the labor-backed Employee Free Choice Act. Full Story »

LAS VEGAS – Sue Lowden plans to step down from her position running Nevada’s Republican Party, a sign that she’s preparing to challenge Majority Leader Harry Reid in next year’s Senate race. Full Story »

CHICAGO — After two terrible elections when independent voters turned away from the GOP and the party lost control of the White House and the Senate, Republicans finally have a little spring back in their step thanks to a health care debate that has done more to cool off Obama-mania and reignite the conservative base than even most of its leaders had hoped. Full Story »

Sen. Susan Collins announced Tuesday that she would become the fourth Senate Republican to support Sonia Sotomayor's nomination to the Supreme Court.  Full Story »

Former comedian Al Franken became the junior senator from Minnesota Tuesday, taking his oath of office eight months after Election Day and officially giving Democrats a 60-seat supermajority unseen since the Carter administration. Full Story »

Republican Norm Coleman has conceded to Democrat Al Franken in the Minnesota Senate race, ending one of the longest Senate races in American history and clearing the way for Democrats to hold a 60-seat supermajority in the Senate. Full Story »

Sen. John Ensign acknowledged Tuesday that he had an affair with a campaign staffer — an admission that stunned his colleagues, hurt his chances for the 2012 Republican presidential nomination and called into question his future as a leader of the Senate GOP. Full Story »

Conservative Sen. Jim DeMint’s backing of Marco Rubio in the Florida Senate race is the latest salvo in an internal Republican struggle over who will lead the way in salvaging the GOP’s damaged brand. Full Story »

A routine Senate Judiciary Committee meeting descended into a proxy battle over Supreme Court nominee Sonia Sotomayor, with Democrats and Republicans trading sharp attacks on how the nomination has been handled. Full Story »

Creigh Deeds, a longtime state senator from rural Virginia, crushed two opponents Tuesday to win the Democratic nomination for governor in the race this fall — a contest that will draw national attention as an early indicator of how Democrats are faring in the Obama era.  Full Story »

Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Pat Leahy’s move to set a July 13 start date for Sonia Sotomayor’s Supreme Court nomination hearings has infuriated Republicans, who are threatening to slow walk every step of the confirmation so they can have more time to dig through her judicial and personal history. Full Story »

Seven months after Minnesota's Senate election, the state's highest court hasn't reached a decision but election law experts agree: Norm Coleman doesn’t have a prayer. Full Story »