It's unclear if national Democrats are enthusiastic about Sherzan this time, and the Iowa Starting Line's Pat Rynard says he isn't well known in local Democratic circles. Veteran and 2014 4th District nominee Jim Mowrer has been running here for months, and Rynard notes that Mowrer has a good relationship with local activists. Businessman Desmund Adams is also running, but he's raised very little money. The filing deadline isn't until March, so this primary has a bit more time to develop. Ex-Gov. Chet Culver recently reaffirmed that he's interested, though Culver gave no indication when he expects to decide.
We've seen very few recent polls here. A May PPP survey found McCain beating Kirkpatrick just 42-36, while Gravis had him up 48-35 in August. A November Behavior Research Center poll also had McCain up 37-31. We'll just need to wait for more fresh numbers to give us a better idea how strong McCain is for November.
Looking for a good way to keep track of who's who in Louisiana's fledgling Senate race? Our own Daniel Donner has put together a visual scorecard keeping track of who is in and who still might run. The filing deadline for Louisiana's jungle primary is in July, so it may take a little while for things to sort themselves out.
● MD-Sen: EMILY's List is out with their second TV spot for their $1 million ad campaign on behalf of Democratic Rep. Donna Edwards. This spot starts with a clip of an Edwards speech where she calls for helping working families. The narrator then highlights Edwards' humble origins and promises that she'll stand up to special interests. The message is good, but this feels like another ad that tries to cram too many ideas into 30 seconds. Edwards faces fellow Rep. Chris Van Hollen in the April primary.
Gubernatorial:
● MO-Gov: While retired Navy SEAL Eric Greitens is working hard to portray himself as a reliable conservative ahead of the crowded GOP primary, his foes aren't going to hesitate to remind voters that national Democrats tried to recruit him for a 2010 House race. Ex-DCCC head Steve Israel also has no interest in making Greitens' life easier, and he recently told Politico that Greitens "was totally in line with Democratic values. I thought he was a progressive breath of fresh air." Expect to see that quote in a primary ad or two.
House:
● CA-17: Democratic Rep. Mike Honda has picked up endorsements from the mayors of Fremont, Newark, Santa Clara, and Sunnyvale, which together make up a significant portion of this seat. Honda faces a rematch with fellow Democrat Ro Khanna, whom Honda narrowly defeated in 2014.
● FL-05: An advisor to Democratic Rep. Corrine Brown recently said on the record that the congresswoman was preparing to run for the Orlando-area 10th District rather than in the 5th, where her Jacksonville base is located. Brown herself hasn't announced what she'll do yet, but a number of Jacksonville Democrats are now saying that they'll take a serious look at running for FL-05 if the incumbent isn't there.
Ex-state Sen. Tony Hill declared that while he'll defer to Brown, he'll give running in the 5th District "every consideration" if she goes elsewhere. State Rep. Mia Jones also says she'll "seriously consider a run for CD5" as long as Brown isn't running there. State Sen. Audrey Gibson is also letting it be known that people are encouraging her to run for an open seat, while Hill name-dropped state Rep. Reggie Fullwood as a possible candidate. Tallahassee Democrats aren't being so accommodating toward Brown, who has minimal name recognition in the area. Ex-state Sen. Al Lawson recently kicked off his campaign for this seat, and Tallahassee Mayor Andrew Gillum says he'll decide if he'll run after the holidays.
● FL-09: Susannah Randolph, the former district director to departing Democratic Rep. Alan Grayson, has picked up an endorsement from Rep. Lois Frankel. Frankel, who represents a South Florida seat, has little pull with voters in this Orlando-area seat, but Randolph won't complain if Frankel can help her make inroads with donors.
● FL-26: While businesswoman Annette Taddeo has had the Democratic primary to herself all year long, Andrew Korge, the son of a prominent Democratic fundraiser, and ex-Rep. Joe Garcia have both made noises about running here. Taddeo recently picked up endorsements from South Florida Reps. Alcee Hastings and Lois Frankel, which could be an attempt to deter Korge and Garcia. The winner will face Republican Rep. Carlos Curbelo in a redrawn Miami-area seat that Obama carried 55-44.
● IL-10: Ex-Rep. Brad Schneider has landed an endorsement from the influential SEIU Illinois State Council. Schneider needs to get past Highland Park Mayor Nancy Rotering in the March 15 Democratic primary for the right to take on Republican Rep. Bob Dold.
● IN-02: On Wednesday Lynn Coleman, who served as the investigation division chief for the South Bend police, announced that he would challenge Republican Rep. Jackie Walorski. Local Democrats sound excited about Coleman, but there's no doubt that this will be a challenging race. While she ran in 2012 with the nickname "Wacky Jackie," Walorski has been a low-key House member, and she even aired ads in 2014 portraying herself as a bipartisan legislator. Romney carried this seat 56-42.
● KY-01: While Democratic state Sen. Dorsey Ridley said he was close to jumping in back in October, he's announced that he won't be running after all. Romney carried this open Western Kentucky seat 66-32, and Matt Bevin's surprisingly large win in last month's gubernatorial race ended pretty much any hope Team Blue had about scoring a pickup here. The GOP primary pits outgoing state Agriculture Commissioner James Comer against Michael Pape, a former top aide to retiring Rep. Ed Whitfield; Hickman County Attorney Jason Batts is also in the mix.
● MD-06: Rep. John Delaney is far from an outspoken liberal (a few months ago, he penned a Washington Post piece warning that "the last thing we need is a left-wing version of the tea party"), but the wealthy incumbent would not be easy to unseat in a Democratic primary. However, ex-Montgomery County Councilor Duchy Trachtenberg has filed with the FEC to run for this seat, though Trachtenberg has said nothing publicly yet. Trachtenberg ran for this seat in 2012, but she dropped out after a recurrence of breast cancer. Two years earlier, organized labor helped unseat her in the Democratic primary when she sought re-election to the county council. Trachtenberg tried to win back a seat on the council last year, but she lost the Democratic primary 79-21. Obama won the 6th 55-43, and it should stay blue in a presidential year. (Hat-tip Politics1)
● OH-14: While Romney won this suburban Cleveland seat only 51-48, Democrats haven't made any noise about targeting Republican Rep. David Joyce. However, retired Ashtabula County Judge Alfred Mackey filed with the state to run here. Mackey left the bench last year after he turned 70 and hit the mandatory age limit. Joyce is a strong fundraiser, and Mackey has a lot to prove if he wants to give him a tough race. Mackey will face 2014 nominee Michael Wager, who got crushed 66-33 last year. For his part, Joyce will face a primary challenge from ex-state Rep. Matt Lynch, a tea partier whom Joyce beat 55-45 in 2014.
Mayoral:
● Milwaukee, WI Mayor: It's been a while since we heard from Democratic Mayor Tom Barrett, who lost two gubernatorial races to Republican Scott Walker. At the beginning of the month, Barrett kicked off his bid for a fourth term as the head of Wisconsin's largest city. Two aldermen, Joe Davis and Robert Donovan, have announced that they'll oppose him, and they're arguing that the mayor has ignored the problems of the city's struggling areas, especially at a time when homicides are on the rise. All the candidates will compete in a Feb. 16 non-partisan primary and the top two vote-getters will advance to the April 5 general.
● Portland, OR Mayor: After Mayor Charlie Hales pulled the plug on his re-election campaign in October, Multnomah County Commissioner Jules Bailey entered the race to replace him. Bailey's main opponent is state Treasurer Ted Wheeler, a fellow Democrat, and Bailey is out with a new poll giving himself a small edge in the May non-partisan primary. The Patinkin Research Strategies poll shows Bailey leading 38-35, with 26 percent undecided. If no one takes a majority in May, the top two contenders will advance to the November general.
Grab Bag:
● Where Are They Now: If ex-Rep. Charlie Melancon feels a tinge of jealousy for Democratic Gov.-elect John Bel Edwards, who did in November what Melancon couldn't do in 2010 by defeating Republican David Vitter, he's not showing it. Melancon has been named secretary of the Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries by Edwards.
The Daily Kos Elections Morning Digest is compiled by David Nir and Jeff Singer, with additional contributions from David Jarman, Steve Singiser, Daniel Donner, and Stephen Wolf.