House and Senate Roundup: It's Predator Time! Again!

KY-Sen: This race just got significantly more interesting, though I can't promise it will be better for Democratic candidate Bruce Lunsford.

We've got a bona-fide action hero (and adult-film actor) lining up a Senate bid in Kentucky. He is former gubernatorial candidate Sonny Landham, star of such films as "48 Hours" and "Predator", and current Libertarian candidate.

Now 67 and living in northeastern Kentucky, the man who played Billy Bear in "48 Hours" and was killed by an alien in "Predator" admits his action-movie days are behind him. "I think I'm having wild action when I take two aspirin with my hot chocolate at night," he quipped.

You laugh now, but two other stars from "Predator" had moderately successful political careers, those being Governors Arnold Schwarzenegger and Jesse Ventura.

Landham appears...well, relatively serious, anyway. He's not a fan of Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, referring to him as "Boss Hogg".

He's not quoted very good odds, but it's thought that he presents more of a threat to McConnell than his Democratic opponent, Bruce Lunsford:

Political scientist Michael Baranowski, of Northern Kentucky University, predicted minimal impact on the Senate race, though Landham could take some votes from McConnell.

"I'm not sure which is more of a hurdle for Landham, being a former porn actor or being a Libertarian Party candidate," he said. "But if the race between McConnell and Lunsford is tight enough, the votes Landham pulls from McConnell might be critical."

You gotta love the spoilers.

Landham is as blunt on issues as he is skewering rivals. He equates abortion with murder. He supports scrapping the North American Free Trade Agreement. As for political correctness, he said, "PC is BS. Say what you mean, mean what you say."

Moellman said such unscripted frankness will grab voter attention.

"Sonny is very upfront," he said. "You ask Sonny a question, he'll tell you the answer. He isn't going to pull any punches, which is why I know this race is going to be a lot of fun."

I couldn't agree more.

MN-Sen: You have got to be kidding me, Norm Coleman. You have got to be kidding me.

Note that this is only a web video. Thank goodness for small mercies.

TX-Sen: "Big John" has become a phenomenon, having now made it all the way to The Daily Show.

He gets to Big John about 1:20 in.

Big Joooooooohn! Big Bad John!

OR-Sen: Because it bears repeating: Gordon Smith is shameless.

Note well: Barack Obama supports Jeff Merkley for Senate. As one would imagine.

Also, how long and how convoluted can the "I approve this message" disclaimer actually get before it enters the realm of ridiculousness?

NH-Sen: Prior to Friday's Clinton/Obama Unity event in Unity, NH, Michelle Obama and Jeanne Shaheen will campaign together in Manchester.

For those of you who remember the controversial December comments from Billy Shaheen, Jeanne's husband, regarding Barack Obama, it's nice to know that there is no lasting bitterness.

GA-Sen: With the primary coming up, Roll Call has an article about one of the longest of long-shot Senate races for Democrats, the race in Georgia.

While Republicans might scoff at the notion that it could become anything close to an actual race this November, Democrats in Georgia say that they are serious about giving Sen. Saxby Chambliss (R) a credible challenger this cycle.

But although the Democratic primary is now less than three weeks away, which of the five Democratic candidates will take on Chambliss probably will not be known until early August.

The frontrunners are probably DeKalb County CEO Vernon Jones and former state Rep. Jim Martin, although with five candidates in the race, it's conceivable that pretty much anyone could make the almost inevitable runoff election.

I like Martin pretty well, but I have to say, I wish we'd had a real super-powered top-tier candidate against the odious Saxby Chambliss.

House Races

NC-10: Unreal. In North Carolina's 10th, an R+15 district, Republican incumbent Patrick McHenry is under 50% in his battle for reelection against a surprisingly tenacious Democratic opponent, Daniel Johnson. McHenry leads Johnson 49% to 38%, according to Public Policy Polling.

McHenry, 33, is one of the most reliably partisan right-wing hacks in the game, and one of the most controversial. Of late, he got in hot water for posting video of a rocket attack in the Green Zone:

The battle over a video of a Baghdad rocket attack escalated Friday when Rep. Patrick McHenry's GOP opponent called for a federal investigation of the congressman's posting of it on the Web.

Republican Lance Sigmon's call for a probe came a week after the Pentagon told McHenry not to re-air the video, which he shot in Baghdad during a March trip. It showed McHenry standing in the fortified Green Zone gesturing to a building behind him and saying that one of 11 rockets "hit just over my head."

McHenry took the video off his Web site two weeks ago. But it was still accessible elsewhere on the Internet on Friday.

"It is imperative for the people of this nation ... to know if a U.S. congressman exploited an attack on our military to impress voters back home," Sigmon said in a statement. He added that an investigation would determine whether the posting "endangered American lives."

Johnson is a former Senate staffer, a graduate of the University of North Carolina and UNC Law School, and a Navy veteran who lost both legs below the knee, saving a crewmate's life in 1999. His candidacy has made enough people take notice that despite the staunchly Republican nature of the district (which has not elected a Democrat since 1962), the DCCC has added NC-10 to its list of emerging races.  

NY-13: Well, we still have no freakin' idea who the GOP candidate will be to replace Vito Fossella in the star-crossed 13th District, following the passing of the late Frank Powers.

A few new names have surfaced for the Republicans, most prominently former Assemblyman Matthew Mirones. Mirones is wealthy, and has a name-rec advantage from his days in the State Assembly.

The big drawback is that he's had issues with the local GOP in the past:

"He completely disappeared after he retired," he said, "and he had some negative stuff to say about people in the party."

Mirones was believed to be irked that he was passed over by the GOP for a shot at Republican John Marchi's state Senate seat.

Mirones also clashed with party leaders on other political matters.

"I'm not saying anyone's closing anything out," the Republican continued. "But Matthew would have to rebuild things to a comfort level that does not exist right now."

Staten Island GOP leaders have looked at a number of options so far, the most radical of which is to actually endorse Democrat Michael McMahon. They won't do that, but the fact that it has even been rumored indicates the struggle they face to keep this seat in Republican hands.

Update: Crisitunity reports that Mirones is out. The GOP can't get a break here for love or money.