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9:50 AM PT: Jesus:
#Breaking: Democratic Reps. Mike McIntyre (N.C.) and Carolyn McCarthy (N.Y.) are retiring, according to multiple Democratic sources.
— @politico
11:19 AM PT: Special Elections: Johnny Longtorso recaps Tuesday night's action:
Iowa HD-25: Republican Stan Gustafson defeated Democrat Pam Deichmann 70-30 to hold this seat for the Republicans.
Massachusetts House, 9th Norfolk: This was an easy Republican hold: Shawn Dooley pulled in 61 percent of the vote, while independent Chris Timson came in second with 21 percent. Democrat Ed McCormick brought up the rear with 18 percent.
Virginia SD-06: It's déjà vu all over again, with another Virginia election headed to a likely recount. Democrat Lynwood Lewis led Republican Wayne Coleman by a 22-vote margin on election night, with all precincts reporting, but fell to 18 on Wednesday.
Virginia HD-11: This ended up being a landslide: Democrat Sam Rasoul crushed Republican Octavia Johnson by a 70-30 margin.
Lewis's edge in Virginia's 6th Senate District—an all-important hold for Democrats—is well within the half-a-percent margin that would allow Coleman to seek a recount at state expense. However, a recount is unlikely to change matters much, since all of the jurisdictions within the district use electronic voting machines. More important will be the recanvass of machine tallies to check for errors, and the counting of provisional ballots, all of which should take place this week.
11:33 AM PT: CA-04: Too bad: Just a day after his name first surfaced as a possible candidate to take on GOP Rep. Tom McClintock, veteran TV newsman Walt Gray says a bid for office is "not something that I can see doing".
11:41 AM PT: Both McCarthy and McIntyre have issued statements confirming their retirements.
11:50 AM PT: PA-Gov: Hahah!
12:00 PM PT: MI-Gov: Democratic ex-Rep. Mark Schauer will participate in Michigan's public funding system for the state's Aug. 5 primary, meaning he can collect up to $1 million in matching funds but will be limited to spending $2 million through primary day. Schauer hasn't yet said whether he'll also accept public funds for the general election, though if he does, he isn't likely to face a similar spending cap there. That's because such caps are waived if an opponent self-funds over $340,000, and wealthy Republican Gov. Rick Snyder will probably do so. (He spent $6 million of his own money in 2010.)
12:05 PM PT: NJ-Sen: State Senate Minority Leader Tom Kean, Jr., who lost a bid for Senate in 2006, says he won't challenge Democratic Sen. Cory Booker this fall. Former FBI agent Robert Turkavage says he's considering a bid, though, and two other Republicans—Assemblyman Jon Bramnick and state Sen. Michael Doherty—are also both reportedly looking at the race.
12:16 PM PT: PA-06: One more Democratic name is now in the mix for Pennsylvania's suddenly open 6th District: Montgomery County Commissioner Leslie Richards, who says she is "seriously considering" a bid. The DCCC confirms that they've spoken to Richards, but I wouldn't read too much into it, since the committee says they've also talked to "several other people," including businessman Mike Parrish, who's already declared. More importantly, Richards says that EMILY's List has approached her as well, though at least one other pro-choice woman is looking at a bid, state Sen. Judy Schwank.
12:25 PM PT: IA-03: Emily Cahn takes a stroll through the field of potential candidates for Iowa's open 3rd District and finds both sides lacking. Republicans fret that the most prominent candidate to express interest so far, Secretary of State Matt Schultz, is a weak fundraiser, and other options have their own flaws. Democrats, meanwhile, may not find anyone stronger than ex-state Sen. Staci Appel, who was already running before Rep. Tom Latham announced his retirement. One alternative is state Sen. Matt McCoy, but he was indicted for attempted extortion in 2007, though a jury ultimately found him not guilty.
12:56 PM PT: CA-35/31: San Bernardino County Supervisor Gary Ovitt announced earlier this week that he won't seek a third term, and while ordinarily this isn't the sort of race we'd cover at Daily Kos Elections, Ovitt's decision may have congressional implications. That's because Democratic Rep. Gloria Negrete McLeod has been mentioned as a possible successor, even though she's only in her first term in the House. But unnamed sources claim she "isn't interested in another term in Congress," and for several years she's maintained a campaign account for the 2014 supervisor's race which has over $900,000 sitting in it.
If Negrete McLeod does go for the supervisor seat, that might inspire ex-Rep. Joe Baca, the fellow Democrat she defeated in 2012, to switch back to the 35th District. Baca initially sought a rematch against Negrete McLeod this cycle but later decided to run in the 31st, where several other Democrats are also hoping to unseat GOP Rep. Gary Miller. Baca's fundraising's been poor, though, and the establishment has spurned his comeback attempt, so an open (and safely blue) 35th might be more tempting. However, it would also be appealing to other Democrats in the area, too.
1:01 PM PT: NH-Sen: The Senate Majority PAC is spending $160,000 to air a new ad attacking Scott Brown as a carpetbagging tool of Wall Street who is "shopping for a Senate seat in New Hampshire." The spot also repeatedly refers to him as the "senator from Massachusetts." (Amusingly, it's titled "#Bqhatevwr.") Presumably SMP is trying to dissuade Brown from a bid in the Granite State—or they expect him to run and want to tarnish him early.
1:25 PM PT: TX-Sen: A pro-John Cornyn super PAC called Texans for a Conservative Majority is airing a new TV ad slamming Cornyn's GOP primary opponent, Rep. Steve Stockman, as an ethical miscreant. There's no word on the size of the buy, though, and in Texas, you'd better spend plenty if you want anyone to see your advertisements.
1:33 PM PT: The biggest Democratic name who could potentially succeed McCarthy is Nassau County District Attorney Kathleen Rice, who considered but ultimately declined a bid against GOP Rep. Peter King in NY-02 last cycle. Roll Call also mentions two possible Republican options: state Sen. Jack Martins and Hempstead Councilman Anthony Santino. (And if Martins were to run, that could open up a third pickup opportunity for Democrats on Long Island, since his 7th District seat went for Obama 54-45.)
1:59 PM PT: NC-07: New Hanover County Commissioner Chair Woody White, who had been considering a bid for the GOP nomination, says he's in.
2:07 PM PT: The state elections board will meet on Friday to certify the election results, at which point the trailing candidate can request a recount.
2:19 PM PT: 4Q Fundraising:
• LA-Sen: Mary Landrieu (D-inc): $1.4 million raised, $6.4 million cash-on-hand
• KS-Gov: Paul Davis (D): $1 million raised (in last four months), $771,000 cash-on-hand
• ID-02: Mike Simpson (R-inc): $430,000 raised
• MT-AL: John Lewis (D): $200,000 raised, $330,000 cash-on-hand
3:06 PM PT (Taniel): SD-06: Lynwood Lewis's lead shrunk by half Wednesday as counties completed their recanvass. As of 6pm ET Wednesday, Lewis was up by 10 votes (0.04%) in the Board of Election's count, down from 22 last night. All but one of the 56 precincts have completed their recanvass: Remains the Tangier Island precinct in Accomack County, a heavily Republican precinct (it voted for Coleman 166 votes to 7 votes). The boat carrying voting equipment and printouts has been stuck because of ice! We also know of two remaining provisional ballots, also in Accomack.
In any case, the race is likely to head to a recount. During the December recount of the Attorney General race, the 5 counties that make up this district combined to add 11 votes to Mark Obenshain's total, and 10 votes to Mark Herring's total—and only part of some of these counties is even contained in SD-06.