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WHAT'S NEWS
- Pres. Obama will attend dinner with a dozen GOP senators on April 10 -- his second such event in about a month -- as he continues to ramp up his outreach out to Congress (Roll Call).
- MA SEN Special: Reps. Edward Markey (D) and Stephen Lynch (D) "tangled over Lynch's vote" against the Affordable Care Act in a televised debate (Boston Globe). Meanwhile, ex-Navy SEAL Gabriel Gomez (R) released his first TV ad, a bilingual spot touting his military service (AP).
- VA GOV '13: Ex-DNC Chair Terry McAuliffe (D) qualified for the Dem primary ballot after submitting nearly 36K signatures. AG Ken Cuccinelli (R), meanwhile, will be nominated at a statewide GOP convo on May 18 (Bristol Herald Courier).
- Boston Mayor '13: Mayor Tom Menino (D) will announce today that he will not seek a sixth term. City Councilor John Connolly (D), currently the only "major candidate" in the race, had vowed to run regardless of Menino's decision (Boston Globe).
- HI SEN: The League of Conservation Voters gave its earliest-ever endorsement to Sen. Brian Schatz (D), even as Rep. Colleen Hanabusa (D) has yet to make a decision about the race (Honolulu Civil Beat).
- KY SEN: Actress Ashley Judd (D) announced on Twitter that she will not mount a bid, shifting Dem focus to Sec/State Alison Lundergan Grimes (D) (On Call). Grimes "plans to file" for an exploratory cmte "as early as next week," according to "sources" (WHAS-TV). Meanwhile, Sen. Rand Paul (R) endorsed Senate Min. Leader Mitch McConnell (Daily Caller).
- NC SEN: Sen. Kay Hagan (D) announced her support for same-sex marriage, just four months after the state voted in favor of a constitutional ban on gay marriages (On Call).
- CO-03: Dems are recruiting state Sen. Gail Schwartz (D) and LG Joe Garcia (D) to challenge Rep. Scott Tipton (R) next year (On Call).
- KY-06: Businessman Joe Palumbo (D) said he is considering a bid after being approached by Dems to challenge freshman Rep. Andy Barr (R) (cn|2).
- SC GOV: '10 nominee Vincent Sheheen (D) is "in the midst of a three-week tour of the state promoting his book" and is "currently deciding if another campaign is in the best interests of both his family" and S.C. (Hilton Head Island Packet).
OUR CALL
Hotline editors weigh in on the stories that drive the day
? Tom Tancredo spoke up about Rep. Mike Coffman's moves on immigration, demonstrating the fundamental misunderstanding some in the GOP have about what Coffman et al are doing on immigration. Latinos vote Dem "because they want big government," not because of immigration, Tancredo argued, saying it's not worth trying to "mollify" the Hispanic community. But no one in the immigration reform wing of the GOP expects the party to suddenly start winning Hispanic majorities. They do, however, see a big, real opportunity to cut down their losing margins.
? The challenge for both sides of the VA GOV race is laid out in stark relief in yesterday's Quinnipiac poll. Currently, only 29% of voters view AG Ken Cuccinelli (R) as "too conservative," and even 25% of Democrats approve of the job he's doing. Democrats need to move these numbers, while Republicans need to maintain their advantage in another realm -- 44% of Virginians think the AG has the right experience to be governor, while only 28% say that of Terry McAuliffe (D).
? Menino's announcement isn't just the end of an era in Boston. It also means the Hub's open-seat mayoral race now has the potential to be one of the three most interesting political contests of 2013.
? The furor over Detroit's new emergency manager has sparked a backlash of locals not keen on being bossed around by an outsider -- but much of that outrage seems to directed at Jesse Jackson, who has staged rallies opposing the state takeover. No less than 10 Detroit Free Press letters to the editor Thursday called on Jackson to butt out, illustrating the tricky terrain Dems must navigate in fighting the EM while many of the locals whose rights they claim to be defending welcome a change from years of local government mismanagement.
HAIR OF THE DOG
"Dog left alone puts car into drive, hits pedestrian" (AP).
FRESH BREWED BUZZ
- An Orlando judge sentenced ex-FL GOP chair Jim Greer to "18 months in prison, followed by one year of probation" (Orlando Sentinel).
- "We pick a president with three general-election debates but it takes 20 debates to understand that maybe Ron Paul wants to blow up the Federal Reserve? Other important national questions are decided more expediently: it only takes 12 shows for The Bachelorette and The Bachelor to pick a mate" -- ex-Mitt Romney chief strategist Stuart Stevens, calling for fewer presidential primary debates in his debut Daily Beast column (Daily Beast).
- Sen. John McCain (R-AZ) on Wednesday witnessed a woman attempting to climb an 18 foot border fence "near where he and fellow senators were surveying the barrier wall" (CNN).
- "The administration remains committed to closing the detention facility at Guantanamo Bay" -- WH deputy press sec. Josh Earnest (BuzzFeed).
- Rep. Louie Gohmert (R-TX) "got into a late-night verbal altercation with U.S. Park Police officers earlier this month, pulling rank in an attempt to get out of a parking ticket near the Lincoln Memorial." Gohmert reportedly told the officers that "his congressional?parking placard allows him to park in that spot, and he?s on the committee that oversees the agency" (Politico).
- "She cursed just like anybody. I once told her, 'Jackie, there's a photographer behind your house,' and she'd say, 'That son of a bitch!'" -- hairdresser Edgar Montalvo, on first lady Jackie Onassis (New York Post).
- CA Gov. Jerry Brown's (D) "interest in history is expansive, but there are two things he appears to enjoy more than most. The first is quizzing schoolchildren about California's earliest explorers, as he has done since before taking office in 2011. The second is mule meat" (Sacramento Bee).
- "While my dad was alive, there was only one Rizzo" -- potential Philly mayor '15 Dem candidate/ex-GOP city Councilor Frank Rizzo (I), on why his father, ex-Mayor Frank Rizzo (D), never encouraged him to get into politics (Philadelphia Inquirer).
- Daily Caller co-founder Tucker Carlson has signed with FNC as a co-host of "Fox & Friends Weekend" (release).
SWIZZLE CHALLENGE
- Rep. Jim Jordan (R-OH) was a four-time state wrestling champion, and a two-time NCAA Division I wrestling champion for the University of Wisconsin?Madison, where he defeated for the NCAA title John Smith, who went on to become a two-time Olympic gold medalist and four-time world champion.
- The winner is Todd Metcalf, and here's his Swizzle Challenge: "Which Supreme Court Justice has the westernmost burial place to date, and where is the late Justice buried?" The 3rd correct e-mailer gets to submit the next question.
NJ'S EARLY BIRD SPECIALS
SHOT...
"There's two kinds of marriage, there's full marriage and then there's sort of skim milk marriage" -- SCOTUS Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, during yesterday's oral arguments on DOMA (Huffington Post).
...CHASER
"Milk was a bad choice" -- Ron Burgundy ("Anchorman").
Sarah Mimms, Editor
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