Politics - Congressional Quarterly

Democratic officials today announced speaking slots for a slew of House members, including the chamber's top elected leaders, at the party's national convention at the end of the month.

Booze, bling and staff bonuses can be paid for with taxpayer dollars at the upcoming national party conventions under federal regulations, according to a memo the Congressional Research Service (CRS) prepared for Oklahoma Republican Sen. Tom Coburn last month.

In the wake of the indictment against Alaska Republican Sen. Ted Stevens, his likely Democratic challenger, Anchorage Mayor Mark Begich, reported outraising the longtime incumbent during the most recent reporting period.

Attorneys for the Federal Election Commission (FEC) have recommended giving Republican presidential candidate John McCain a pass on his decision earlier this year to withdraw from the federal public financing program for his campaign for the GOP nomination.

After weeks of negotiations between Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton and the campaign of presumed Democratic presidential nominee Barack Obama, Democrats announced Thursday that Clinton's name will be offered for nomination at the Democratic National Convention, which begins on Aug. 25 in Denver.

Mark Warner, a heavily favored Senate candidate and former Virginia governor, will deliver the keynote address at the Democratic National Convention on Aug. 26, Barack Obama's campaign announced Wednesday morning.

Freshman Colorado Rep. Doug Lamborn survived a challenge in his 5th District Republican primary election Tuesday, prevailing comfortably in a virtual rematch of the bitterly contested open-seat race he won in 2006.

When John McCain accused Barack Obama of voting to raise taxes in a recent ad, it sounded like a pretty standard line of attack.

Republican former Rep. Jim Leach crossed party lines Tuesday to endorse presumed Democratic presidential nominee Barack Obama.

When it comes to paying for the Democratic and Republican national conventions, the lobbyists and corporate contributors seem to be getting all the headlines. But the American taxpayer is also footing a good chunk of the bill.

Freshman Republican Rep. David Davis of Tennessee's 1st Congressional District lost his seat in Thursday's primary election, as Johnson City Mayor Phil Roe scored a narrow victory.

Congressional Quarterly has studied the voting behavior of members of Congress since 1953 to assess how often lawmakers stick with members of their own caucus on votes when the two parties divide and how often they back the president on votes where he has a clear position.

Massachusetts Sen. John Kerry blasted presumed Republican presidential nominee John McCain for using video clips of Democrats' past praise of McCain in a web-only campaign commercial released Thursday morning.

Late returns from Tuesday's primary in Kansas' 2nd Congressional District showed Republican state Treasurer Lynn Jenkins dashing former five-term Rep. Jim Ryun's hopes for a rematch with Nancy Boyda, the Democrat who unseated him in the 2006 election. With just 1 precinct yet to report of the district's 819, Jenkins held a 51 percent to 49 percent lead over Ryun, a margin of 967 votes.

Six-term Michigan Rep. Carolyn Cheeks Kilpatrick narrowly survived the Democratic primary Tuesday for her Detroit-based seat, in a contest rife with controversy over the troubles of her son, embattled Detroit Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick.

Missouri Rep. Kenny Hulshof won the state's Republican primary for governor on Tuesday. That victory, though, is a prelude to a tough fall contest with Democratic state Attorney General Jay Nixon, in a tossup race that presents the Democrats with their best chance to win a Republican-held governorship this year.

Former state Rep. Jim Martin on Tuesday earned the right to challenge Georgia Republican Sen. Saxby Chambliss by easily winning the Democratic primary runoff, in a contest in which Martin's supporters portrayed him as more "electable" than his controversy-hindered opponent, DeKalb County CEO Vernon Jones.

Lobbyists at the 15 most lucrative lobbying firms handed out more than $4 million in political contributions during the first half of this year, according to new disclosure reports now on file with the House Clerk's office.

CQ Politics Presidential Race Rating: No Clear Favorite

CQ Politics Presidential Race Rating: Republican Favored

CQ Politics Presidential Race Rating: Safe Republican

CQ Politics Presidential Race Rating: No Clear Favorite

Barack Obama and John McCain will debate head-to-head three times - and almost certainly only three times - according to an acceptance letter Obama's campaign manager sent to the Commission on Presidential Debates Saturday afternoon.

While Hillary Rodham Clinton has not made any final decisions about whether she wants to be nominated for president at the Democratic National Convention, a New York Daily News report said she has asked not to be nominated. But some of her supporters continue to press ahead.

The recent entry of a politically experienced challenger, Democratic state Sen. Don Cravins Jr., has created the possibility of an unexpectedly competitive race this fall for two-term Louisiana Republican Rep. Charles Boustany Jr.

The Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee (DCCC) is adding six Democratic challengers to its "Red to Blue" program in hopes of boosting their candidacies and expanding the electoral playing field.

In the midst of a hard-fought tough campaign to win a second term representing North Carolina in the U.S. Senate, Republican Sen. Elizabeth Dole has opted out of the party pep rally that is the national convention.

Barack Obama's recent overseas trip didn't afford him a bump in the polls, according to a new round of surveys from Quinnipiac University, at a time when offshore oil drilling, which Obama opposes, appeals to an increasing number of Americans.