Tuesday Must-Reads: To the States

Just who leads in NY-20 seems to shift by the minute, and this morning, depending on who you trust, you’ll hear both that Tedisco is up by 97 and that Murphy is up by 83. Murphy did win a court battle that assures absentee-ballot counting will begin tomorrow—and Nate Silver crunches the numbers to give a slight edge to Murphy. For those who care about the fine details of the race, Tedisco’s replacement as Minority Leader has been named. And don’t forget why this race was held: Kirsten Gillibrand reminds us of her fundraising mettle—which may drive some lower-profile candidates out of the Senate race—by raising $2.3 million so far, despite a late start. Moving down the coast, we come to New Jersey, where nine candidates have filed for the gubernatorial race. Only two, incumbent Democrat Jon Corzine and Republican challenger Chris Christie, have earned much coverage—which continues as Christie shakes off attacks about campaign contributions and a resolved federal investigation of his brother. Then there’s Virginia, where a fight is brewing between Democratic candidate Terry McAuliffe and former presidential candidate Mike Huckabee, who is serving as a surrogate for Republican candidate Bob McDonnell. Last week, Huckabee joked at a rally that McDonnell supporters should do “God’s work” but slashing the tires of his opponents’ supporters—in Campaign Insider‘s view, an obvious joke. But McAuliffe’s been making a big deal out of it. Now Huck hits back that if McAuliffe is that thin-skinned, he’ll never survive as governor. McDonnell, who just received a cool million from the RGA, may sit down to dinner to dinner with the enemy as a Democratic opposition researcher seems to have won his March Madness pool. Meanwhile, the former state GOP chair who McDonnell helped push out has vowed to run again.