Wednesday Must-Reads: Christie Wins

The expected candidates won in New Jersey yesterday (check out their Tweets along the way), setting the stage for an expensive general election battle between incumbent Gov. Jon Corzine and challenger Chris Christie. The Virginia primaries, set for a week from yesterday, offer a tighter battled on the Democratic side, with the latest polls showing state Sen. Creigh Deeds has surging into the lead. As reported yesterday, President Obama named New York Rep. John McHugh as his secretary of army nominee. While everyone agrees McHugh is highly qualified, some see it as a politically calculated move: It burnishes Obama’s bipartisan claims, opens up a competitive district and steals away one of the few remaining Northeastern Republican moderates. Check out Swing State Project for a list of potential replacements for McHugh’s House seat, while Capitol Briefing surveys the Republicans looking to fill McHugh’s ranking role on the Armed Services Committee. Yesterday’s other big campaign news was Minnesota Gov. Tim Pawlenty’s announcement that he would not run again next year. He is now deflecting speculation that the decision was based around presidential ambitions. But if he does run, it may be part of a new, potentially effective GOP emphasis on populism. Finally, a quick look at the fundraising totals for the 26 Democratic House freshman who took over Republican seats reveals who looks safe and who could be picked off.