Republican primary

Rep. Walter B. Jones of North Carolina occupies a strange place on the spectrum of American politics. An 18-year House veteran from the conservative coast, Jones is a pro-life former Democrat, raised Baptist but a Catholic convert. The 70-year-old Republican’s biggest claim to fame may have come in 2003 when France decided not to participate in the American-led coalition invading Iraq. In a moment of patriotic pique, Jones, following the lead of a diner in his district, directed the House cafeterias to rename French fries as “freedom fries.”

Republican Karen Handel, the former Georgia secretary of state, gubernatorial candidate, and vice president for the Susan G. Komen Foundation, is moving closer to running for the Senate next year to succeed Republican Saxby Chambliss. Georgia political blog Peach Pundit reports:

“I have some discomfort with all Republican primaries because they’re all family squabbles,” said Tom Price, the 58-year-old Republican House member from north of Atlanta. “My brother and I used to fight almost daily,” Price, the middle child among five brothers and sisters, said. “My mom’s only prayer was, ‘Don’t hurt each other.’”

Paul Broun, the Republican congressman from Georgia, may be getting closer to announcing a 2014 run for Senate to succeed retiring Republican Saxby Chambliss.

Is Mitch McConnell already losing his reelection campaign? That's what a new poll from the Louisville Courier-Journal released Tuesday suggests. According to the survey of 609 registered voters in Kentucky, just 17 percent say they would vote to reelect the Republican and Senate minority leader, with 34 percent saying they will vote against him. Forty-four percent, meanwhile, say they will "wait and see" who will challenge McConnell in 2014 before making a decision. The firm Survey USA conducted the poll for the newspaper.

Georgia-based blogger and radio host Erick Erickson will not be running for the U.S. Senate, Erickson writes at RedState.com:

In politics, self-awareness matters. It does. When I was a political consultant, I told my clients my first two rules. The first was to know when you were in the minority, even when you thought you were right. The second was to know yourself as others see you.

Republican Bill Bolling, the two-term lieutenant governor of Virginia, has dropped out of the race for governor, CNN reports. Bolling was challenging Attorney General Ken Cuccinelli for the Republican nomination. Here's more from CNN:

Erick Erickson, a conservative blogger, radio talk show host, and CNN contributor, may be considering a run for Senate in Georgia. On his radio show Tuesday, Erickson stated there are "a lot of people pledging a lot of money" for a primary challenge against incumbent Republican senator Saxby Chambliss.

Former Pennsylvania senator Rick Santorum says he is “open” to another run for president in 2016. Santorum was asked about a possible presidential campaign Monday at THE WEEKLY STANDARD. 

“I’m open to it, yeah,” Santorum replied. “I think there’s a fight right now as to what the soul of the Republican party’s going to be and the conservative movement, and we have something to say about that. I think from our battle, we’re not going to leave the field.” 

Republican congressman Ben Quayle of Arizona may have received the most critical endorsement of his primary against fellow congressman David Schweikert. Black civil rights activist Reverend Jarrett Maupin of Phoenix has endorsed Quayle over Schweikert, the Phoenix New Times reports, with some rather colorful language:

U.S. Senator John McCain has endorsed Ben Quayle over David Schweikert in the Republican primary for Arizona's Sixth Congressional District. McCain endorsed Quayle, a House freshman and the son of former vice president Dan Quayle, in a press conference Wednesday in Phoenix. Dan Nowicki of the Arizona Republic reports:

Conservative congressman Todd Akin has won a tough three-way Republican primary for Senate in Missouri, the Associated Press reports. In a race that had been close between Akin, businessman John Brunner, and former state treasurer Sarah Steelman, the seven-term representative from northeastern Missouri pulled ahead with more than 36 percent of the vote. Polls showed the primary remained tight just days before the election, and each candidate had support for major conservative figures and groups.