2010 Midterms: Latest News on the Hottest Races

Here's a wrap-up of news from around the country where key races for Senate and governor are taking place.

Florida

Democrat's Meek Struggles to "Catch Fire" in Senate Race

The Florida papers were full in recent days of profiles of three-term Democratic Rep. Kendrick Meek who is giving up a safe seat in Congress and a likely climb up the leadership ladder to instead run for Senate. Little known outside of his district that includes Hollywood and parts of Miami, Meek has consistently run last in polls of the three-way race against independent Charlie Crist and Republican Marco Rubio. He now faces the bigger problem of billionaire Jeff Greene jumping into the race for the Democratic nomination and saturating the airwaves with ads.

The Orlando Sentinel says that Meek has "struggled to catch fire with voters" despite the fact that he has "been one of the hardest-working candidates in Florida...(living) on the chicken-dinner circuit, meeting with voters from the Panhandle to the Keys and building relationships with local party leaders."

Now, the Sentinel says, he is faced with a new challenge as "Greene has been carpet-bombing the state with ads, while Meek has sought to conserve his relatively modest resources ... Unlike Greene, Meek has little choice but to hold off on major media buys until the (August 24) primary gets closer." The St. Petersburg Times has a profile focusing on Meek's career in Washington.

Kentucky

Rand Paul Says He Supports Mitch McConnell ... and Why Not?

When Tea Party favorite Rand Paul was challenging Secretary of State Trey Grayson for the GOP Senate nomination, his relations with the state's incumbent senator, Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, were not exactly warm and fuzzy. McConnell was backing Grayson, the establishment candidate, and when pressed if he'd back McConnell as leader, Paul said, "We'd have to know who the opponent was, and we'd discuss it at that time."

Now that he's the Republican nominee, the Louisville Courier-Journal reported that Rand said this during a debate with Democratic rival Jack Conway: "Is Jack going to go up there and vote against Harry Reid? I don't think so. I'm going to go up there and vote for Mitch McConnell to be leader."

After the debate, the Courier-Journal said, Paul was asked why people believe he "hedges" on the McConnell question, and he responded that part of the reason is "because I want people to know that I'm a distinct person and I will be an independent voice for Kentucky in the Senate."

Pennsylvania

Independent Political Ad Attacks Sestak for Being Anti-Israel

Political attack ads created and paid for by outside independent groups have become part and parcel of congressional campaigns, and Democratic Rep. Joe Sestak, running for the Senate seat now held by Arlen Specter, has been the target of one questioning his support for Israel. Sestak charged that ad was riddled with inaccuracies and asked the cable provider Comcast to stop running it, according to the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette.

The ad was placed by a group called the Emergency Committee for Israel which has on its board Weekly Standard editor William Kristol and former Reagan administration official Gary Bauer. It claims, among other things, that Sestak had raised money for an anti-Israel organization that the FBI called a front group for Hamas and for signing a letter along with 53 other lawmakers criticizing Israel's blockade of Gaza .

The Post-Gazette said the anti-Israel group cited by the ad was the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR). Sestak spoke at a Philadelphia dinner sponsored by CAIR -- as did pro-Israel Gov. Ed Rendell, Sestak said -- but his appearance was separate from a subsequent fundraising function. Rendell, who is Jewish, told MSNBC, "That's a group I have spent time with and I've worked with and they're very positive in what they do in Pennsylvania."

Sestak said he is committed to Israeli security, and several groups and individuals in the diverse Jewish lobbying community have come to his defense. But the Post-Gazette says Sestak "still faces challenges in rebutting his critics on the Israel issue," citing letters to Jewish newspapers in Pittsburgh and Philadelphia questioning where he stands.

The paper said that Pat Toomey, Sestak's Republican opponent, "emphasized that (the ad's) conservative sponsors were independent of his campaign" but did criticize the Democrat about the Gaza blockade letter.

Colorado

Tancredo's Decision to Run for Governor Riles Tea Party Activists

Republican Tom Tancredo, who built his reputation as a congressman on his outspoken opposition to illegal immigration, may have thrown his hat in the ring as a third party candidate in the governor's race, but he appears to have ticked off Tea Party activists by doing so. Tancredo had issued an ultimatum to the two Republicans running for governor -- Scott McInnis and Dan Maes -- to drop out or he would get in. (McInnis, considered the favorite for the GOP nomination, has been hobbled by plagiarism charges and Maes is considered by many to be a weak general election candidate).

The Denver Post reported that leaders of 21 state Tea Party groups representing about 10,000 people had written an open letter to Tancredo on Sunday, before he made his decision, asking him not to make an independent race. They told Tancredo they had followed his advice to work within the Republican Party to reshape it, but that "now you do not trust the Republican voters of Colorado to thoughtfully and logically evaluate the choices before us."

The letter accused Tancredo of imposing his "personal choice" over the will of the people and "subverting the process and our will." They warned Tancredo's candidacy would lead to a victory in November by Denver mayor John Hickenlooper, the Democratic candidate.

Follow the campaigns on Politics Daily's 2010 Elections page and Poll Watch.