GOP Finds Hope in Last-Ditch Fla. Candidate

Allen West tells Obama, Democrats 'get the hell out of United States'

(NEWSER) - Strong conservative , Tea Party favorite, and rising star Allen West could find his congressional seat gerrymandered Democrat—by none other than the Republican Party. West's "sacrifice" at the hands of his own party smells like the latest example of the establishment fighting back against the Tea Party, according to Legal Insurrection . One Florida legislator, who happens to be working for the Mitt Romney campaign, "tried to hide behind a need to comply with [state and] federal law, but that’s obviously a dodge since there could have been many ways to comply yet not sacrifice West," writes William Jacobson. More»

Class of 2010 is full of characters

(NEWSER) - There will be plenty of fresh faces in Washington today. But which ones matter most? The Washington Post selects 10 freshman legislators to keep an eye on:

• Sen. Kelly Ayotte, R-NH: One of Sarah Palin's "mama grizzlies," Ayotte defeated a Tea Partier to become the only woman elected to the Senate last year.
• Sen. Marco Rubio, R -Fla.: The GOP needs some fresh faces and Latino outreach; Rubio has a chance to be its new rock star.
• Rep. David Cicilline, D-RI: The former mayor of Providence—and the country's first openly gay mayor of a capital city—has a rep for cracking down on corruption. He succeeds Patrick Kennedy.

Red-leaning states to see congressional boost

(NEWSER) - The Census Bureau will announce its new population figures tomorrow, and Republicans will likely be fans of the numbers. Based on the figures, as many as 18 states could see their number of congressional districts and representatives change, a political consultant tells NPR . Texas is set to gain three Congressional seats, Florida could gain two, and other Southern and Western states could pick up one. New York and Ohio may each lose two seats. Overall, GOP-leaning states are getting a boost, while Democratic and swing states are losing out. More»

130 former legislators calls for civility on Capitol Hill in letter

(NEWSER) - More than 130 former members of Congress banded together to offer a message to 2010 congressional candidates via letter: Stop the "zero-sum game" partisanship that has paralyzed the legislative branch. So many former lawmakers have never spoken with one voice to all congressional candidates, but they felt prodded by the "sorry state of affairs" on Capitol Hill, in which "the goal often seems to be more to devastate the other side than to find common ground to solve problems,” Politico reports. More»

Up in the polls, Rubio gets party blessing

(NEWSER) - The Republican Party is making a none-too-subtle push to get onetime golden boy Charlie Crist out of Florida's Senate race. “We believe there is zero chance Gov. Crist continues running in the Republican primary,” says the executive director of the National Republican Senate Committee. The group once tried to push Marco Rubio aside for Crist, but that was before Rubio opened a 20-point lead in the polls, reports the Miami Herald . More»