Congress

(Newser) - The terrorists attacks of Sept. 11, 2001 and her work for Barack Obama's campaign helped push Caroline Kennedy towards a career in politics, the Senate hopeful tells the AP. Kennedy credited her mother with giving her the courage to seek the job, and said she hopes she will be able to embody some of the "sense of possibility" summoned by her father, John F. Kennedy. More »

(Newser) - Caroline Kennedy understands she will have to work to gain the respect of the public and her peers if she is appointed to the US Senate. "I came into this thinking I have to work twice as hard as anybody else," Kennedy told the AP. "I am an unconventional choice." More »

(Newser) - Caroline Kennedy has not donated much money to New York Democrats, and it could dent her appeal to Gov. David Paterson as he decides on his appointment to fill Hillary Clinton’s Senate seat, the New York Daily News reports. Although Kennedy has given around $30,000 to federal candidates, she’s given nothing to state politicians beside $1,000 to City Council Speaker Christine Quinn. More »

(Newser) - All signs are pointing toward a Jeb Bush run for the Senate in Florida, Politico reports. Nothing’s settled, say those close to him, but the former governor has been working the phones since Sen. Mel Martinez announced he wouldn’t run again in 2010. "Everything indicates that he's in," said a Republican strategist. "You're not making calls and laying the ground work for fundraising unless you're clearing the field for your candidacy." More »

(Newser) - The Minnesota recount will not be complete until next year and could be continuing even as the new Senate is sworn in, Minnesota Public Radio reports. A plan agreed to by both the Coleman and Franken camps has the secretary of state counting wrongly rejected absentee ballots by January 4, after which both candidates can appeal to the Canvassing Board. The Senate is sworn in January 6. More »

(Newser) - The jockeying has begun for the Colorado Senate seat to be vacated by Ken Salazar, with Denver mayor John Hickenlooper telling the Denver Post he is interested in, if not “actively seeking,” the spot. Salazar has been designated as Barack Obama’s interior secretary; other names floated for the post include former US Attorney Tom Strickland and outgoing state House Speaker Andrew Romanoff. More »

(Newser) - After a generation, the Sun Belt’s population boom may be ending, new Census data suggest. Over the year ending July 1, more people left Florida than moved there for the first time in some 30 years; after 23 years in the top four fastest-growing states, Nevada fell to eighth place, USA Today reports. Were a Congressional reallocation held today, eight states would lose a House seat. More »