State by State

Minnesota

State Sen. Dick Day (R) officially entered the 1st congressional district primary on Tuesday, following through with a promise to take on the GOP-endorsed candidate, physician Brian Davis.

Day did not participate in the March endorsing convention and pledged to run in the primary.

{mosads}The winner will face freshman Rep. Tim Walz (D), a top GOP target who has raised significantly more money than Davis or Day.

The Minnesota Republican Party on Tuesday lashed out at Day.

“Dick Day is on an island by himself,” said state GOP Chairman Ron Carey. “From the local level to the state level to the national level, Republicans stand united behind Dr. Brian Davis.”

Day spokesman Chris Johnson stressed that Day has previously supported primaries over party endorsements.

“We’re not too concerned about the idea that the state party is going to come down and prevent us from winning the primary,” Johnson said. “We’re running a positive and issue-oriented campaign.”

— Aaron Blake

Nebraska

It’s not just sitting Republican senators breaking with President Bush and presumed GOP nominee Sen. John McCain (Ariz.) on a new GI bill passed as part of the emergency war-spending bill.

GOP Senate candidate Mike Johanns defected from the president too, saying he would have supported the legislation paying for the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, and that also included new benefits for soldiers and domestic spending opposed by Bush and McCain.

What makes Johanns’s defection even more interesting is that the front-runner to replace Sen. Chuck Hagel (R-Neb.) served in Bush’s cabinet as agriculture secretary less than a year ago.

“I would have joined these senators in supporting this bill,” Johanns said in a statement released by his campaign. “Our troops should always have access to the best equipment, top quality educational opportunities, medical benefits and services and this bill goes a long way to make that happen.”

Twenty-four Republicans broke with Bush in the 75-22 vote, including GOP Sens. Pat Roberts (Kan.), John Sununu (N.H.), Norm Coleman (Minn.) and Elizabeth Dole (N.C.), who are all up for reelection this year.

— Ian Swanson

New Mexico

Former Albuquerque City Councilman Martin Heinrich and Public Regulation Commissioner Ben Ray Lujan lead their respective Democratic open seat primaries, according to polling conducted for the Albuquerque Journal.

Heinrich led former Secretary of State Rebecca Vigil-Giron, 34 percent to 23 percent, in the Research and Polling Inc. survey, with another 10 percent going for former Health Secretary Michelle Lujan Grisham.

Lujan led businessman and former Senate candidate Don Wiviott, 29 percent to 23 percent, with 33 percent of voters undecided.

Vigil-Giron doesn’t appear to have much money to make up the difference, as she raised only $18,000 through May 14. The winner of that race will face the winner of a GOP primary for Senate candidate Rep. Heather Wilson’s (R) House seat.

Wiviott, in contrast, has plenty of money. He has plugged more than $1.3 million of his own cash into the race. The winner of that primary will be a heavy favorite to succeed another Senate candidate, Rep. Tom Udall (D).

The primaries are Tuesday.

— A.B.

New York

Richmond County District Attorney Dan Donovan (R) and state Sen. Diane Savino (D) both declined to run for retiring Rep. Vito Fossella’s (R) seat last week, and both parties are still evaluating their options, according to local reports.

Staten Island Republican Chairman John Friscia was still interviewing candidates early this week and reportedly postponed his deadline until Thursday.

State Sen. Andrew Lanza and state Supreme Court Justice Joseph Maltese are two top GOP possibilities who haven’t ruled it out, and Friscia has not ruled out running himself.

Richmond County Clerk Stephen Fiala (R) said last week that he would not run.

On the Democratic side, the top remaining potential candidates include state Assemblyman Mike Cusick and New York City Councilman Mike McMahon.

— A.B.