USA Today: “Christie has to walk a fine line: He must maintain the political momentum he has been steadily gaining since he came to national attention during Superstorm Sandy last year without risking overexposure or becoming viewed as the ‘inevitable’ GOP nominee.” It says he has to rack up more legislative achievements, travel the country with the RGA, and “end the bromance” with President Obama.
New York Times: "Of the 13 states that have so far said they will allow consumers to renew canceled plans, all but four are led by Republican governors and have generally been opposed to the new health care law. Of the eight that have said they will not carry out the policy, six are in Democratic-led states, many of which have actively worked to put the law into effect and have argued that allowing such an extension could undermine its success. They include New York, which announced its decision on Tuesday, and Massachusetts. Many other states, including California and New Jersey, are still weighing their options."
National Journal: “Sen. Marco Rubio, R-Fla., introduced legislation Tuesday to repeal a lesser-known Obamacare provision called ‘risk corridors’ that protects insurance companies from potential unexpected changes in marketplace composition. The bill is a not-so-subtle attack on the health care law, as its implementation would cause serious damage to the insurance exchanges.”
Roll Call: "The Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee raised about $7 million in October and will report more than $25 million in cash on hand, according to a DCCC aide. The committee’s bottom line was boosted, in part, because of the government shutdown that month. Polls showed Republicans — especially in the House — received much of the blame for the 16 days the federal government was closed."
ALABAMA: “Republican congressional candidate Bradley Byrne spent much of Tuesday on Capitol Hill, thanking the GOP House members who showered him with cash in the final days of a tense primary runoff in southwest Alabama,” Gannett writes. “The Republican Party did not officially endorse anyone in the special runoff. But it was clear the establishment GOP in Washington preferred Byrne, a mainstream pro-business conservative, over Dean Young, a firebrand tea party candidate. … Byrne said Tuesday he hadn't yet met many of the contributors, who opened up their campaign and political action committee checkbooks based only a phone call.”
CALIFORNIA: San Diego Union Tribune: “Republican City Councilman Kevin Faulconer easily won a spot Tuesday in the runoff to be San Diego’s next mayor while Councilman David Alvarez appeared likely to join him as the Democratic challenger.”
FLORIDA: Roll Call: Radel "said that he is ready “to face the consequences” of his cocaine possession charge, and some of them might be political. Democrats concede his is a Safe Republican seat. So if his legal problems become fodder in his bid for a second term, it will likely be litigated in the primary. One Sunshine State-based Republican consultant suggested that such a charge would not play well with the 19th District’s base of wealthy and retired voters."
Hardball's Michael LaRosa: "In an effort to tamp down recent speculation over a potential intra-party battle, Florida Sen. Bill Nelson told msnbc.com that right now he has no plans to run for governor in 2014, a contest that would pit the Democratic three-term senator against former Republican Governor turned Democrat Charlie Crist in a primary. “I want to be clear that I have no plans to run for governor,” Nelson told msnbc.com. “I wish Charlie Crist well,” he said. But Nelson didn’t do much to fully oblige fellow Democrats in Florida who have lined up behind the former Republican Governor, reserving his option to jump into the race at some later time."
GEORGIA: Daily Caller: "Four top staffers resigned from Georgia Republican Rep. Phil Gingrey’s Senate campaign on Monday. Gingrey’s general consultant Chip Lake, campaign manager John Porter, political director David Allen and political adviser Justin Tomczak, left the campaign Monday, a source close to the campaign told The Daily Caller."
KENTUCKY:Politico: “The National Republican Senatorial Committee came under fire Tuesday for tweeting a photo that superimposed Kentucky Senate candidate Alison Lundergan Grimes’s head on the body of “Obama Girl,” the model who starred in a series of 2007 music videos about her crush on President Obama. ‘Is Alison Grimes The New ‘Obama Girl’?’ the tweet asked, linking to a post on the Kentucky political blog, Bluegrass Bulletin, that featured the photo. It was in reference to Grimes’s New York trip on Monday, where she attended a Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee fundraiser with First Lady Michelle Obama. Iris Wilbur, Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell’s campaign political director, retweeted the NRSC’s tweet from her own account.”
VIRGINIA: Washington Post: "The day before he apparently stabbed his father at the family’s home in rural Bath County, the son of Virginia state Sen. R. Creigh Deeds underwent a psychiatric evaluation but was not admitted to a hospital, because no bed was available. Deeds was listed in fair condition late Tuesday after his son, Austin, stabbed him in the face and chest, then shot himself in what investigators suspect was an attempted murder and suicide."