In the coda to yet another Washington ethics scandal, Paul Magliocchetti, founder of the once influential defense lobbying firm PMA Group, was indicted yesterday in federal court for making hundreds of thousands of dollars in illegal campaign contributions.

Michigan has the most races of interest, including a governor’s seat that Republicans hope to recapture when term-limited Gov. Jennifer Granholm (D) steps down. Vying for the chance to do so today are three candidates – businessman Rick Snyder, Rep. Pete Hoekstra (R-Mich.) and state Attorney General Mike Cox — all of whom are still in the chase. According to Chris Cillizza, turnout will be key to the candidates’ chances:

The critical counties in the Republican race will be Kent (Grand Rapids), Oakland (Pontiac), Macomb and Wayne (Detroit); the four counties accounted for about 40 percent of the vote in the 2006 Republican gubernatorial primary. But turnout in Ottawa County on the western side of the state will be key for Hoekstra — it sits in his 2nd district base and is one of the most reliably Republican counties in the state.

Meanwhile, in Kansas, GOP voters will likely select the state’s next senator, as a Republican is virtually assured to win retiring Sen. Sam Brownback’s (R-Kans.) seat. The race between Kansas Republican Reps. Jerry Moran and Todd Tiahrt will be another test of Sarah Palin’s sway, as Tiahrt has been out-fundraised and out-polled by Moran but is banking on enthusiasm generated by the endorsements of Palin and of most tea party groups in the state.

The race has long been ugly, and in a state like Kansas both candidates have long focused on outflanking the other on the right, while discrediting their opponent’s conservative passion:

The biggest blow to either campaign came at the close of July when Moran’s ex-campaign manager called out his former boss on social issues, accusing him of having “winced” at being aggressive with his pro-life stance (pro-life groups largely back Tiahrt). Tiahrt’s camp used that in a TV ad to continue its relentless attack on Moran — he went negative from the start before introducing himself with a positive spot to east KS voters — and reinforce the idea that Moran may vote correctly but is not a leader on causes most dear to conservative activists within the party.

In Utah, where lawmakers say they will not be deterred from crafting an Arizona-style bill, Sen. Orrin Hatch (R) said Wednesday he would support the DREAM Act even though he opposes amnesty for illegal immigrants. Hatch, who will be up for election in 2012, has a moderate, if spotty, immigration record serving the 12 percent Hispanic state. His reasoning for supporting the DREAM Act is that the children of illegal immigrants should not be punished for their parents’ actions:

“With regard to the DREAM Act, a lot of these kids are brought in as infants. They don’t even know that they’re not citizens until they graduate from high school,” Hatch said. “If they’ve lived good lives, if they’ve done good things, why would we penalize them and not let them at least go to school?”

In California, Hispanic voters are increasingly voting for Democrats — something Republican gubernatorial candidate Meg Whitman seems to be trying to avoid. Whitman asserted her opposition to California’s 1994 Proposition 187 and Arizona’s SB 1070 — in Spanish — on billboards in the south of the state. “NO a la Proposicion 187 y NO a la Ley de Arizona — Meg Whitman.” The San Francisco Chronicle reports that this has been successful:

Thomas Holyoke, an associate professor of political science at California State University-Fresno, told us that according to Wednesday’s Field Poll, Whitman’s outreach is paying early dividends.

It appears to have helped, Holyoke said, that Whitman said she would have opposed Arizona controversial new immigration law. She said that even as GOP primary rival Steve Poizner was veering hard right on immigration.

“That Arizona law is something that appears to be resonating with Latino voters, Holyoke said.

Carly Fiorina, Blanche Lincoln and John McCain (WDCpix, Zuma Press)

To many Americans, the Memorial Day weekend signals the start of summer. For Senate election observers, it marks the onset of a season that will determine the fate of senators at risk of losing their jobs, and of outsiders looking to beat back party favorites. The summer Senate primaries kick off with a slew of tight contests on June 8 and continue through to a referendum on John McCain’s Senate tenure on Aug. 24.

Below, we’ve mapped out which Senate races to keep an eye on between now and Labor Day and why you should be watching:

June 8: Nevada, California, Arkansas Runoff

• NV: Harry Reid has been a GOP target ever since his rise to Majority Leader. Now, Republicans finally get their chance to oust him, six years after they toppled Senate Minority Leader Tom Daschle. But first, the GOP must nominate a challenger, and multiple candidates have waging a contentious battle. Republicans in the race include: Sue Lowden, former state party chair; former state Assemblywoman Sharron Angle; and businessman Danny Tarkanian. The party establishment generally favors Lowden, but Angle, boosted by support from the Tea Party, has established herself as a major threat and has already drawn attack ads. Tea Party groups have urged Tarkanian to drop out to help consolidate support for Angle, but that would still leave a bitter primary on the GOP’s hands. While Republican infighting would typically signal good things for Democrats, Reid’s approval ratings (which sit well below 50 percent) mean that regardless of how internecine this primary ends up, Reid remains deeply vulnerable in November. Tea Party favorite Rand Paul defeated party-backed Trey Grayson in the Kentucky Senate primary on May 18; this race will be yet another test of the Republican establishment’s strength against the Tea Party insurgency.

• CA: From a statewide standpoint, California remains a place where Democrats and moderate Republicans reign. That should be an asset for Sen. Barbara Boxer (D), who has served in Congress for nearly 30 years — first as a House member, then, beginning in 1993, as a senator. But so far, Boxer’s path to re-election doesn’t look to be an easy one. President Obama had already made two fundraising appearances for Boxer this year, an indication of where this race is ranked on the White House’s list of election priorities. Republican former Rep. Tom Campbell abandoned his gubernatorial campaign in favor of the Senate race in January, and he quickly established himself as a credible challenger to Republican candidate Carly Fiorina, former CEO of Hewlett-Packard. Chuck DeVore, a state assemblyman who has earned some conservative support, will also be competing in the June 8 GOP primary. Keep tabs on this race to see whether Fiorina can hold onto her recent lead over Campbell and DeVore.

• AR: Arkansas voters on June 8 will decide between incumbent Blanche Lincoln and Lt. Gov. Bill Halter in the Democratic Senate runoff. In the May 18 primary, Lincoln held a narrow two-point lead over Halter, but the 44.5 to 42.5 percent tally meant Lincoln had failed to garner the majority necessary to win outright and avoid a runoff. History suggests Lincoln may have a tough runoff fight ahead. Even if she wins her party’s nomination, current polling shows that the general election will a steep climb. Tune in to find out if Democratic efforts to save one of their own actually pay off in Arkansas.

Aug. 3: Kansas

• KS: It’s a battle between House members in Kansas. Republican Reps. Jerry Moran and Todd Tiahrt are forgoing House re-election bids to compete for the Senate seat being vacated by Sen. Sam Brownback (R), who is vying for governor. Moran and Tiahrt are both longtime lawmakers looking to distinguish themselves in the race by touting their conservative credentials. They’ve jockeyed for conservative endorsements and sparred on multiple issues, including a notable fight over taxes in May. But it’s no wonder this race has devolved into a slugfest. The GOP primary is the marquee race for the U.S. Senate in the state — Kansas voters haven’t elected a Democrat to the Senate since 1932. Watch this primary to see what it takes to win in a contest featuring two candidates who are closely matched in experience and ideology. The prize, in all likelihood, is a ticket to Washington.

Aug. 10: Colorado

• CO: Senators typically have six years to establish themselves in Congress and build ties to their constituencies before they’re up for re-election. Not Colorado’s junior senator, Michael Bennet (D). Bennet was appointed in January to fill the seat of Ken Salazar (D), who was tapped as Interior Secretary. Bennet faces a primary challenge from Andrew Romanoff, a former state House speaker, who placed first among state delegates at the party’s May convention. But that convention was only used to determine ballot placement. If Bennet does survive the primary, a difficult general election contest still separates him from re-election. On the GOP side, former Lt. Gov. Jane Norton (R) faces a challenge from Ken Buck, a Weld County prosecutor who has the backing of Tea Party groups. Former state Sen. Tom Wiens dropped out of the GOP race in May to consolidate conservative support behind Buck. The GOP primary is one to watch because of the Norton/Buck battle. Will the Tea Party throw out another establishment candidate?

Aug. 24: Arizona

• AZ: Further down the line is Arizona’s Aug. 24 primary. There, Sen. John McCain finds himself up for re-election for the first time since his failed bid for the presidency in 2008, and it appears that his time on the national stage has done little to improve his standing back home. McCain faces a strong challenge in the Republican primary from J.D. Hayworth, who served in the House from 1995 to 2007. In May, the back-and-forth between the candidates was focused on McCain portraying Hayworth as inept and Hayworth characterizing McCain as not conservative enough for his constituents. McCain held a lead over Hayworth in late May, but with several months to go before the primary, it’s difficult to tell whether that trend will continue. If Hayworth continues to fall in the polls ahead of this primary, it won’t be much of a race to watch. But if the former congressman keeps it competitive, this will be a major test of GOP infighting with a former presidential nominee front and center.

A professor of law at the University of Missouri-Kansas City, Kobach kept the mood light with a political joke. He asked what President Obama and God had in common, with the punchline being neither has a birth certificate.

Other Kansas politicians spoke at the event, including Sen. Sam Brownback, Rep. Lynn Jenkins, and Rep. Todd Tiahrt. Kobach, a Marshall scholar and Yale Law grad who was chairman of the state GOP until earlier this year, is considered a frontrunner for the job with jurisdiction over elections in Kansas.

–

You can follow TWI on Twitter and Facebook.

Enter the House Democrats.

A House Appropriations subcommittee today approved a massive $161 billion funding bill for the labor, health and education departments, including language to pluck the needle-funding ban that Obama didn’t.

Reuters has the money quotes that are indicative of the partisan debate that’s sure to loom, first from Appropriations Committee Chairman David Obey (D-Wis.):

Scientific studies have documented that needle exchange programs, when implemented as part of a comprehensive prevention strategy, are an effective public health intervention for reducing AIDS/HIV infections and do not promote drug use.

And on the other side, here’s Rep. Todd Tiahrt (R-Kans.), the senior Republican on the Labor/HHS Appropriations Subcommittee:

I am very concerned that we would use federal tax dollars to support the drug habits of people who desperately need help.

Earlier this year, we reported on how the Obama White House had bucked our European allies to oppose a nonbinding international resolution in support of so-called “harm reduction” measures, which include needle exchanges, safe injection facilities, drug substitution therapies and other programs designed to curb the damaging health effects related to illegal drug use. At the time, several House Democrats had raised eyebrows (and written letters) about the administration’s position, only to fall silent when it became clear that the White House was sticking to its guns.

In the eyes of many in the health care community, Congress redeemed itself today.

WordPress.com isn’t a news site. It’s the launch page for WordPress blogging software. And while it’s possible that some blog used the phrase “Obama loses 2.19 million jobs” in the last month, a search for that phrase on WordPress blogs and via Google comes up empty.

This sort of stuff is a bipartisan problem; Terry McAuliffe inverted the meaning of a quote in his final ad during his failed bid for governor of Virginia. It’s not a huge deal, but it’s strange.

–

You can follow TWI on Twitter and Facebook.

Detainees at Guantanamo Bay (Department of Defense photo)

On Tuesday, Rep. Frank Wolf (R-Va.) got a meeting that he had been asking for since March — a briefing with the Department of Justice about plans to resettle 17 Uighurs, Chinese Muslims who have been detained at the U.S. prison at Guantanamo Bay since 2002. Ever since the Obama administration had floated the idea of moving the detainees into a hospitable Uighur community in Wolf’s northern Virginia district, the congressman had been asking for more details. “I have grave concerns,” he wrote Attorney General Eric Holder in a May 13 letter, “that you are playing fast and loose with the definition of ‘terrorist’ and may be misleading the American people regarding … plans to release the [Uighur] detainees into the U.S.”

Image by: Matt Mahurin

In response to this, Wolf’s third official request, the Department of Justice sent Ron Weich, its head of legislative affairs, down to talk with Wolf. When he arrived to speak with the FBI, Wolf, and his staff, it quickly became clear that the congressman still wasn’t going to get the specific details about the Uighurs that he wanted. The session ended early. Asked about Wolf’s request and this meeting, Justice Department spokesman Dean Boyd said the department had “provided briefings to Rep. Wolf and other members of Congress, as well their staffs, on the detainee review process” and that it would “continue to do so.”

“If that’s what they call a briefing,” said Daniel Scandling, Wolf’s chief of staff, “someone from their office of legislative affairs, then that’s a pretty sad comment on what their idea of a ‘briefing’ is.”

Wolf and his staff are not alone in their frustration. Five months after the president announced that the Guantanamo Bay prison would be closed, Democrats and human rights activists are grumbling that PR stumbles and a lack of transparency have complicated that long-term goal. They worry that the case of the Uighurs has become hopelessly lost in a fog of controversy over the fate of all of the facility’s detainees. While the president spent some of his May 21 speech bracketing the Uighur situation from other Guantanamo issues, Republicans have succeeded in conflating the fate of these 17 detainees with that of the other 223 prisoners. The fact that the Uighurs’ detentions were found to be illegal in 2008 and they were ordered to be released has been lost as Republicans and opponents of the prison’s closure have stoked fears of terrorists being settled in American towns, receiving welfare, and given time to plot more attacks. The United States has declined to release the Uighurs to their home country for fear that they will face persecution at the hands of the Chinese government.

The slow roll-out of a solution to the Uighur impasse and frayed communications between the administration and Congress created a window in which Republicans were able to inflame these worries. Wolf, whose district also contains the headquarters of the CIA (“these agents are his neighbors,” said Scandling), sent his first letter about the Uighur issue to the Department of Justice on March 13, and his second letter on April 23. Not until May did the issue become “demagogued,” as one Democratic aide in the House put it, by other Republicans.

“Some of these terrorist-trained detainees could be coming to American communities,” said Sen. Kit Bond (R-Mo.) in a May 5 speech on the Senate floor. Bond pledged to oppose the arrival of Gitmo detainees on American soil “whether these terrorists are coming to the prison in nearby Kansas or a halfway house in a city in Missouri or any other state,” a line he used again in the GOP’s May 9 national radio address.

On May 7, the Uighur issue got an additional working from two Republican bills. The first, the Keep Terrorists out of America Act, was introduced by House Republican leaders to publicize the possibility of Gitmo prisoner releases. The second, the No Welfare for Terrorists Act, was introduced by Rep. Todd Tiahrt (R-Kans.), who is also running for the seat of retiring Sen. Sam Brownback (R-Kans.). The bill was written to prohibit any alien national who had been detained at Gitmo from “receiving any federal, state, or local public benefits,” something that would prohibit the resettlement of Uighurs — and something that had not been proposed for any other detainees who do not share the Uighurs’ legal status.

“These are not repentant sinners,” said Tiahrt. “They have not taken a vow of peacefulness. If they were repentant and wanted to educate people in the dangers of terrorism, that would be one thing. But why should taxpayers support the efforts of one of these terrorists to get a foothold in place he’s not happy with? For us to house and feed him, that wouldn’t make sense.” Other Uighurs who have been released outside of China, such as the five who were relocated to Albania in 2007, have not lived up to their fearsome reputations, but that hasn’t helped in the cases of the remaining Gitmo Uighurs.

Tiahrt’s bill hasn’t achieved much momentum in the House, but one of its goals — publicizing the possible resettlement of Gitmo detainees — has succeeded beyond the wildest expectations of Democrats, culminating in 90-6 Senate vote against funding the closure of the prison. Austin Durrer, a spokesman for Rep. Jim Moran (D-Va.), characterized Tiahrt’s bill as something “that would undermine the administration,” and “not something the congressman takes seriously.” But Moran, who has ventured out on a limb by defending the possible resettlement of Uighurs, has watched the administration, slowly and agonizingly, fumble the ball.

“One of the congressman’s concerns is that the Department of Justice has not been more hands-on,” said Durrer. “That’s why the president was rebuked in the Senate.”

That rebuke came, in part, because the Uighur situation produced a talking point — terrorists moving next door to Americans — that was easily folded into the Republican playbook. On May 10, former GOP House Speaker Newt Gingrich appeared on Fox News to argue that “the idea we’re going to put alleged terrorists on welfare and have you pay for them and me pay for them so they get to be integrated into American society” was “insane,” because “all these people were brought in on the grounds that they were trained in terrorist camps.” Five days later Gingrich published a column about the Uighurs that repeated the most most threatening rumors about them, and other Republican attacks blurred the lines further. A May 18 paper from the Senate Republican Policy Committee asked whether Americans wanted 9/11 mastermind Khalid Sheikh Mohammed to become their “new neighbor,” despite the paper’s admission that only the Uighurs — who would likely face torture if they were returned to China — were being considered for residence in the United States.

“The entire Gitmo issue is an example of President Obama letting his rhetoric get ahead of his actual policy,” said Republican strategist Alex Conant, a former spokesman for the Republican National Committee. “The administration has not decided what to do with the detainees, including the Uighurs, and they’re telling people what the end result is going to be.”

The administration cannot count on winning over opponents like Tiahrt. “The issue isn’t whether they’re pro-America or anti-America,” he said. “The issue is that they’re radical Muslims.” But the botched handling of the situation has frustrated human rights activists, who have argued for years that the Uighurs present no national security threat, and that their very presence in Gitmo has never made sense. “The U.S. has to resettle a few of the Uighurs in order to close Gitmo, period,” said Stacy Sullivan, a counterterrorism advisor at Human Rights Watch. “The Department of Justice and the Guantanamo Review Task Force need to provide background info on Uighurs to Frank Wolf and to everyone else concerned with Uighurs coming to the United States. As long as don’t do that they fuel suspicion and allegations that President Obama is trying to release terrorists into the United States.”

Frank Wolf is ready for the administration to fix that. “If he sees information that proves that the Uighurs are not actually terrorists, he may take another look at this,” said Scandling. “But we’ve seen nothing that proves that. This is an administration that ran on transparency and all it has provided here is stonewall after stonewall.”

Editors Note: This story has been updated for clarity.