Rep. John Doolittle (R-CA) has a fight ahead of him in his bid for his 9th term in Congress. Doolittle has been in the spotlight over his relationships with Jack Abramoff and Tom DeLay, his refusal to return donations from Abramoff and his clients, and the fundraising setup he has with his wife - she pockets a 15% commission on whatever she raises for his campaign.

Lots to report on…

Despite analysis that her campaign is in "complete dissaray" Katherine Harris is still insisting she's going to win in her bid for Senate. Quite a hurdle with a history like hers.  She's taken illegal campaign contributions, tried to cover for it by packing her campaign warchest with $10 million of her own money - to say nothing of her disregard for Democratic principles in the 2000 election debacle.&n

If you'd like to hear Katherine Harris in her own words and in her own, ahem, unique style, visit Crooks and Liars.

We just sent this email (below the fold) out to our list of activists -- can you believe that Katherine Harris is trying to wash away her legacy with $10 million? Can you believe that she thinks people will forget that she abandoned the principle of oneperson, one vote in 2000? That  somehow spending $10 million makes it okay to have taken illegal campaign contributions. Our petition is here.

Update I: Okay, the headline here is not exactly right -- it was written after I first heard the news but before I read the entire plea agreement. New Headline: Wade Made Illegal Contributions to Two Members.

Mitchell Wade of MZM -- the guy who bribed Duke Cunningham -- apparently made illegal campaign donations to two other members of Congress. More soon.

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In the race for Majority Leader, early signs are that the Republicans are taking balloting seriously:

House Republicans are taking a mulligan on the first ballot for Majority Leader. The first count showed more votes cast than Republicans present at the Conference meeting.

(via Roll Call)

That's the ticket -- finally the GOP agrees they should count all the votes. Any paper ballots?

The Sarasota Herald-Tribune reports that Rep. Katherine Harris (R-FL), who recently announced her intention to run for Senate, has offered to return campaign contributions she received from MZM Inc., the defense contractor who bought scandalized California Republican Rep. Randy "Duke" Cunnigham's mansion at an allegedly inflated price.

The sale is currently the subject of a federal grand jury investigation in Southern California.

We have more information on where five additional members stand on the DeLay Rule, and we have updated our database. Cass Ballenger of North Carolina, Amo Houghton of New York, and Nathan Deal of Georgia abstained from the vote, bring the number of members not voting to 36.