Sen. Hillary Clinton’s (D-N.Y) nomination as Secretary of State has opened up a vacancy with no dearth of applicants in the Empire State. In the Washington Post today, the reporter and his sources handicap the race. And what was one of the requirements? Fundraising prowess. To be more exact, the candidate must be able to raise an estimated $35 million for their 2010 election to keep the seat.

This morning as I was reading through my newspapers, I noticed the ad on the back page of Roll Call from finance giant Merrill Lynch congratulating the new administration and new Congress on their Election Day wins.

Last spring, the New Hampshire General Assembly passed legislation creating a study commission aimed at figuring out what a Clean Elections system would look like for the Granite State. Last week, the Commission held a hearing on the issue.