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<p>By Alexander Burns (Twitter: @aburnspolitico) <br />
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<strong>WAIT TILL TWO YEARS FROM NOW</strong>: West Virginia Secretary of State Natalie Tennant announced that there will not be a special election for the seat of the late Democratic Sen. Robert Byrd, declaring that because West Virginia's filing period and primary date have already passed, the seat will be held by a temporary appointee until 2012. In her judgment, Tennant acknowledged that the law "states that for terms with more than two years and six months remaining, such as this one with Senator Byrd, the Governor will appoint a replacement who serves the unexpired term until a successor has been elected. But that election will not be the 2010 General election. Part of this same section of code, requires the candidate to have filed during the filing period. That filing period has already passed." <a target="_blank" href="http://bit.ly/aeaJTV ">http://bit.ly/aeaJTV </a><br />
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The ruling removes a potential headache for Democrats, who would have had to defend another vacant seat in Republican territory if a special election had been scheduled. Democratic Gov. Joe Manchin, a likely candidate for the seat in 2012, will name a placeholder instead. Manchin told the AP he's already decided not to appoint himself, but other names floated for the job include former state Democratic Party Chairman Nick Casey, current Democratic Party Chairman Larry Puccio, state Senate President Earl Ray Tomblin, first lady Gayle Manchin, former gubernatorial counsel Carte Goodwin, Morgantown real estate manager Perry Petropolis and former state Supreme Court Justice Richard Neely. http://bit.ly/9WJzn9 and <a target="_blank" href="http://politi.co/ds4s0i ">http://politi.co/ds4s0i</a> <br />
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As Ken Hechler holds a grudge, Joe Biden teases Chris Coons and the Lynch brothers face setbacks in Rhode Island, here's POLITICO's Morning Score: your daily cheat sheet for the 2010 midterm elections. <br />
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<strong>SCORE EXCLUSIVE -- COUNTDOWN TO JULY 13</strong>: Alabama state Rep. Robert Bentley is claiming a 19-point lead in the lightly polled Republican runoff primary for governor, according to a survey commissioned by his campaign. Bentley drew 46 percent of the vote in the poll, compared with 27 percent for former two-year college chancellor Bradley Byrne. Byrne finished in first place in Alabama's first round of primary voting earlier this month, but may have sustained lasting damage in a negative ad fight with third-place finisher Tim James: Byrne had a 43 percent favorable rating and a 24 percent unfavorable rating in the Bentley-backed poll, while Bentley had a 59 percent favorable rating and a nine percent unfavorable rating. <br />
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<strong>ALSO IN THE POLL -- OIL POLITICS</strong>: The third-most important issue to voters in the poll was "cleaning up the Gulf oil spill," with 14 percent calling it their top concern. Only "creating jobs," at 19 percent, and "strengthening Alabama's economy," at 15 percent, ranked higher. The poll was conducted by Bentley consultants Dresner, Wickers & Associates, testing 450 voters on June 24, 26 and 27. <br />
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<strong>TODAY -- KIRK STRIKES BACK</strong>: Illinois Rep. Mark Kirk will speak to reporters about his campaign for Senate this morning at the Renaissance Hotel in Northbrook, in a high-stakes public appearance following weeks of tough press over erroneous statements in his biography. Kirk will address those flaps, according to a strategist familiar with his plans -- and go on offense, targeting Democratic nominee Alexi Giannoulias and announcing a series of substantive speeches. "Kirk will lay out the contrast in the race and the choice between his record and Alexi Giannoulias's, speak to the big issues confronting the state of Illinois, announce policy speeches he will deliver over the course of the campaign, and acknowledge mistakes that have been made concerning his record," the strategist said. <br />
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<strong>THE BUCK STOPS HERE?</strong> Former Colorado Lt. Gov. Jane Norton's campaign is hammering Weld County District Attorney Ken Buck over his rocky record as a federal prosecutor, running a radio ad highlighting a Denver Post report that Buck left a job in the U.S. attorney's office after meddling in a prosecution. From the script: "As a lawyer in Bill Clinton's administration, Ken Buck was investigated for ethics violations, improperly undermining the prosecution of pawnshop owner Gregory Golyansky. Buck's unethical conduct earned him a reprimand from US Attorney John Suthers. Suthers made Ken Buck take ethics classes, and Buck left office under a cloud. ... Washington is already full of politicians who need ethics courses. Ken Buck? He'd fit right in." Read the Post story here. <a target="_blank" href="http://bit.ly/cBWpht">http://bit.ly/cBWpht</a> <br />
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<strong>TEAMWORK:</strong> Vice President Biden and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi plan to headline a Philadelphia fundraiser together on July 19, pa2010.com reports, with the haul going to the DCCC and Pennsylvania state Rep. Bryan Lentz's campaign for the open seat of outgoing Democratic Rep. Joe Sestak. From Dan Hirschorn's report: "The event was originally planned as a fundraiser with just Biden and Lentz. But the DCCC was separately planning a fundraiser for Pelosi to attend the same day, and the two were combined rather than risk having them compete." <a target="_blank" href="http://bit.ly/aZnhyj ">http://bit.ly/aZnhyj</a> <br />
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<strong>POLL OF THE DAY -- MORAN LEADS</strong>: Kansas Rep. Jerry Moran holds a 20-point lead over Rep. Todd Tiahrt in the Republican primary for retiring Sen. Sam Brownback's seat, according to SurveyUSA. Moran is taking 53 percent of the vote to Tiahrt's 33 percent, a little more than a month before their state's primary date. Tiahrt was endorsed by Sarah Palin late last week. <a target="_blank" href="http://bit.ly/cyJ4Pe ">http://bit.ly/cyJ4Pe</a> <br />
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<strong>LAST NIGHT -- BIDEN FOR COONS</strong> -- The vice president addressed a Wilmington fundraiser for New Castle County Executive Chris Coons, who's running for Biden's old Senate seat against GOP Rep. Mike Castle. Biden told attendees: "Chris is a truly independent guy. He's a Democrat. ... He came to the county executive in a pretty difficult time. The office was a mess and Coons, said 'We're going to clean this place up.'" And Biden joked about Coons's education: "Who goes to Yale and gets a law degree and a divinity degree. Who goes to Yale? My son Hunter did and I haven't spoken to him since. I never liked those guys at Yale and Harvard.'"</p><p>THE BIG MAP -- with POLITICO's Zachary Abrahamson: <br />
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<strong>SENATE:</strong> <br />
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<strong>COLORADO</strong>: The U.S. Chamber of Commerce backed Jane Norton over Ken Buck in the Colorado GOP Senate primary. Chamber president Tom Donohue called Norton the more electable candidate against Democratic Sen. Michael Bennet, acknowledging: "What we're doing is saying, who has the best chance of winning?" <a target="_blank" href="http://politi.co/cULmtj ">http://politi.co/cULmtj </a><br />
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<strong>FLORIDA</strong>: Republicans who donated money to Charlie Crist's Senate campaign, back when he was running under the GOP banner, are filing a class-action lawsuit against him to demand a refund. State Rep. Tom Grady, a former Crist supporter, is representing the plaintiffs against the governor, and explained: "He was pretty blunt in saying he was not going to refund the money, but as you know, the governor changes his mind." <a target="_blank" href="http://bit.ly/a8JZrR ">http://bit.ly/a8JZrR</a> <br />
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<strong>NEVADA</strong>: The state Democratic Party is targeting Republican Senate candidate Sharron Angle's position on abortion, highlighting her opposition to the procedure even in cases of rape or incest. Asked by a conservative radio host if there was ever any reason to have an abortion, Angle said: "Not in my book." Pressed specifically about rape and incest exemptions, Angle replied: "I believe that God has a plan and a purpose for each one of our lives and that he can intercede in all kinds of situations." <a target="_blank" href="http://bit.ly/bvGypC ">http://bit.ly/bvGypC</a> <br />
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<strong>SOUTH CAROLINA</strong>: Alvin Greene, the unemployed veteran who won a surprise victory in the primary to take on Republican Sen. Jim DeMint, is finally up with a website at www.alvingreeneforussenator.com. It's a spare site: the "Issues" section has 38 words in it, and the link that reads "Support the Campaign!" leads to a "404 Not Found" page. <a target="_blank" href="http://bit.ly/aPgXDA ">http://bit.ly/aPgXDA</a> <br />
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<strong>HOUSE:</strong> <br />
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<strong>ID-01</strong>: Idaho state Rep. Raul Labrador, the Republican challenging Democratic freshman Walt Minnick, is walking back criticism he made of House Minority Leader John Boehner during the GOP House primary. POLITICO's Alex Isenstadt reports that Labrador singled out Boehner during a March event, telling supporters that Boehner and the GOP leadership had "failed us" and allowed Democrats to take power. Now, Labrador is emphasizing that his objection was not to Boehner in particular, but to the direction of "the entire party." <a target="_blank" href="http://politi.co/cXaXO5 ">http://politi.co/cXaXO5</a> <br />
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<strong>MI-03</strong>: The Club for Growth announced it will support Justin Amash, a state legislator from Cascade Charter Township, in the GOP primary for retiring Rep. Vern Ehlers's seat. Calling Amash a conservative "committed to breaking Washington's addiction to deficits and debt," the Club endorsed him over health care executive Steve Heacock, Amash's chief primary rival in the strongly Republican district. <a target="_blank" href="http://bit.ly/c5gp2Q ">http://bit.ly/c5gp2Q</a> <br />
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<strong>RI-01</strong>: Rhode Island Democrats officially endorsed Providence Mayor David Cicilline for retiring Rep. Patrick Kennedy's House seat. That's not exactly a surprise -- Cicilline has strong establishment support for his campaign -- but he defeated Bill Lynch, a former 12-year party chairman whose loss was a "slap in the face," the Providence Journal writes. <a target="_blank" href="http://bit.ly/cKrApL ">http://bit.ly/cKrApL</a> <br />
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<strong>WV-01</strong>: Former West Virginia Secretary of State Ken Hechler, a giant in state Democratic politics, is drawing a bead on his party's House nominee for outgoing Rep. Alan Mollohan's district. Hechler and state Sen. Mike Oliverio jousted in the 2004 Democratic primary for secretary of state. Now, Hechler's starting a "Citizens Who Refuse to Vote for Mike Oliverio" PAC, objecting to what he calls Oliverio's excessive level of negativity. <a target="_blank" href="http://bit.ly/cpb6bv ">http://bit.ly/cpb6bv</a> <br />
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<strong>GOVERNORS:</strong> <br />
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<strong>CALIFORNIA</strong>: Democratic state Attorney General Jerry Brown accepted invitations to 10 debates with former eBay CEO Meg Whitman, starting with a July 31 event hosted by the Christian group Faith Forum. Whitman's not matching him event-for-event: she's accepted just one joint appearance so far, for an NBC debate in mid-October. <a target="_blank" href="http://bit.ly/dnYvDb ">http://bit.ly/dnYvDb</a> <br />
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<strong>GEORGIA</strong>: Former Secretary of State Karen Handel picked up an out-of-state endorsement this week from Arizona Gov. Jan Brewer, a once-obscure state official who's risen to prominence thanks to her state's immigration law. In a statement, Handel called Brewer a "conservative hero," who "has become an inspiration." <a target="_blank" href="http://bit.ly/aSXokN ">http://bit.ly/aSXokN </a><br />
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<strong>MARYLAND</strong>: Former Gov. Bob Ehrlich plans to announce his running mate this week on Facebook, he said in a video posted to the website Monday. It'll be Ehrlich's third running mate in eight years, after Michael Steele in the 2002 campaign and Kristen Cox in 2006, when Steele ran for Senate. Incumbent Democratic Gov. Martin O'Malley's running mate will be Lt. Gov. Anthony Brown. <a target="_blank" href="http://bit.ly/acDfp8 ">http://bit.ly/acDfp8 </a><br />
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<strong>RHODE ISLAND</strong>: The state Democratic Party endorsed Rhode Island Treasurer Frank Caprio for governor, giving him a surprise win over Attorney General Patrick Lynch, whose brother was the longtime party chairman. Caprio's campaign crowed: "Frank Caprio came into this race running against a man whose family has led the state party for over a decade ... Tonight is a huge victory." <a target="_blank" href="http://bit.ly/cKrApL">http://bit.ly/cKrApL</a> <br />
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<strong>2012: <br />
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<strong>CHANGING HIS TUNE</strong>: Haley Barbour initially declared that the oil disaster would have a limited impact on Mississippi -- "it's not poisonous," and beaches would be open, he said -- but now he's taking a different tack as oil approaches the shore. "We have to be honest with the public," Barbour said, according to ABC News. "Right now we don't have enough skimming capacity if everything that's off our shores continues going north." <a target="_blank" href="http://bit.ly/bM62qr ">http://bit.ly/bM62qr </a><br />
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<strong>TOUGH CROWD</strong>: Just 14 percent of Texas Republicans want Gov. Rick Perry to run for president in 2012, a Public Policy Polling survey shows. The election is several years away and Perry hasn't expressed interest in a bid, but that's a lower level of home-state support than other GOP leaders get: 48 percent of Louisiana Republicans want Gov. Bobby Jindal to run for president and 24 percent of South Carolinians would be supportive of Sen. Jim DeMint. <a target="_blank" href="http://bit.ly/934qBl ">http://bit.ly/934qBl</a></p><br>
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