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By Alexander Burns (@aburnspolitico, aburns@politico.com)


HOURS AWAY - THE NEW MAP: The 2012 congressional landscape will begin to take shape this morning when the U.S. Census unveils a new set of state and national population numbers, showing which states will be adding House seats and which states will be shedding them in redistricting next year. Census director Robert Groves previewed the 11 a.m. announcement on his blog, writing: "I perceive this event as the culmination of millions of hours of people's time. ... Congress has charged the Census Bureau with doing the arithmetic to compute the number of Members in the U.S. House of Representatives, and we'll present this report ... we will announce the official national population count. We will report the state resident population for all states, the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico." States likely to gain seats may include Florida, Georgia, South Carolina, Texas, Arizona, Utah, Nevada and Washington, while expected losers include New York, Massachusetts, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Ohio, Michigan, Illinois, Iowa, Missouri and Louisiana. http://bit.ly/h9Tolg


BLOOMBERG SUMS IT UP - John McCormick and Tim Jones: "Republican strongholds in the U.S. South and West are poised to gain political power in time for the 2012 presidential election, taking electoral votes away from states Barack Obama carried in 2008, new population data is likely to show. ... The scope of the reapportionment would be the smallest since 1970 if just 17 states see a gain or loss. That's a reflection of slower migration in recent years triggered by the worst recession since the Great Depression." http://bit.ly/eDpjh8


TRY THIS AT HOME: The Census has provided online resources allowing you to review historical census data here: http://bit.ly/hOPW9J ; and watch the announcement here: http://bit.ly/e3Qnbk


As Becky Skillman bows out, Florida gets another debate and the long arm of the law reaches David Paterson, here's POLITICO's Morning Score: your daily guide to the permanent campaign.


THE 2012 SCORE - BARBOUR, DAY II: Mississippi Gov. Haley Barbour's profile in the Weekly Standard is officially a more-than-24-hour story, as liberal commentators and other activists pile on the governor for his indifferent description of the civil rights movement. The AP's Charles Babington: "At issue is the January 1970 integration of public schools in Barbour's home town of Yazoo City, when he was 20. Historical accounts confirm the schools integrated peacefully, as Barbour stated in a recent profile in the Weekly Standard magazine. Some liberal groups, however, said his comments skimmed over the segregationist role played by so-called Citizens Councils in the state. Several liberal bloggers Monday said Barbour left an inaccurate impression of Mississippi's local Citizens Councils, which sought to thwart integration in many areas. However, the white supremacist groups had their chief influence in the 1950s and early 1960s, years before the Yazoo City schools integration. ... Calls to Barbour's press office were not immediately returned. But his spokesman Dan Turner told other news outlets that the governor is not racist and he was commenting on specific events in Yazoo City, not on the broader Citizens Councils movement." http://bit.ly/gC59Nv


DEMS POUNCE - The DNC's Hari Sevugan tweeted: "Re Barbour's 'not that bad' comment: He's not ready for prime time or not ready for the 21st century - either way it's disqualifying" http://bit.ly/i7MFY2


MR. JANUARY - PENCE GOING HOME? Indiana Rep. Mike Pence may be less than a month away from announcing his plans for the 2012 cycle, POLITICO's Kasie Hunt reports: "A source close to Pence told POLITICO that the conservative congressman still hasn't decided whether to run for president or if he'll opt for a gubernatorial bid instead. But sitting Republican Lt. Gov. Becky Skillman's announcement Monday that she won't run for governor appears to be pushing Pence toward Indianapolis. 'He will make a decision in the very near future,' the Pence ally said, adding that it's expected within the 'first couple weeks of January.' ... [P]ressure is mounting on Pence to make a quick decision, in part, because Skillman's exit means the Republican field is wide open ... But a Republican source with ties to the Hoosier State said all signs point to a gubernatorial bid, and that Indiana GOPers will be surprised if he runs for president." http://politi.co/fBrJLR


MORE - RIPPLES: Skillman cited "minor health issues" in her announcement that she wouldn't run for governor, prompting Gov. Mitch Daniels to release a statement saying she "would have made a superb governor." Democratic candidates for governor may include Reps. Brad Ellsworth and Joe Donnelly, Evansville Mayor Jonathan Weinzapfel and state House Speaker John Gregg. http://bit.ly/hi1ZBq


TEA PARTY FIGHT IN N.H. - Former Republican gubernatorial candidate Jack Kimball, a tea party-aligned conservative who lost in this year's GOP primary, announced Monday he's entering the race for chairman of the New Hampshire Republican Party. WMUR's James Pindell reports: "Kimball said that his phone began to ring constantly from activists encouraging him to RUN, especially after news came Friday that like-minded conservative Jennifer Horn, a two-time Congressional nominee, decided not to join the race. ... In announcing his campaign he matches up against Cheshire County Republican Chair Juliana Bergeron, whom outgoing chairman John H. Sununu personally recruited into the race. Bergeron has something of a head start given that she has been in the race for weeks and has lined up key supporters in every county. Kimball said he personally likes Bergeron, but he believes that he is a unique bridge between the Tea Party activists and the establishment and has had many more years experience in leading organizations." So far it's a two-person race, after Republican operative James Sununu pulled the plug on a potential campaign yesterday afternoon. http://bit.ly/i4lXwp and http://bit.ly/eKQnCp SAVE THE (VAGUE) DATES - FIGHT NIGHT IN ORLANDO - The Sentinel: "Fox News and the Republican Party of Florida have agreed to host a debate in Orlando between Republican presidential candidates. It will be in October - details to come - and will be the second debate in Florida. Last week, CNN and the Tea Party Express agreed to host one in Tampa." http://bit.ly/gOBeBB


ALSO IN FLORIDA - PPP TEASES: The Democratic robo-polling sensation is preparing to release data showing President Obama in solid shape among Florida voters going into 2012. Tom Jensen writes that in both Florida and Ohio "Obama's seen huge gains in his numbers with moderates, who are far more numerous than liberals in both states. Because of that Obama's overall approval numbers in Florida and Ohio are the best they've been in months. ... Last week we found that Obama led all of his top potential Republican opponents for reelection in Ohio and we'll release numbers later this week showing that the same is true in Florida. Even though liberal voters in the states are unhappy with him on this issue they're still saying they'll vote for him ... he's picking up the support from the middle that he's going to need to break over 50% in his reelection bid." http://bit.ly/eShXDC


THE RNC RACE - STEELE UNLEASHED: RNC Chairman Michael Steele delivered a blunt personal attack on one of his intra-party critics during an appearance on Baltimore's WBAL radio. The host asked Steele to respond to Indiana Committeeman Jim Bopp's suggestion that the chairman made a race-based appeal - urging the committee to choose a leader who represents "the party of Lincoln" - during his reelection kickoff. Steele's response? "Mr. Bopp is an idiot. ... I refer to myself as a Lincoln Republican, that's who I am. I define myself through the party origins, the party that spoke to and about the freedom and emancipation of all people, not just black folks. ... Jim Bopp has been against my chairmanship from the beginning and I understand that, maybe it has something to do with my cutting his million-dollar contract with the RNC." It's a remarkable slam from a politician who's kept his media profile pretty low lately. ThinkProgress found the interview, which is available here: http://bit.ly/h8axS4


AND - ANOTHER FOR PRIEBUS: Wisconsin Republican Party Chairman Reince Priebus picked up another vote in the RNC race overnight, announcing support from North Dakota's newly inducted chairman, Stan Stein. Priebus described him in an e-mail to the NRC as a "farmer and longtime GOP activists ... the latest addition to the group of supporters I am blessed to have." The endorsement brings Priebus's public support to 17 votes - the most of any candidate in the race - and gives him the full backing of North Dakota's delegation.


POLL OF THE DAY - DIVIDED ON CHRISTIE: New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie finishes his first year in office with unusually polarized job ratings, according a poll conducted for the Eagleton Institute at Rutgers. Thirty-nine percent of New Jersey residents say Christie's job performance has been "good" or "excellent," while 54 percent say his tenure has been "fair" or "poor." More: "Gov. Christie's 'poor' rating is the second highest over the history of the Rutgers-Eagleton Poll in the first year of a new governor, while his 'excellent' rating is also among the highest ... Christie's overall positive job rating of 39 percent equals or beats other first-year governors except Jon Corzine (53 percent approval) and Christie Whitman (52 percent good or excellent)." http://bit.ly/gdmwZZ


2014 WATCH - MCCONNELL'S IN: Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell will run for reelection when his current term expires in 2014 and told POLITICO's Manu Raju in no uncertain terms: "I'm not planning on running - I am running ... I've never been someone who has started late or who agonized publicly over whether I was going to run. I feel like I'm at the top of my game, at my peak effectiveness and I certainly am going to run again in 2014." http://politi.co/g7QjCq


EXIT PATERSON: Outgoing New York Gov. David Paterson was fined $62,125 by the state Commission on Public Integrity, for accepting several 2009 World Series tickets free of charge. 1010 WINS: "'The moral and ethical tone of any organization is set at the top. Unfortunately, the governor set a totally inappropriate tone by his dishonest and unethical conduct,' said commission Chairman Michael Cherkasky. ... [Special counsel Judith Kaye] said the evidence warranted consideration of criminal charges. Albany County District Attorney P. David Soares said in August the case was under consideration but they would have no comment until the review was complete." http://bit.ly/fB6FdD


CODA - TWEET OF THE DAY: "@JohnCornyn guarantee your freedom to reach your dreams RT @EJAndersen: What are you gonna do for me? RT @JohnCornyn help me get to 10k on FB" http://bit.ly/h0U2FI

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