WISCONSIN
Rep. Ryan weighs run for Sen. Kohl’s seat
Rep. Paul Ryan said Sunday that he would have a decision within days on whether he will seek the seat from Wisconsin being vacated by Sen. Herb Kohl.
Mr. Ryan, a Republican who has risen to national prominence from his position as chairman of the House Budget Committee, is considered a leading contender on the GOP side to replace Mr. Kohl, a Democrat who made his surprise retirement announcement Friday.
Speaking on CNN early Sunday, Mr. Ryan said, “My family and voters just started digesting this. I plan on making an announcement very quickly.”
Mr. Kohl becomes the fifth Democrat in the Senate who will forgo a bid for re-election in 2012.
SOUTH CAROLINA
Gov. Haley criticizes Trump’s salty language
South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley had kind words for several contenders in the crowded Republican presidential field - but not for billionaire Donald Trump.
In an interview that aired Sunday on ABC’s “This Week,” Mrs. Haley, a Republican in her first term, said Mr. Trump’s use of profanities on the stump would not go over well in her home state.
“That is not appropriate in South Carolina,” she said. “We will give all of our candidates respect, and we certainly expect our candidates to come in and give the people of South Carolina respect.”
Mr. Trump, who is weighing a run for the Republican presidential nomination, has peppered his public appearances with blunt, expletive-laced comments and criticism of the Obama administration.
Mrs. Haley said former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney has a lot of work to do to explain his support of the state’s health care law. But she said Mr. Romney, whom she supported in 2008, “showed courage when it came to dealing with health care.”
She also complimented Indiana Gov. Mitch Daniels, who is also mulling a presidential run. “He was an amazing reformer in his state,” she said.
2012
Gingrich says tough talk on Obama is not racist
Former House Speaker Newt Gingrich, who announced last week that he will seek the 2012 GOP presidential nomination, said Sunday that it’s “bizarre” to equate tough criticism of President Obama with racism.
“This kind of automatic reference to racism … this is the president of the United States,” he said on NBC’s “Meet the Press.” “The president of the United States has to be held accountable. And to hide behind a charge of racism … I have never said anything about President Obama which is racist.”
Mr. Gingrich said his opposition to the White House is policy-based: “He follows the same destructive political model that destroyed the city of Detroit. I follow the model that Rick Perry and others have used to create more jobs in Texas.”
CAMPAIGN
National Democrats eye Kentucky governor’s race
LOUISVILLE, KY. | The head of the Democratic Governors Association said Kentucky’s contest this fall will be a top priority for the organization.
Maryland Gov. Martin O’Malley told the Courier-Journal in Louisville that he couldn’t say how much the organization will spend in the Bluegrass State, but the group will be active as the race heats up.
“With [Steven L.] Beshear as such a leading governor in our country, the DGA will be in here with both feet,” said Mr. O’Malley, who was in Louisville to speak at the Jefferson County Democratic Party’s Wendell H. Ford Appreciation Dinner on Saturday.
Both parties view Kentucky as a priority because of the limited number of gubernatorial elections this year. The heads of the Democratic and Republican governors associations have been to Kentucky this spring.
Texas Gov. Rick Perry, who heads the Republican Governors Association, spoke at the GOP state Lincoln Day dinner on April 9.
Mr. Beshear is unopposed for the Democratic nomination and will face the winner of the May 17 GOP primary.
HOUSE
Boehner gets emotional at college commencement
At a college commencement address on Saturday, House Speaker John A. Boehner poked a little fun at his reputation for getting emotional in public - and then, true to form, got a little choked up during his speech.
Speaking to the graduating class at the District’s Catholic University, he told the students to keep with them always “humility, patience and faith” - and, of course, “always a few tears from me.”
The speaker dabbed away tears while sharing his personal story of rising from his modest background to one of the most powerful political positions in the country.
GEORGIA
Cain rallies supporters for presidential run
MACON, GA. | Former pizza chain executive Herman Cain sounded like a presidential candidate Saturday at the Georgia GOP convention.
“The thing that’s going to make me a formidable challenger is how my message resonates with the American people, how my passion connects with the American people,” Mr. Cain said.
The Georgia resident, who has never held public office, said he plans to officially announce his presidential run on Saturday.
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