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Mr Bush has allegedly told friends that Mrs Palin is not qualified to be president and criticises John McCain for picking her as his Running Mate in 2008 "Naming Palin makes Bush think less of McCain as a man," a Republican official close to Mr Bush told the New York Daily News. "He thinks McCain ran a lousy campaign with an unqualified running mate and destroyed any chance of winning by picking Palin." Mr Bush has allegedly been disparaging about Mrs Palin in the past. Matt Latimer, former special assistant to Mr Bush, wrote in a book released last year:...

South Carolina Gov.-elect Nikki Haley had warm words this morning for Sarah Palin, whose backing was crucial in netting her the Republican primary nomination. But there's one word Haley wouldn't utter about the possible presidential contender: "endorse." Asked on NBC's Today show this morning whether she would back Palin in a potential 2012 presidential bid, Haley demurred. "You know, I think the responsibility to the citizens of South Carolina is that I look at the environment, I look at the slate of candidates that are running, and I make the choice that is best for the people of this state,"...

Parnell Asks for Resignations from Palin Appointees Wed, November 3, 2010 Posted in Alaska News, Alaska Politics, Elections 2010, Top Stories Dave Donaldson, APRN – Juneau Wednesday, Governor Sean Parnell took the first steps in creating his own administration that will be different from what he inherited when Sarah Palin quit last year. It is the same step taken when one governor takes over from another – and, since it didn’t take place when Palin left office, it could indicate a noticeable break from the past. He is asking for resignations from all Palin appointees – at the cabinet level,...

Reporting from Washington — Is Sarah Palin the secret weapon in Republican National Committee Chairman Michael Steele's reelection campaign? Some members of the RNC think so. They expect her to back the former Maryland lieutenant governor's bid for a second term as party chairman. The two appeared together during Steele's recent coast-to-coast "Fire Pelosi" bus tour. And Steele came to Palin's defense on national television this week, telling critics of the former Alaska governor to "shut up."

By MAGGIE HABERMAN | 11/5/10 8:34 PM EDT Another New York House race was suddenly back in play amid ongoing vote-counting today, as a recanvass of the ballot machines erased a 3,400-vote deficit for Republican Randy Altschuler in New York's 1st District and vaulted him nearly 400 ballots over Democratic Rep. Tim Bishop. It's the second House race in New York in a week in which a large deficit was suddenly reversed as new totals came in, or as the machines were gone over again. Altschuler, a self-funding businessman who ran on a fusion ticket of both the Republican and...

Rep. John Boehner, likely to be the next speaker of the House, is on the interview circuit. On Thursday, he sat down with ABC's Diane Sawyer and discussed a variety of topics, from his position on the Bush tax cuts and his relationship with President Obama to his personal history and his tendency to get emotional. Asked whether he had seen Obama's press conference Wednesday after the Democratic Party had lost the House, Boehner said no. "But I've read a little bit about it," he added. "And there seems to be some denial on the part of the president, and...

Nov. 4, 2010 8:44 a.m. • 11 comments Idaho elected its first Hispanic to represent the state in Congress on Tuesday, as Raul Labrador upset freshman Democratic Rep. Walt Minnick with a decisive 51 percent to 41.3 percent victory. Labrador, a conservative Republican state lawmaker and immigration attorney, said he thought the “first” was significant because it sent a message to the nation about Idahoans. “People have such a bad connotation of what Idaho represents,” Labrador said, “a bad place, a racist place. I can’t think of a better message for Idaho to send than to send a young man...

There was election drama in Connecticut on Thursday. Two days after residents cast their votes, they’re still waiting for word on who will be their next governor. Connecticut’s secretary of state said she can’t tell the media who the next governor is, even though she did just that unofficially on Wednesday. Susan Bysiewicz, a Democrat, unofficially declared Democrat Dan Malloy the likely governor-elect on the day after the election, but now, it seems, vote tally snags in Bridgeport is preventing her verifying her own prediction. She spoke with CBS 2’s Lou Young in Hartford on Thursday afternoon. “The numbers that...

U.S. Sen. Lisa Murkowski won't attempt to regain her leadership within the GOP conference if she wins re-election. Her spokesman, Michael Brumas, says her focus will be on retaining her position as ranking member on the Energy and Natural Resources Committee. Murkowski resigned her position as vice chair in the conference when she decided to run as a write-in candidate following her loss in the August GOP primary to Joe Miller. Read more: http://community.adn.com/adn/node/154143#ixzz14MDGnaha

ALBANY - Count Gov. Paterson among those who think the Republicans won control of the state Senate on Election Day. Paterson, during his weekly radio appearance on WOR this morning, contradicted the hopeful spin coming from Senate Democrats and said it's likely the GOP will be in charge of the Senate in 2011. Citing the narrow leads held by GOP challengers in key Buffalo and Long Island races, Paterson told Gambling this morning that "it is probable that \[GOP Sen. Dean\] Skelos is right, that he will be the majority leader of the Senate in 2011. So that's a significant...

November 3, 2010 Calif.'s Little-Noticed Prop 26 Squeaks Through in Dead of Night By COLIN SULLIVAN of Greenwire The same California voters who rejected a proposition yesterday that would have suspended the state's climate change law also approved a separate ballot referendum that could undermine how cuts in greenhouse gas emissions are implemented by changing the definition of environmental fees. Proposition 26, which passed officially early this morning, will tighten how the state constitution defines taxes and regulatory fees. It has been called the "evil twin" of Proposition 23 by environmental activists who fear it would inhibit the state's ability...

By Michael O'Brien - 11/04/10 09:16 AM ET Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell (Ky.) will say Thursday that defeating President Obama is Republicans' "only way" to truly halt his agenda. McConnell's comments are a doubling-down on his remark last week that Republicans' top priority during the next two years would be to defeat Obama. "Over the past week, some have said it was indelicate of me to suggest that our top political priority over the next two years should be to deny President Obama a second term in office," McConnell will say Thursday during a speech at the Heritage Foundation,...

The southwestern Pennsylvania district long held by the late Rep. John P. Murtha will remain in Democratic hands after a victory by a former Murtha aide. Mark Critz won the 12th congressional district seat in a special election in May to finish out Mr. Murtha’s term, defeating Republican Tim Burns. In Tuesday’s rematch with Mr. Burns, Mr. Critz managed to turn his connection to Democrats – or, more specifically, Mr. Murtha – into a positive and won narrowly. As economic development director for Mr. Murtha, who died in February and steered hundreds of millions of dollars in federal contracts to...

Patty Murray leads Dino Rossi by just over 14,000 out of more than 1.43 million counted so far. The Republican's campaign says it's optimistic late votes will help Rossi overtake the three-incumbent, but Democrats also like their chances. They point to the big margins Murray is racking up in King County. So, just how many votes are left to count? That's where things get tricky. "No one knows how many ballots are left to count, since large volumes are in the mail and final return rate isn't knowable," Dave Ammons, spokesman for Secretary of State Sam Reed, said in an...

Last Modified: Wednesday, November 3, 2010 at 11:49 p.m. LAKELAND | Jennifer Carroll has the distinction of being the first black female Republican elected to the state legislature. She made history again Wednesday when she became the state's first black lieutenant governor. Florida's new governor, Rick Scott, called Carroll, 51, a "history-maker and a barrier-breaker" when he announced her as his running mate in September. And while Adrienne Frazier, a teacher at Southwest Middle School in Lakeland, is a Democrat, she agrees that Carroll is an inspiration. "As a black woman, it makes me confident to see someone who is...

The overseer of Alaska elections says officials will begin counting write-in ballots in the Senate race Nov. 10 in Juneau. Lt. Gov. Craig Campbell tells The Associated Press the intent is to give citizens and candidates a clearer sense of who the write-in vote getters are. Sen. Lisa Murkowski waged a write-in campaign in a bid to keep her job after losing the GOP primary to Joe Miller. She is among 160 qualified write-in candidates. Read more: http://www.adn.com/2010/11/03/1534774/state-to-hasten-senate-write-in.html#ixzz14HcsMTb5

AUGUSTA, Maine— Republicans believed the Blaine House was theirs all along. GOP control of the Senate was a distinct possibility. But taking the House, too? That was a surprise. “I think the stars were all aligned yesterday in Maine, for really the trifecta: the Republican governor, the Republican House, the Republican Senate,” said Rep. Robert Nutting, R-Oakland. Wednesday morning, hundreds of enthusiastic Republicans packed into the State House’s Hall of Flags to celebrate that trifecta. “We had a pretty good night,” said Rep. Josh Tardy, R-Newport, the outgoing House minority leader. “I’m proud to say Republicans have been ready for...

Democrats may be celebrating their sweep of the state's top jobs, but Republicans are hoping to eke out a victory of their own and retake control of the State Senate. NY1's Grace Rauh filed the following report. Election Day is over, but when it comes to control of the State Senate, things are still up in the air. Republicans, though, say they're confident three close races will shake out in their favor, arguing that voters are fed up with the way Democrats ran the state's upper house. "The people of the State of New York have said 'No.' That's not...

CONCORD – Republicans are on their way to controlling nearly 300 seats in New Hampshire's House of Representatives, according to preliminary vote counts. The latest tally shows 296 seats firmly in Republican hands, with three seats yet to be decided. GOP sources say two of those will likely go their way and leave Democrats with 102 seats. In the Senate, the final split is 19-5, according to figures at the Secretary of State's office. That represents a pickup of nine seats for the Republicans, who were the minority in a 14-10 Senate for the past four years.

by Margaret Carrero The 20th congressional district could very well end up in Republican hands. The latest numbers show South Valley farmer -- Andy Vidak -- leading incumbent Democrat -- Jim Costa by more than 1800 votes -- and that's with 100% of precincts reporting. However, absentee and provisional ballots still need to be tallied. The is one of many hard-fought house races that took shape across the country this election season -- with the GOP regaining control Tuesday night.