Free Republic

In the midst of a sea of blue-and-gold-clad tailgaters in front of Delaware Stadium, Democrat Chris Coons was explaining his Senate campaign when a woman from the crowd approached carrying a plate of sweets and tapped him on the arm. "Want some cake?" the woman asked. "I made it." Such is life when you're campaigning at a Delaware football game. Campaigning politicians have long been a fixture at Delaware Stadium during election years, almost as familiar a sight as barbecue grills, beer cans and Hens jerseys at tailgates. The crowds of upward of 20,000 people prove too appealing to pass...

Former GOP state chairman Kevin Mannix made it official Thursday, entering the race for the Oregon congressional seat being vacated by Democrat Darlene Hooley. Mannix will have to fight for his party's nomination against Mike Erickson, a wealthy businessman from Lake Oswego who ran against Hooley in 2006. On the Democratic side, a primary contest is set between state Sen. Kurt Schrader and political consultant Steve Marks. Some unions have also been quietly floating the idea of a run by Jim Hill, the former state treasurer who ran for governor in 2006. Mannix represented the city of Salem in the...