Congressional Elections

U.S. Rep. Hilda Solis has not yet been confirmed as Labor secretary, but the race to replace her is in full swing. This week, candidate Judy Chu, chairwoman of the state Board of Equalization, received a coveted distinction in local politics: a nod from the Los Angeles County Federation of Labor. "She's got a tremendous labor background," said Ed Rendon, political director for the Teamsters Joint Council in Los Angeles, which is a member of the federation's Committee on Political Education.

On a rain-spitting Sunday in Lake Placid, Republican Jim Tedisco was out fanning the flames of voter outrage. Tedisco is running for an open congressional seat here and has combined the hot-button issues of the day -- executive bonuses, the economic stimulus package, Wall Street bailouts -- into a drum-pounding campaign message against the Democrats. "The last thing we need [in Washington] is a rubber stamp," he said. "It's been kind of a shopping spree, it seems."

Silvan Johnson adores Sarah Palin, belongs to a conservative discussion group and fumes at President Obama's spending policies. But when it comes to picking a new congressional representative for her upstate New York district, she is in no mood to help the Republican Party. In fact, Johnson and many other conservatives want to use a Nov. 3 special election to teach the GOP a lesson about sticking to conservative values -- even though that lesson could mean the party loses a House seat it has held for decades.

Maybe the Rock and Triple H will serve as campaign managers. Linda McMahon, chief executive of World Wrestling Entertainment Inc., announced Wednesday that she was resigning to run for the U.S. Senate in her home state of Connecticut. McMahon, a Republican, will look to unseat Democratic Sen. Christopher J. Dodd in the 2010 election. Although not nearly as flamboyant as her husband, WWE Chairman and ringmaster Vince McMahon, Linda McMahon is considered the brains behind the brawn.

The gulf between the moderate and conservative factions of the Republican Party appeared to spread Sunday when the Republican former candidate in a contentious congressional race endorsed the Democrat. New York State Assemblywoman Dede Scozzafava's decision was essentially a rebuke of conservative activists who had mounted a wildcat effort to ensure her defeat. She had ended her campaign a day earlier after it became clear she could not win Tuesday's special election. It remained uncertain, however, whether her endorsement could tilt the race toward Democrat Bill Owens.

In the final weeks before the special election to fill the San Gabriel Valley-based 32nd Congressional District seat, Judy Chu, the heavily favored Democrat, is confident enough to have moved into smaller campaign headquarters. Her Republican opponent and cousin by marriage, Betty Tom Chu, determined to make a strong bid despite long odds, has opened a campaign office for the first time since entering the race April 6. And the Libertarian in the three-way runoff, Christopher M.