Congressional Elections 2010

The Northeast's dwindling cast of Senate Republicans has Democrats circling Arlen Specter's seat in Pennsylvania, convinced the party is well-positioned to make a competitive race out of the 2010 election. Leading the pack of prospects -- at least in celebrity -- is Chris Matthews, the MSNBC "Hardball" host and a former Capitol Hill Democratic staffer.

MSNBC host Chris Matthews put an end to speculation that he was considering a bid for the U.S. Senate, telling his producers Wednesday that he had decided not to jump into the 2010 race in his home state of Pennsylvania. In a routine production meeting before his daily show "Hardball," Matthews informed the staff that he was not going to pursue the seat, network spokesman Jeremy Gaines said. The cable host, who is negotiating a new contract at MSNBC, declined to comment.

In just the last couple of weeks, he clumsily pronounced a Supreme Court justice to be near death and suggested he could sue a fellow senator and the Republican Party. He's raised almost no money for his reelection bid next year and is in serious danger of losing his once-safe seat to the other party. Party insiders are terrified practically every time he opens his mouth, but he seems determined not to go gently into the night.

If Sen. Arlen Specter defected from the GOP to avoid a tough primary fight, he failed: The highest-ranking military veteran to serve in Congress will announce today that he is seeking Pennsylvania's Democratic senatorial nomination. Rep. Joe Sestak (D-Pa.), a two-term lawmaker and former Navy vice admiral, will declare his candidacy during a two-day tour around the state, culminating Wednesday with an appearance on Comedy Central's "Colbert Report."

Republican businesswoman Carly Fiorina formally entered the race for U.S. Senate on Wednesday, issuing a blistering critique of Democratic incumbent Barbara Boxer even as she tried to blunt her own primary challenge from the right. Before a small gathering of supporters in a Garden Grove warehouse, Fiorina said her business acumen and real-world experience make her the only viable Republican candidate in the 2010 contest. She mocked Boxer for writing three pieces of legislation during her 17-year tenure and for spending the summer on a book tour instead of meeting with voters at town halls.

Even before voters went to the polls this week, moderate congressional Democrats were anxious. Would the swing voters who coalesced around Barack Obama almost exactly one year ago stay with the Democrats or defect to the Republicans? The answer came Tuesday night as Republican gubernatorial candidates swept to power in New Jersey and Virginia, with the help of large packs of self-described independents. Exit polls circulating on the House floor Wednesday were even more unnerving to Democrats.