WASHINGTON - Kit Bond has become the third U.S. Senate Republican in three months to announce plans to retire, creating another challenge in his party’s effort to gain seats in the Democratic-led chamber. 
The 69-year-old, four-term senator from Missouri disclosed his intentions with a touch of levity in a speech in his state capital of Jefferson City. 
“In 1972, I became Missouri’s youngest governor,” Bond said, according to a transcript. “Ladies and gentlemen, I do not aspire to become Missouri’s oldest senator. 
Bond’s decision to leave the Senate at the end of his current term in 2010 followed earlier such announcements by Mel Martinez of Florida and Sam Brownback of Kansas. 
Each is a blow to Republican efforts to rebound from the poundings they took in the past two elections that saw Democrats gain seats in the Senate and House of Representatives. 
“These retirements put Republicans in the defensive mode at the start of the new (election) cycle,” said Nathan Gonzales of the nonpartisan Rothenberg Political Report. “The more open seats there are the more difficult it is to make gains.” 
Incumbents traditionally have a number of advantages against challengers, including name recognition and the ability to raise money. 
While three Senate Republicans plan to retire, four Democrats from last year’s Senate have or intend to step down to join the new administration — beginning with Barack Obama. He recently gave up his seat from Illinois to prepare to move into the White House. 
Joe Biden of Delaware will soon resign from his Senate seat to be sworn in on Jan. 20 as Obama’s vice president. 
Sens. Hillary Rodham Clinton of New York and Ken Salazar of Colorado intend to resign once they win anticipated Senate confirmation as Obama’s secretary of state and interior secretary, respectively. 
The governors of New York, Delaware and Colorado are expected to replace Biden, Clinton and Salazar with fellow Democrats. Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich has named a Democrat to replace Obama. But there’s been a battle over the appointment since Blagojevich has been engulfed by a corruption scandal.

WASHINGTON - Election Day is finally here, the final opinion polls are in and now it’s time for Americans to make their way to the voting booth — but will weather be a factor?

According to the latest forecast maps, most of the country will not have adverse weather conditions, but there could be rain showers in two battleground states.

Good weather historically has helped Democrats.

Virginia, which has voted Republican since 1964, is now a toss-up state between Republican John McCain and Democrat Barack Obama and will likely see showers most of the day stretching from Newport News north to the suburbs outside Washington, D.C., and west toward Roanoke.

Parts of North Carolina, a state that has been leaning slightly toward McCain, will experience showers during the morning.

Meanwhile Florida, Ohio, Missouri and Pennsylvania, all battleground states critical to a McCain victory, should be clear. Other key states like Colorado and New Mexico, where Obama hopes to help his cause, are not expected to have bad weather.

Out West, Weather.com reported that showers are expected in Portland, Oregon, and Seattle.

Click here for more Reuters 2008 campaign coverage.

- Photo credit: Reuters/Joe Skipper (Voters in Boca Raton, Fla. line up to vote on Tuesday)

(UPDATED - adds McCain spokesman comment)

KANSAS CITY - Missouri voter Mary Kay Green has had enough.

The supporter of Democratic presidential nominee Barack Obama filed a lawsuit this week over what she claims is dangerous “hate speech” coming from the rival campaign of Republican presidential nominee John McCain.

Green, a 66-year-old grandmother and “semi-retired” civil rights attorney, filed the lawsuit in U.S. District Court in Kansas City this week accusing McCain, his running mate Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin and their campaign manager Rick Davis of “intentionally, recklessly and irresponsibly” portraying Obama “as un-American, a terrorist by association,   and ‘not like us,’ a non-white individual.”

Palin, Green alleges in her lawsuit, has at her rallies used false statements to work supporters “into a frenzy causing them to make death threats” against Obama.

The lawsuit claims that Green “suffers terror of the heart, anxiety and grave fear for the life of Presidential candidate and U.S. Senator Barack Obama” because of the McCain campaign’s efforts to invoke hatred against Obama.

A McCain spokesman said the charges were without merit.

“It’s a great country — anyone can file a lawsuit anytime on any matter, whether it has merit or not,” said McCain spokesman Brian Rogers. “As Sen. McCain explained in detail in last night’s debate, charges like this have no merit. He will compare his record of setting the record straight to any of his overzealous or inappropriate supporters against Sen. Obama’s any day.”

Green is seeking damages of $6 million, “and prays that they cease and desist their reprehensible campaigning.” She told Reuters that she will not drop the lawsuit unless McCain’s camp repudiates the death threats and tones down the rhetoric.

“It is a federal crime to threaten the life or a presidential candidate … they are participating in that crime,” Green said.   

Click here for more Reuters 2008 campaign coverage. 

- Photo credit: Reuters/Carlos Barria (McCain at a rally in Pennsylvania on Thursday)

WASHINGTON - A slew of new state polls released on Wednesday showed some shift in momentum toward Democratic presidential hopeful Barack Obama and away from Republican rival John McCain.

CNN/Time Magazine/Opinion Research Corp. released polls for five battleground states — Florida, Minnesota, Missouri, Nevada and Virginia — that showed Obama ahead among likely voters in all of them, though still within the margin of error in four.

Obama held a 51 percent to 47 percent lead in both Florida and Nevada, a 53 percent to 44 percent lead in Virginia, a 54 percent to 43 percent advantage in Minnesota and a narrow 49 percent to 48 percent edge in Missouri.

CNN said its previous surveys of those states had showed McCain was up in Nevada, Virginia and Missouri. And previously in Florida the two were tied and in Minnesota Obama was up two points.

Meanwhile, new polls by Quinnipiac University in three key states also showed a small uptick in support for Obama after last week’s presidential debate.

In Florida, Obama’s lead grew to 51 percent to 43 percent, from 49 percent to 43 percent before the debate.

In Ohio, Obama was up 50 percent to 42 percent, versus 49 percent to 42 percent prior to the debate. Remember, no Republican has won the White House without the state.

And finally in Pennsylvania, where Obama has struggled a bit, he widened his lead to 54 percent to 39 percent from before the debate when he was up 49 percent to 43 percent. 

A McCain spokeswoman, when asked about Obama’s jump in a handful of polls, stressed that the Arizona senator was an underdog in the race and that it was a difficult year for Republicans.

(additional reporting by Jeff Mason)

Click here for more Reuters 2008 campaign coverage. 

- Photo credits: Reuters/Brian Snyder (McCain at the Harry S. Truman presidential library); Jason Reed (Obama at a rally in La Crosse, Wisc.)

CAPE GIRARDEAU, Mo. - Illinois Sen. Barack Obama sidestepped the Dream Team question on Tuesday when asked whether he would make rival Hillary Clinton his running mate if he beats her for the Democratic White House nomination. 

“Sen. Clinton is still competing. We haven’t resolved this nomination. I haven’t won the nomination yet,” Obama said, after jokinginly asking the audience member who asked the question whether he was a reporter.

“It would be presumptuous of me to pretend like I’ve already won and start talking about who my vice president’s going to be. I still have some more work to do.”

Presumptuous? Maybe. But he’s not exactly pretending. Obama, who has a nearly insurmountable lead over the New York senator in their race for the nomination, went to Missouri on Tuesday and campaigns in Michigan on Wednesday.

Both states have already voted in the primaries and will be crucial to him in a general election against Republican John McCain.

Photo Credit: Reuters/John Gress