Elections 2012

Gov. Jan Brewer’s Political Action Committee, JanPAC, has delivered a nearly $100,000 infusion into Republican Jeff Flake’s campaign to become the state's next U.S. senator.

President Obama has been turning up in a lot of debates lately. Not just in his encounters with Mitt Romney, but as a talking point for Republican Senate candidates.

In an Indiana Senate debate Tuesday — the same one in which he made a controversial comment about pregnancy resulting from rape — Republican Richard Mourdock castigated Democratic Rep. Joe Donnelly for supporting Obama even though "60 percent" of Hoosiers oppose the president.

Reporters from four public media stations on the West Coast have been working on a project to find out what is — or isn't — motivating young voters to take part in the political process this year.

Saying that "I think we ought to keep on the track that we are on" and that fellow Republican Mitt Romney has not "thought through these issues as thoroughly as he should have," former secretary of state and retired Gen. Colin Powell this morning endorsed President Obama's re-election bid.

Freshman California Rep. Jeff Denham, a self-described Valley farmer and Republican businessman, is in a battle against challenger Jose Hernandez, former NASA astronaut and engineer-businessman in a realigned district in the San Joaquin Valley. It's a tight race, with lots of money being poured into both candidates from their respective parties.

Mitt Romney continued his post-debate campaign swing Wednesday.

Transcript

STEVE INSKEEP, HOST:

Paul Ryan is not just Mitt Romney's vice presidential running mate. He is also a member of the House of Representatives from Wisconsin, of course, and a candidate for another term. And while he's spending a lot of time on the presidential campaign trial, the seven-term congressman is also spending lots of money to hold onto his district in southern Wisconsin.

President Obama barnstormed from Iowa to Las Vegas and L.A. on Wednesday, before taking a red eye back east.

Concerns about problems at the polls appear to be greater and coming earlier than usual this election year. Already, mysterious phone calls in Florida and Virginia have told voters they can vote by phone — which they cannot do.

And until this week, there were anonymous billboards in Ohio and Wisconsin warning that voter fraud is a felony — which it is.