Hotline Sort: Down in the Desert

By Josh Kraushaar  //  August 28, 2012 | 8:10 a.m.

TAMPA, Fla. -- Welcome back to Hotline Sort. Two Republican congressmen could lose tonight in Arizona, , Jindal criticizes Obama's pre-storm management and would Ed Rendell serve in a Romney administration?

12) Former Pennsylvania Sen. Arlen Specter was hospitalized Tuesday and is "battling for his life," according to a CNN report. Specter was diagnosed with a new form of cancer six weeks ago, a source close to Specter told CNN, after successfully battling a brain tumor and non-Hodgkins lymphoma over the past two decades.

Specter switched parties to become a Democrat in the run-up to the 2010 midterms, but lost his primary to Joe Sestak. He has been teaching at the University of Pennsylvania Law School.

11) The National Republican Congressional Committee is fighting back against Rep. Mike McIntyre, D-N.C., on Medicare. After the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee aired an ad blasting state Sen. David Rouzer for wanting to "essentially end Medicare," the NRCC ad accuses Rouzer of opposing a prescription drug benefit and not supporting plans to help make Medicare solvent in the long-term.

The NRCC is also up with an early wave of ads against several Democratic challengers - former Rep. Dan Maffei (running against New York Rep. Ann Marie Buerkle), state Sen. Gary McDowell (running against Rep. Dan Benishek) - along with a hit against Rep. Jim Matheson, D-Utah.

Meanwhile, House Majority PAC is launching new television ads backing Matheson and McIntyre with a pair of two-week buys for ads attacking their Republican opponents.

10) The Washington Post's Jason Horowitz profiles Citizens United chief David Bossie, who helped fuel the changes in campaign finance law allowing outside groups to spend more freely, but isn't reaping the benefits of the Supreme Court ruling bearing his group's name.

9) With Arizona voters headed to the polls to vote in the state's primary today, Arizona Senate candidate Richard Carmona (D) is up with his first ad, a biographical spot featuring warm words from a Vietnam War veteran who served with Carmona as a Special Forces medic.

Carmona is one of the Democrats' top recruits this cycle, but he faces a challenge winning enough crossover votes in a state that looks solidly in the Romney column. He'll likely be facing GOP Rep. Jeff Flake, who's facing off against businessman Wil Cardon in today's primary.

8) As Republicans celebrate their party in Tampa, several of them will be going head-to-head in today's Arizona primary. The 6th District member-against-member matchup between Reps. Ben Quayle and David Schweikert is the headliner. None of the primaries pitting incumbents against each other have been friendly, but this one has been particularly nasty. Schweikert's internal polls have shown him steadily gaining throughout the primary, but he has come under intense criticism from Arizona's Republican establishment over the last weeks for his attacks on Quayle.

GOP Rep. Paul Gosar also has a contested primary in the 4th District. The Club for Growth's super PAC has spent over $600,000 on behalf of state Sen. Ron Gould's campaign, but Gould himself hasn't fundraised particularly well. Arizona's split Republican Party is also fighting over the open 5th District, where ex-Rep. Matt Salmon and former state House Speaker Kirk Adams are locked in battle for a safe seat. Stay tuned to Hotline on Call tonight for the Arizona results.

7) American Crossroads isn't bluffing so far: Politico reports the group has pulled nearly $700,000 in reserved advertising time against Sen. Claire McCaskill, D-Mo. Meanwhile, the pro-life group Susan B. Anthony List is spending money in Missouri, not to help embattled Senate candidate Todd Akin, but to attack President Obama's record on abortion. 6) Politico floats names in a potential Romney administration cabinet. The most intriguing name: former Pennsylvania Gov. Ed Rendell as Transportation Secretary. That's been the designated spot to put Cabinet members from a different party. Former GOP Rep. Ray LaHood has filled the role in the Obama administration; it was former Democratic Rep. Norman Mineta in the Bush administration. 5) As Republicans prepare to kick off the convention today, the pro-Obama super PAC Priorities USA is out with a new ad, this time hitting Mitt Romney over his record as governor of Massachusetts. The ad features a female small business owner in Massachusetts who supported him in 2002, but now says she was "duped by Mitt Romney." 4) Tropical Storm Isaac continues to move closer to the northern Gulf Coast. The storm's barometric pressure is dropping, usually a sign of strengthening, but dry air from the northeast is keeping Isaac just below hurricane-strength. Isaac remains a significant threat to the southeastern U.S., and it's forecast to become a hurricane on Tuesday, moving ashore along the coast of Louisiana or Mississippi late Tuesday or early Wednesday. 3) Hurricane politics: Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal claimed that Obama isn't doing enough to help the state as it readies for the significant storm. Jindal wrote a letter to the Obama administration Monday that the president's emergency declaration isn't enough for the state. "We appreciate your response to our request and your approval," Jindal wrote. "However, the state's original request for federal assistance ... included a request for reimbursement for all emergency protective measures. The federal declaration of emergency only provides for direct federal assistance." Jindal canceled his scheduled speaking gig at the convention to manage emergency preparations back home. 2) Convention planners are publicly forging ahead to hold the convention as scheduled, but the Romney campaign is privately mulling a truncated lineup. One theme for tonight's convention: Obama defectors. Republicans will show a video at the convention tonight, featuring testimony from supporters of Obama in 2008 who have switched to Romney. Former Democratic Alabama congressman Artur Davis, who switched parties and backed Romney, will be speaking at 9:00 tonight. Other speakers tonight: Ann Romney and keynoter New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie. Romney is arriving in Tampa later today so he can see his wife's speech. 1) Tropical Storm Isaac isn't just impacting the Republican National Convention, but Obama's campaign schedule as well. The president was slated to kick off a three-day college tour today beginning in Ames, Iowa - and through Fort Collins, Colorado and Charlottesville, Virginia in the next several days. Those plans are still on, but could change depending on the storm's impact. Scott Bland and Steven Shepard contributed to this report.

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