Daily Political Wire

George Wenschhof

Maryland 6th Congressional District Race One to Watch in 2012 - now, with Governor Martin O'Malley signing the new redistricting map into law, the battle is engaged to see who will represent the newly configured 6th district.

Democrat Duchy Trachtenberg, a former Montgomery County councilwoman has already announced she is running and has Joe Trippi as her campaign manager. State senator Robert Garagiola is likely to make it official next week. Other big Democratic names rumored to be considering a run is former Montgomery County executive Doug Duncan and former state senator Mark Shriver. RollCall.com has more here.

Democrat Andrew Duck, who ran and lost three times to incumbent Republican Roscoe Bartlett is also considering another run. However, he does not have the money or organization to compete with the other Democrats who are rumored to run.

Political strategist Charlie Cook has now labeled the 6th district race as a toss-up ensuring national money will be pouring into this contest. Democrats in their "Drive for 25" campaign to recapture control of the House will now target this race and Republicans will work hard to defend it.

Stay tuned....

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35 Billion Aid to States for Teachers and First Responders Fails in Senate - another blow to the effort by President Obama to pass components of his proposed American Jobs Act. The vote was 50-50 with two Democrats and Independent Joe Lieberman voting against. The Washington Post has more here.

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Obama Administration Struggles To implement New Health Care Law - after ending implementation of the CLASS act portion of the Affordable Health Care Act, the implementation of Accountable Care Organizations is in trouble. You can read more here.

You can count on the Republican presidential candidate hammering President Obama on these failures as health care reform was the signature issue of Obama during his first term.

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Obama Approval Rating at 41% for Third Quarter - down 6 points from the previous quarter in the latest average of Gallup polls. The 41% at this point in his presidency ranks in the lowest fifth of presidential approval ratings since Gallup began them in 1945. Gallup.com has more here.

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Nevada To Move Primary Caucus to February 4 - to accommodate New Hampshire and Iowa in the Republican presidential primary calendar. You can read more here.

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NATO To End Mission in Libya Soon - less than a day following the bloody and ugly demise of Muammar Gaddafi the commander of NATO forces signaled an end to their military involvement would come soon. TheHill.com has more here.

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