Daily Political Wire

George Wenschhof 

Obama to deliver statement on impact of health care - President Barack Obama on Friday afternoon will deliver a statement "on the impact of the Affordable Care Act on the health, lives and pocketbooks of women and their families," the White House announced.
 
Obama will give the remarks at 2:40 p.m. ET in the East Room of the White House. TPM.com has more here.

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Lt. Gov. Brown to announce run for Governor in Maryland - When he announces his candidacy for governor on Friday, Maryland Lt. Gov. Anthony G. Brown is expected to lay out several priorities, including a stepped-up focus on fighting racial and other disparities in health care, education and employment.
 
With a speech that also underscores plans to continue spending on state infrastructure and strengthen vocational training, Brown (D) will become the first major candidate to officially join the race to succeed Gov. Martin O’Malley (D) next year.

If successful, Brown would be Maryland’s first African American governor and only the third black candidate to be elected governor in U.S. history. The son of a Jamaican father and Swedish mother, Brown said he is “mindful” of that but said it won’t define his campaign.

“I think Marylanders are looking for leaders who are going to get results,” Brown said in an interview. “It will be more about results than race.”  The Washington Post has more here.

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Senator Stabenow unveils farm bill - Senate Agriculture Committee Chairwoman Debbie Stabenow (D-Mich.) on Thursday released her draft 2013 farm bill.

The bill saves $23 billion, by the committee's unofficial estimate, over the next 10 years by replacing the existing farm safety net with new crop insurance and price-based supports and by restricting some eligibility for food stamps.

Next Tuesday, the committee will mark up the measure, which governs farm subsidies and food stamps as well as rural energy, trade, conservation and development programs for five years. The full Senate is expected to take up the bill this month.

“The current Farm Bill expires Sept 30. A new Farm Bill must be passed this year to provide farmers the certainty they need to keep driving our economic recovery. Sixteen million jobs hang in the balance,” the committee says its press release.  TheHill.com has more here.

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DCCC launches program to recruit candidates -The Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee has launched a new program aimed at cultivating strong candidates in targeted districts for the 2014 elections.

The Jumpstart program “provides early financial, communications, operational and strategic support to help top-tier candidates get a head start in these highly-targeted races,” according to a memo that will be sent to donors and supporters today.

Eight Democrats have been tapped for the program so far based on recent polling: RollCall.com has more here.

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Pakistan election may result in fractured parliament - The failure of the major parties to capture a commanding lead raises the risk a weak government will emerge, clouding optimism over the first transition between civilian governments in a country that has been ruled by the military for more than half its history.

The party of former prime minister Nawaz Sharif looks set to win the most seats, returning Sharif to power 14 years after he was ousted in a military coup, imprisoned and later exiled.

Former Pakistan cricket star Imran Khan's party was enjoying a late surge of support on Friday, the eve of a landmark election, raising the prospect of a fragmented parliament that could lead to weeks of haggling to form a coalition government.  Reuters.com has more here.

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