Jeff Merkley

by Frank James The federal indictment of Sen. Ted Stevens certainly is buoying Democratic hopes that they could pick up enough Senate seats to get to the magical 60 votes, enough for a veto-proof majority. It would be the......

by Jill Zuckman Labor leaders will host a reception tonight in Chicago for Senate Democratic candidates from across the country as part of the AFL-CIO's semi-annual Executive Council meeting. "The presidential gets a lot of attention, but in fact, the.......

by Frank James One of the biggest question marks right now about what will happen on Election Day is whether Democrats will gain a filibuster-proof Senate by reaching 60 votes. The filibuster, of course, is the way that the Senate......

by James Oliphant Congressional Democrats appear close to having something they haven't known for a long time: power. After being marginalized by the Bush administration and stymied by a cohesive Republican minority, Democrats on the Hill look poised to...

With all the attention on the monumental presidential contest and local eyes watching to see whether Democrats can capture the state Senate, a handful of U.S. Senate races have not received much attention in these parts. But Sen. Charles......

by James Oliphant Twelve Senate races are considered to be close this Election Day. The outcome could have a significant impact on the balance of power on the Hill. Democrats are chasing a 60-vote majority, which would allow them to......

by James Oliphant Democrats may have picked off another GOP seat in the Senate. This morning, the Oregonian, Portland's newspaper, is projecting that Jeff Merkley has unseated Republican incumbent Sen. Gordon Smith. If that occurs, it would be the sixth.....

A few developments tonight: The Raleigh News and Observer has declared Obama the "unofficial winner" of North Carolina, with a lead of more than 13,000 votes pending the counting of provisional ballots. With 81 percent of the vote counted and......

by Mark Silva It's 5 o'clock someplace in the world. At the mansion on the grounds of the U.S. Naval Observatory this evening, Vice President Joe Biden will host a cocktail reception for the freshman class of senators -- that......

Residents of Grand Isle, La. express their frustration with BP Monday. (EPA/Bevil Knapp) by Kim Geiger and Tom Hamburger It was close to 2 a.m. when Rep. Edward J. Markey (D-Mass.) and others on a House-Senate conference committee saw......

The ad below is being aired in an Oregon Senate race, where Democrat Jeff Merkley is getting ready to run against Republican incumbent Gordon Smith. It's probably not the first time a politician has used his kid this way, but......

Rep. Jim Sensenbrenner (R-Wis.) , a former chairman of the House Judiciary Committee, is hopping mad. Sensenbrenner considers himself the father of the Patriot Act, the 2001 law that gave the federal government new powers to investigate potential...