Colorado governor calls special session to deal with civil unions

Civil unions might survive in Colorado, Ron Paul supporters face a backlash in Iowa, Mitt Romney is still against gay marriage and Sarah Palin endorses in the competitive Nebraska Senate primary.

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WHAT YOU MIGHT HAVE MISSED:

* Colorado Gov. John Hickenlooper (D) will hold a special session to deal with civil unions and other issues after a Republican filibuster prevented a vote on the issue. Civil unions had enough votes to pass the GOP-held House, and some Republicans who support the policy fear they will lose in November over this impasse.

* As President Obama announced his support for gay marriage, former Massachusetts governor Mitt Romney reaffirmed that he opposes it. “I think people have differing views on marriage, and I respect people's different views," he told a Denver NBC affiliate. “I don't favor civil union or gay marriage.”

* The ascendancy of Ron Paul supporters has led to a backlash against the Iowa GOP — donations have dried up, and executive director Chad Olsen has resigned. A former aide to the Texas lawmaker is now the state party chairman, and Paul supporters make up a majority of the state’s convention delegates. That takeover has made major donors hesitant. Meanwhile, Paul says his goal is to promote his agenda, not disrupt the convention or get a speaking slot.

* Jim Graves (D), the Minneapolis hotel magnate challenging Rep. Michele Bachmann (R), is criticizing his rival for having Swiss citizenship. While calling the story a “distraction,” a spokesperson added, “The Graves family is not interested in dual citizenship and they are are proud to be Americans.”  

WHAT YOU SHOULDN’T MISS:

* Former Alaska governor Sarah Palin has waded into a competitive Senate primary in Nebraska, backing state Sen. Deb Fischer against Attorney General Jon Bruning and state Treasurer Don Stenberg. Fischer’s campaign released a note from Palin and her husband Todd, who said they were “glad to see your grassroots efforts paying off!” Fischer just released a poll showing her in striking distance with Bruning.

* Businessman Eric Hovde has put out an internal poll showing him in a dead heat in the GOP Senate primary with former governor Tommy Thompson. Thompson takes 30 percent, Hovde is at 27 percent, and former Rep. Mark Neumann is close behind at 23 percent. Hovde has spent over $1.5 million on ads so far.

* On the heels of his victory over Sen. Dick Lugar in Indiana’s Republican Senate primary, Richard Mourdock is launching a moneybomb to compete with Rep. Joe Donnelly (D). “We left everything on the table, and it took every dollar we had to win yesterday’s primary,” he writes. Donnelly has $801,000 in the bank.

* Rep. Denny Rehberg (R) is out with his first campaign ad in the Montana Senate race. The spot is half an attack on Sen. Jon Tester (D) for voting for tax increases, pay raises and generally with President Obama, half a positive spot in which Rehberg touts his opposition to bailouts and pay raises, “because it’s your money, not theirs.”

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