A daily dose of online news from beyond the Beltway.

Texas may be the third-richest state in electoral votes, but its Democratic contingent to this summer's national convention in Los Angeles is not exactly receiving the royal treatment. With Gov. George W. Bush (R) expected to easily carry the state for the GOP in the fall election, some state Democrats – who recently learned their hotel digs border the busy, congested L.A. airport – think they have been a victim of, well, politics.

"The NAACP will be at least partly effective but how effective I don't know. Average Americans will ignore it." Political scholar and University of Virginia professor Larry Sabato, on the NAACP's plan to continue its boycott over the Confederate flag in South Carolina. (The Greenville News, May 19)

• LAX Lodgings Not What Texas delegation Had in Mind
(Dallas Morning News, May 17)

Actually, just being a Democrat stranded deep in the heart of Bush country can be a lonely life for the politically inclined.
• Deep-Rooted Bush Loyalty Overshadows Midland's Lonely Democrats
(Dallas Morning News, May 14)

N.H. Lawmakers Repeal Death Penalty
The New Hampshire Senate on Thursday followed the lead of their fellow lawmakers in the state House of Representatives and voted to make New Hampshire the first state in 21 years to turn back the death penalty. Proponents of the move cheered its passage and said it signaled the "beginning of the end" of executions in the United States. However, New hampshire Gov. Jeanne Shaheen (D) vowed to veto the legislation. Neither the Senate nor the House passed the repeal with enough votes to override a Shaheen veto.

• N.H. Senate Votes to End Death Penalty
(The Telegraph, Nashua, N.H., May 19)
• Senate Repeals Death Penalty; Shaheen Promises Veto
(Concord Monitor, May 19)

S.C. Governor Set to Sign Flag Plan; NAACP Remains Uncompromising
After months of bickering and negative publicity, both houses of the South Carolina legislature signed off on a final plan that moves the Confederate flag from atop the state capitol building to a nearby monument on July 1. Gov. Jim Hodges (D) hailed the measure and promised to sign it, but NAACP leaders, saying the compromise actually puts the flag in a more visible setting, vowed to step up their sanctions against the state.
• Governor Says He'll Sign Bill That 'Achieves What Was Most Important'
(The State, Columbia, S.C., May 19)
• Legislators OK Flag Bill; Hodges to Sign
(Spartanburg Herald-Journal, May 19)
• NAACP Unswayed on Boycott
(The Greenville News, May 19)
• Flag Moving by July 1
(Charleston Post & Courier, May 19)

Even though NAACP officials are unhappy, the compromise ends years of struggle by some state politicians to have the flag removed and has South Carolina's business community breathing a sigh of relief.
• State's Business Community Relieved Battle Finally is Over
(The State, Columbia, S.C., May 19)

Indiana Candidate Ready to Run Against Lugar
Indiana's Richard Lugar (R) won an unprecedented fourth term in the U.S. Senate in 1994 and enjoys high approval ratings among his constituency. Yet Democrats are hoping David Johnson, a close adviser to Gov. Frank O'Bannon (D) who officially began his Senate candidacy Wednesday, will give Lugar his toughest challenge in decades.
• Lugar's Opponent Launches Campaign
(The Indianapolis Star, May 18)
• Lugar Challenger Begins Campaign
(Evansville Courier & Press, May 18)
• Full Coverage: Indiana Senate Race
• CQ Profile: Sen. Richard Lugar

Libertarians Find Window of Opportunity in Mass. Senate Race
While the Massachusetts GOP has ostracized its only potential challenger to incumbent Sen. Edward Kennedy (D) – without recruiting any other candidate – Libertarian nominee Carla Howell may find that she is not only Kennedy's sole competition, but that she's suddenly supported by state Republicans.
• Libertarian Likely to Be Kennedy's Major Foe
(Worcester Telegram & Gazette, May 17)