James Traficant, a former Democratic representative in Congress from Youngstown, was released from federal prison in September after serving seven years on a bribery and racketeering conviction. On Tuesday, he revealed that he is seeking to return to Congress, but this time he will run as an independent.
Speaking with CNN's Kyra Philips, Traficant revealed:

"I will be running for congress…as an independent. I have been a Democrat all my life, and quite frankly I am disgusted with both parties. I hate to say this. My father is rolling over in his grave, a truck driver."

Traficant, who served eight terms in Congress, did not say which district he would be running in. Local television station WFMJ, however, reports that he will be running in either the state's 6th or 17th congressional district.

The 6th congressional district was formerly represented by Ohio Governor Ted Strickland, and is currently represented by two-term Democrat Charlie Wilson. Traficant formally held the seat in the 17th district, which is now held by Rep. Tim Ryan. Ryan, 36, was a former aide to Traficant and is considered to be a rising star in the Democratic Party.

Speaking on why he decided to run as an Independent, Traficant said:

Pennsylvania Governor Ed Rendell has announced that he will decide in the coming days when to schedule a special election to replace Rep. John Murtha (D-Penn.), who passed away Monday.

Murtha passed away Monday at Virginia Hospital Center following complications from gallbladder surgery.

By law, Rendell has ten days to schedule an election to replace Murtha, who had held the House seat for 36-years. He must also pick a date that is at least 60 days later.

Rendall noted that it would save taxpayers money if the election would be scheduled on the state's May 18 primary date, but said that he could set it sooner if Congress plans to vote on extraordinary issues before then.

Whoever would win the seat in the special election would fill out the remainder of Murtha's term, which ends at the end of this year. That is, unless they would also win in the general election in November.

Former Rep. Tom Tancredo (R-Colo.) was the opening speaker at the first National Tea Party Convention on Wednesday evening, and what he said is likely to not only raise eyebrows but also anger many Americans. He called President Barack Obama a "committed Socialist idealogue" who was elected because "we do not have a civics, literacy test before people can vote."

Speaking before about 600 delegates of the grassroots movement at the Gaylord Opryland Hotel in Nashville, Tenn., Tancredo said, "You have launched a counter-revolution."

Insisting upon using Obama's middle name, Hussein, the former congressman also said that he was thankful that Republican Senator John McCain of Arizona lost the presidential election in 2008 because Obama's win had mobilized an uprising.

He continued:

"People who could not even spell the word 'vote' or say it in English put a committed socialist ideologue in the White House."

Tancredo also had a failed bid for the presidency in 2008, and built a reputation on his vehement opposition to illegal immigrants. The literacy tests of which he spoke about during his speech this week were actually once used in our country's history in South to prevent blacks from voting.

While many regard Tea Party followers as a sort of fringe group, they played a role in getting out the vote for Scott Brown, the Republican who last month took the Massachusetts Senate seat that had been held by Democrat Ted Kennedy for the past four decades. Furthermore, it is believed that they will play an important role for Republicans who seek to gain more seat's in Novembers congressional midterm elections.

With George Voinovich retiring from the US Senate at the end of his term this year, Cleveland area car dealer Tom Ganley sees it as an opportunity to enter politics. Ganley has been running this advertisement in heavy rotation as he tries to win the primary against fellow Republicans. Rob Portman is currently well ahead early in the race on the GOP side, and Lee Fisher is in the lead for the Democrats.

Is the Buckeye State starting to turn red again? What looks to be frustration from the soft job market, Ohio voters are leaning towards Republican John Kasich in the state's govenor race. The Akron Beacon Journal reports that Kasich is ahead of current Govenor Ted Strickland 51%-45%.

They write:

Democratic Gov. Ted Strickland, who roared into office three years ago with nearly 61 percent of the vote, trails Republican John Kasich 51-45 percent in an Akron Beacon Journal/Ohio Newspaper Poll released today, Jan. 24.

The great recession has put voters in a sour mood and left them open to change, said Eric Rademacher, poll director.

''If the election were held tomorrow, we might be talking about how a bad economy contributed to a political environment that had voters in the mood to fire their incumbent governor,'' said Rademacher, co-director of the University of Cincinnati's Institute for Policy Research.

Kasich is a former Republican United States Representative and Chairman of the United States House Committee on the Budget. He formerly hosted Heartland with John Kasich on the Fox News Channel and also guest hosted The O'Reilly Factor, filling in for Bill O'Reilly as needed.

Today the state of Massachusetts held a special election that threatened to derail President Barack Obama's health care initiatives and squash the Democratic Party's majority in the Senate. It happened. Republican Scott Brown defeated Democrat Martha Coakley to claim the senate seat held by the late Ted Kennedy for the previous 46 years.

Browns victory in Massachusetts makes him the 41st Republican in the Senate, which means that the Democrats are no longer capable of stopping a GOP fillibuster. This throws a huge monkey wrench in to President Obama's agenda and the health care legislation currently pending in Congress.

Brown has said that he opposes the Democrats' health care reform which is currently working its way through Congress. Some Democrats are also citing Brown's win as a possible complication that could prevent the passage of other big ticket items, including regulatory reforms, a banking industry overhaul, and climate change legislation.

In a stump speech for Coakley in Boston on Sunday, President Obama acknowledged the importance of a Democratic win, stating that "a lot of these measures are going to rest on one vote in the U.S. Senate."

The 2010 election has barely gotten underway, and already three Democrats are calling it quits on seeking reelection. Two senators - Chris Dodd (Conn.) and Byron Dorgan (N. Dak.) - and one Governor - Bill Ritter (Colo.). abandoned plans to seek office again as President Barack Obama's party struggles to defend itself in a poor political environment for incumbents, and in particular for the ruling party.

As 2009 came to a close, Democrats saw a number of House members announce retirements and one congressman even switched sides and joined the Republican Party.

The Democratic Party currently have a 60-40 majority, which includes two independents that vote with them. Now the Democrats will have to defend against four open seats in the Senate. The other two senators besides Dodd and Dorgan are Ted Kaufman who replaced VP Joe Biden and Roland Burris, who replaced Obama. Kaufman and Burris aren't running for full terms.

Republicans will also be defending six open seats in the Senate in Ohio, Florida, Missouri, New Hampshire, Kentucky and Kansas.

There had been rumblings for months that Cleveland area business man Tom Ganley, who has made a fortune with a number of auto lots around the area, would throw his hat in the ring to become a United States Senator. Ganley made the formal announcement that he is running early today declaring:

"I am a businessman, not someone who ever thought about being a professional politician," adding. "But maybe that's what's needed in Washington now -- someone who understands financial responsibility and what it takes for a business and a country to be competitive. Someone who has built a business from scratch. Someone who knows how to create jobs. Someone who has met a payroll and knows his employees are dependent on him."

Ganley is running as a Republican and will be facing Congressman Rob Portman in the primary. George Voinovich is currently occupying the seat which has also attracted a bid by Ohio Lieutenant Governor Lee Fisher who is a Democrat.

Here is a clip from today's press conference held in Brecksville:

According to the results of a new poll conducted by Public Policy Polling, both Democrats are leading in the 2010 Ohio Senate race to replace retiring Republican Senator George Voinovich. However, their lead is only slight.

Democrats Jennifer Bruner and Lee Fisher are beating the GOP's Rob Portman, and are leading Portman by almost the same narrow margin. Fisher leads 41% to 32%, and Brunner leads 40% to 32%.

The poll also shows that it is quite early in the game, and that 36% of voters aren't sure of their thoughts on Brunner or Fisher. 44% of voters are unsure of Portman.

Portman, however, is leading the two Dems in another area - fundraising. A former congressman and White House budget office director for George W. Bush, Portman has raised significantly more cash than his opponents. He has raised $1.7 million in the first quarter of 2009. He also transfered $1.47 million from his House campaign account, bringing his total to $3.2 million. This compared to $1 million for Fisher and $207,000 for Brunner.

A proud winner of the 2007 Golden G-String Award, porn star Stormy Daniels is about to heat up the 2010 Senate race. She's about to face off against a Christian family-values Republican who was shamed after being caught with prostitutes in a battle for a seat in the U.S. Senate representing Louisiana.

Daniels kicked off a "listening tour" of her home state on Wednesday in her campaign against David Vitter, the GOP incumbent. She is running on the campaign slogan "Stormy Daniels: Screwing People Honestly."

Daniels, 30, says that she is running in response to an online campaign called "Draft Stormy". Whatever inspired her to run, it is most certainly dragging Vitter's 2007 prostitution bust back into the spotlight.

"He ran for the Senate on a family values, anti-sex-education platform. And he's caught with prostitutes. That's hypocritical. Call me what you will, but you can't call me a hypocrite," said Daniels.

This will most definitely be the race to watch in 2010, if only for the comedic value.