MANCHESTER, NH -- Rick Perry wants your vote, just as long as you're legally able to drink, too.

The Texas governor, speaking to students at St. Anselm College on Tuesday in Manchester, NH, asked for the young folks' vote, but seemed to forget that the national voting is 18 -- the age at which it's stood since 1971.

"Those of you that will be 21 by November the 12th, I ask for your support and your vote. Those of you who won't be, just work hard," Perry said.

The age flub wasn't the only one in Perry's pitch to the students; the general election is on Nov. 6, 2012, not Nov. 12.

Ironically, in 1971, the year the U.S. adopted the 26th amendment, establishing the voting age at 18-years-old, Rick Perry turned 21.

Michael O'Brien contributed.

Herman Cain told senior campaign staff members Tuesday that he's "reassessing" his campaign in the wake of a fresh allegation that he engaged in a 13-year-long extramarital affair.

Steve Grubbs, the candidate's Iowa campaign chairman, confirms to NBC News that Cain said he's taking a step back, much as he did after his finish in the Ames Straw Poll in August, to evaluate the direction of his campaign. The call included Cain's 50 state directors, and the reassessment will occur over the next two days.

This reassessment coincides with a new allegation from Ginger White, an Atlanta woman who says that she and Cain engaged in an affair for well over a decade, one that ended only recently. Cain has denied the affair.

Cain reiterated his claim, made yesterday in reaction to the new allegation, that White was simply a friend who he had sought to help financially, and that nothing inappropriate had happened between the two of them.

The former Godfather's Pizza CEO, who has faced a string of different allegations of sexual harassment, also said that he had no immediate plans to cancel his campaign events; he still intends to deliver a major foreign policy speech tonight in Michigan.

But Cain acknowledged the emotional toll that the claims against him had taken on his family. He said yesterday on CNN that he would stay in the campaign as long as his wife continued to believe he should stay in the race.

In the same interview, though, Cain opened the door to a possible exit from the race.

"It's just the way it is, but I'm not going to allow this sort of thing to cause me to drop out simply because it's tough on me. I don't want it to be tough on my family. And there comes a point that if it's tough on my family, I have to consider that at that particular point in time," he said.

Asked whether he would drop out if the race became too tough, Cain said: "I'll make that decision depending upon the circumstances and how it is impacting my wife and my family. That's my number one concern by all of these accusations."

SLIDESHOW: Herman Cain

***UPDATE*** Cain spokesman J.D. Gordon tells NBC News: "It's a reassessment of where we stand and the road ahead, similar to other times in the campaign's history. We're looking forward to getting back on message tonight with the Foreign Policy and National Security speech at Hillsdale College in Michigan."

Vice President Joe Biden today made a surprise visit to Baghdad, Iraq -- in advance of the full American troop withdrawal that is expected to happen next month. This is Biden’s eighth trip to Iraq since becoming vice president. 

According to the White House, while in Iraq, Biden will speak at “an event to commemorate the sacrifices and accomplishments of U.S. and Iraqi troops."

He will also meet with Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki, President Jalal Talabani, Speaker Osama al-Nujaifi, and other political leaders as well as co-chair a meeting of the U.S.-Iraq Higher Coordinating Committee.

Last month President Obama confirmed that the United States would remove all troops from Iraq by the end of the year, keeping with a bilateral agreement that was signed by President George W. Bush before he left office.

AMHERST, NH -- There's a new sheriff in town. Well, in the greater Manchester area, anyway.

Continuing an aggressive push to soothe conservatives' fears on his immigration record, Texas Gov. Rick Perry on Tuesday touted the support of Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio, and called for the deportation of all detained illegal immigrants.

"Amnesty is not on the table, period," Perry declared at a diner in Amherst, NH, this morning, the first stop where the tough-talking Arizona sheriff joined him on the campaign trail. "There will be no amnesty in the United States. We're a country of laws."

Arpaio, who is known for his vehement support for Arizona's tough immigration laws, said it was "a pleasure and honor" to back the Texas governor, whom he called "an honorable and ethical person with a great family."

"He doesn't just talk about it," Arpaio said of Perry's work on border security. "He does something about it."

Perry used tough language to describe the White House's immigration laws; he promised to detain and deport non-violent as well as violent illegal immigrants who are apprehended by law enforcers.

"The Obama administration has a catch-and-release policy where nonviolent illegal aliens are released into the general public," said Perry. "My policy will be to detain and to deport every illegal alien that we apprehend. That is how you stop this. And we'll do it with expedited hearings so that millions of illegal immigrants are not released into the general population until a hearing date's set several weeks or months later as we have now."

Perry had found his position on immigration assailed by presidential primary opponents after he stuck by a policy he had implemented as governor, which granted in-state college tuition to the children of illegal immigrants. Perry said during a debate that opponents of that policy were heartless, but he had since backtracked on those comments.

The Arpaio endorsement allows Perry a degree of pushback on those concerns, especially as conservatives now turn their attention to the resurgent former House Speaker, Newt Gingrich, who has stood by his policy of a limited path to citizenship for undocumented immigrants who have laid down roots in the U.S.

"Several of my friends have said I'm for amnesty. That's not true. At least one of them has run around saying I want to have amnesty for 11 million people.  That's just totally false.  That's in fact an Obama level quality statement," Gingrich said yesterday in South Carolina.

Perry acknowledged that he didn't have "all the answers" on how to deal with those illegal immigrants who have been in the country for many years and called for "an appropriate discussion" on Capitol Hill.

"We have to identify everybody that's here. And there's going to be an appropriate discussion with Congress on how to deal with an individual who has been here maybe for some long period of time."

Asked by a voter about Texas's granting of in-state tuition for the children of some illegal immigrants - an issue since Perry's comment that those who disagree with the educational benefits "don't have a heart" - Perry said (as he has before in radio interviews) that his remark was "inappropriate."

Speaking to reporters after the event at Joey's diner, Arpaio would not respond to questions about whether or not he agrees with the governor's tuition policy.

Arpaio, who supported Mitt Romney last cycle, said that while Romney's position on immigration has improved, he's backing Perry this time because of the governor's Texas experience.

Perry has three more events in New Hampshire Tuesday and two on Wednesday.

MIAMI -- Pressed by reporters to respond to yesterday's Democratic National Committee ad that attacked him as a flip-flopper, Mitt Romney today said he thought one thing was clear: Democrats did not want to see him as President Obama's general-election opponent next year.

"I don't know what they're afraid of. They don't want to see me as the nominee. That's for sure," Romney said. "It shows that they're awfully afraid of facing me in the general election. They want to throw the primary process to anybody but me. So bring it on. We're ready for them."

The remarks were Romney's first on the ad, which brewed up a back-and-forth storm yesterday between the former Massachusetts governor's campaign and the DNC.

Romney said he thought of the ad as a compliment, and he doubled-down on the message his campaign has endeavored to drive in the last week: President Obama doesn't want to talk about the economy.

"I think it's quite a compliment that they decided to try and throw the primary to anybody but me. But you know what -- I'm in a great position to take on the president," Romney said. "He does not want to face someone who can talk about the economy, who can talk about the failure of his record, and if you create jobs for America like I can..."

The remarks came at the end of a short campaign stop in a Cochita Foods warehouse here, where Romney appeared to accept the endorsements of three major South Florida political players: Congressman Mario Diaz-Balart, Congresswoman Ileana Ros-Lehtinen and former Congressman Lincoln Diaz-Balart.

All three endorsers praised Romney's economic bona fides, and touched on foreign policy -- both in English and in Spanish. While Romney himself did not test his Spanish with the crowd, he brought along some backup: His youngest son Craig, who did his Mormon missionary work in Chile, briefly addressed the audience in Spanish before returning to English to praise his father.

And while Romney tailored some of his speech to the South Florida audience, one hot-button issue here was noticeably absent from the discussion: immigration. Romney's three new endorsers were among only eight House Republicans to support the federal DREAM Act, which Romney opposes.

Asked about this discrepancy after the event, Ros-Lehtinen said she was fine having some differences of opinion with Romney, and that the economy was the most important issue in deciding whom she would back.

"Nobody's perfect," she added.

BACHMANN: Per NBC’s Jamie Novogrod and Ali Weinberg, the Bachmann campaign is hitting Newt Gingrich hard in a release announcing a Tea Party outreach effort in South Carolina. "It’s ludicrous to think that the Tea Party would line up behind Newt Gingrich, a true ‘Washington insider,’" Kelly Payne, one of two new Bachmann Tea Party co-chairs, said in the press release.

CAIN: The New York Daily News has the Cain affair story on its cover as “Campaign Bombshell.” The New York Post says his campaign was “rocked” by the allegations.

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution’s top story: “Cain denies 13-year affair.”

Remember, Cain said back in March: “I can assure you, I have an original copy of my birth certificate. I don’t have any illegitimate babies. I don’t have any mistresses… So, no, I don’t have any of those kind of skeletons in my closet and what I have told people, if they come up with something and try to damage my reputation, they will have made it up.”

“In its report, Fox 5 Atlanta said White had Cain's name in her cell phone contacts, and when its reporter sent a text message to the number, Cain called right back,” AP notes, adding, “Cain said White had his number because he was trying to help her financially… In his initial denial, Cain vowed to remain in the presidential race as long as he has the support of his wife, with whom he said he had discussed the most recent allegation. In her interview, White said she decided to come forward after seeing Cain attack his other accusers in an appearance on television.”

More: “White has been accused of lying before. A former business partner, Kimberly Vay, filed a libel suit as part of a larger business dispute with White. Vay's attorney, Kurt Martin, said a judge sided with Vay after White failed to respond to the suit. Martin said a jury must still decide whether to award damages.” But Cain’s “lawyer issued a public statement that included no such denial and suggested that the media -- and the public -- had no business snooping into the details of consensual conduct between adults.”

“The Atlanta woman who says she was Herman Cain’s mistress for 13 years is a down-on-her-luck single mom who once sued a former employer for sexual harassment,” the New York Daily News writes.

“[H]owever history will judge the accusation by Ginger White that she carried on a 13-year affair with Cain, this was in no way, shape or form the breaking point for the man with the one-note 9-9-9 tax reform offer,” the New York Daily News’ Greenman writes. “But for many, it will carry more weight than all of those previous missteps combined, and that reveals something depressing about American politics. It's not a candidate's command of foreign policy or domestic affairs (in both cases, Cain's is shallower than a sand bar). It's not his ability to run a first-rate campaign (Cain has no organization and no discipline). It's not even always his ability to make a compelling case for his candidacy. It often comes down to comfortable cues about character - personal things we can understand, as though we're judging a neighbor who just came over for coffee.”

GINGRICH: “For Newt Gingrich fans, there may be more than his win of the presidential nomination at the end of the rainbow. There might be ‘Newt-themed’ prizes,” the Boston Globe reports. “On Gingrich’s recently launched, New Hampshire-specific website, NewtHampshire.org, visitors who sign up on the site can opt to link their Twitter and Facebook pages. Their Facebook posts and tweets are then tracked and counted and points are doled out to the most active posters and tweeters.”

“Newt Gingrich has surged to the top of the polls in the race for the GOP nomination, but with that front-runner status comes growing concern that his personal baggage could become a campaign liability,” The Hill writes.

HUNTSMAN: “Republican presidential candidate Jon Huntsman Jr. released a plan yesterday to block future bank bailouts, in part by capping their size, and to eliminate ‘burdensome’ financial regulations,” BusinessWeek writes. “Huntsman’s proposals include ending ‘too big to fail’ by setting a ‘hard cap’ on bank size based on assets as a percentage of gross domestic product. He also would repeal the Dodd-Frank overhaul of financial regulations and maximize derivatives transparency, his campaign said in a statement.” (Just asking, but isn’t setting a hard cap on bank size regulation?)

PERRY: He diverted “from the GOP presidential trail for a home state appearance as the University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center announces a new facility in Houston,” AP writes. Liberal outlet Think Progress points out it has gotten millions in federal funds.

ROMNEY: “[I]f there's any Republican presidential candidate who can afford to spend precious time and money in Florida, it's Mitt Romney,” AP writes. “Romney is campaigning here Tuesday while his rivals focus on Iowa's caucuses or the early primaries in New Hampshire and South Carolina. Florida is the only early primary state Romney is visiting this week, little more than a month before voters start weighing in.”

Stu Rothenberg on the dilemma facing conservatives about coming around to Mitt Romney: “Most voters will not focus on electability in the GOP race, which is why talk of Romney’s inevitable nomination is premature and why he must continue to hit on conservative themes in his effort to become an acceptable alternative for the party’s grass roots. Ultimately, however, Romney’s best argument may be that half a loaf is better than none. Most party insiders already believe that, but he somehow needs to convince enough grass-roots conservatives of it so that he can sneak across the finish line, whether in Iowa or in subsequent contests. Barry Goldwater’s famous 1964 campaign slogan was ‘In your heart, you know he’s right.’ He went on to lose 44 states. Often, in politics, the head is a better guide than the heart.”

The Boston Globe: “Mitt Romney has recently started attacking Newt Gingrich for saying that some illegal immigrants should be allowed to stay in the country, deriding the position as “amnesty’’ as the former Massachusetts governor tries to stem the rise of one of his strongest rivals for the Republican presidential nomination. But Romney just five years ago advocated a nearly identical position, and his evolution to a more hard-line position is exposing the former Massachusetts governor to the flip-flop charges that have been seen as one of his major vulnerabilities.”

MASSACHUSETTS: Congressman Barney Frank (D-MA) announced that he would not seek re-election next year. “The Newton Democrat faced the prospect of a bruising reelection campaign next year after surviving a brutal battle in 2010. He also would have run in an altered district that retained his Newton stronghold but encompassed more conservative towns like Walpole,” the Boston Globe writes. “In addition, Frank lost New Bedford, a blue-collar city where he had invested a lot of time and become a leading figure in the region’s fisheries debate.” On what he’ll do next, he said, “I will neither be a lobbyist nor a historian.”

The Globe puts together some of the best-of irascible Frank quotes.

“The retirement of Rep. Barney Frank (D-Mass.) has put in motion a potentially brutal fight for the top Democratic slot on the Financial Services Committee, raising sensitive issues of race, seniority and ties to a vilified financial sector,” Roll Call reports. “Allies of Rep. Maxine Waters (D-Calif.), a veteran member of the Congressional Black Caucus, are vowing ‘Armageddon’ if her seniority does not land her the top slot. She is next in line after Frank on the panel but faces a potential challenge from Rep. Carolyn Maloney (N.Y.). Waters made waves this year when she publicly criticized President Barack Obama, and she faces the possibility of an ethics trial next year.”

“Wall Street executives are bracing for the possibility that Rep. Maxine Waters will take over as the top Democrat on the House Financial Services Committee after Rep. Barney Frank (D-Mass.) retires,” The Hill writes. “Waters, an outspoken California liberal who is considered to the left of Frank on financial and housing issues, suggested in a statement Monday that she is laying the groundwork to become the senior Democrat on the panel.”

Secretary of State Hillary Clinton embarks on an historic trip to Myanmar (also called Burma) this week, the first time a secretary of state will visit the isolated country in more than 50 years, NBC’s Kristen Welker reports. She will also meet for the first time with Aung San Suu Kyi, the Nobel Peace Laureate who had been a political prisoner in Myanmar for 15 of the last 22 years until she was freed last year.

On November 18, Welker notes, President Obama announced he was sending Clinton to Myanmar, saying that he had seen “flickers of progress” in the country which has been governed by military rule for half a century. “President Thein Sein and the Burmese Parliament have taken important steps on the path toward reform,” Obama said while in Bali, Indonesia. “A dialogue between the government and Aung San Suu Kyi has begun. The government has released some political prisoners. Media restrictions have been relaxed.  And legislation has been approved that could open the political environment.” 

Still the trip is a potential foreign policy risk, Welker observes. On the one hand, the United States could help the country usher in a new era of open government while loosening China’s influence in the region.  But Myanmar still has a long way to go -- it currently holds a number of political prisoners and has been heavily criticized for its treatment of minorities and its relationship with North Korea. GOP Sen. Richard Lugar released a statement saying that Myanmar’s relationship with North Korea should be closely scrutinized.  “North Korea is believed to be continuing development of its nuclear, biological and chemical weapons program…over five years ago, the Senate Foreign Relations Committee was informed…of Burma’s reported intention to develop nuclear weapons in coordination with North Korea” Lugar said.   For years the United States has imposed a number of sanctions against the country and there is almost no chance that this trip will lead to a loosening of those sanctions.

CHARLESTON, S.C. – While he doubled down on his belief that some illegal immigrants should be allowed to stay in the U.S., Newt Gingrich sounded an otherwise hard tone on the issue at a town hall here.

Seeking to capitalize on his campaign’s newfound momentum, Gingrich told a packed house at the College of Charleston’s Sottile Theater that he stands by his view that some illegal immigrants should be allowed to stay in the country, a position for which he’s taken conservative heat since mentioning it at CNN’s foreign policy debate last week.

“Take someone who’s been here for 25 years. They’ve been obeying the law for 25 years, they’ve been paying taxes for 25 years, they’re married, they have 3 kids, 2 grandkids and belong to a church. Do you really think the American people are going to send a policeman to take that person away from their family? I don’t,” Gingrich said.

But he clarified that he thinks the number of immigrants that provision would affect is “relatively small.”

He also pushed back on claims from his opponents, most notably Michele Bachmann, that he supports amnesty for illegal immigrants (Bachmann said earlier this week that Gingrich has “a long history of supporting amnesty”).

“Several of my friends have said I'm for amnesty.  That's not true.  At least one of them has run around saying I want to have amnesty for 11 million people.  That's just totally false.  That's in fact an Obama level quality statement,” Gingrich said.

Gingrich took a hard line when outlining his overall immigration policy, saying he would cut off federal funds to any city that declares itself a “sanctuary city,” and that he would make deportation of illegal immigrants easier, especially if they have a history of criminal behavior.

When making that last point, Gingrich singled out one group, Mara Salvatrucha, better known as MS-13, a gang of mostly Salvadoran but also other Central and South American immigrants.

“If you are a member of MS-13, which is a very dangerous gang in over 190 cities, membership of that gang should be automatic evidence you should be deported,” Gingrich said.

Gingrich’s comments came just hours after his campaign released a statement from the candidate condemning the Department of Justice’s lawsuit against South Carolina’s newly passed immigration law. The department is blocking some provisions of the law that it says usurps federal authority.

He reiterated that statement during opening remarks at tonight’s town hall here, which was hosted by South Carolina Rep. Tim Scott.

“Instead of coming down here hat in hand to apologize for the absolute failure of the federal government, the Obama administration filed a lawsuit against the state of South Carolina,” Gingrich said.

By NBC's Jo Ling Kent

Merrimack NH--On Monday evening, a visibly energized Jon Huntsman zeroed in on New Hampshire front-runner Mitt Romney and attacked him sharply, in a state where the former Utah governor has staked his entire presidential campaign.

With just 43 days left until the New Hampshire first-in-the-nation primary, Huntsman questioned Romney's ability to shake up Washington and Wall Street as president.

"Anyone who is in the hip pocket of Wall Street because of all the donations they are picking up, like Mr. Romney, is in these days is not going to be the change agent who is going to fix the too big to fail banking system," Huntsman told about 80 voters at a town hall-style meeting. This was his 110th public campaign stop in New Hampshire.

Huntsman also attempted to downplay the recent string of New Hampshire congressional endorsements Romney has received. Last week, the former Massachusetts governor won the support of Senator Kelly Ayotte and Rep. Charlie Bass, two of the three Republicans in the Granite State congressional delegation.

"You should be wary of any candidate who carries the endorsements of every member of Congress, because it means they're going to be a status quo president," Huntsman said.

At the same time, Huntsman said over the weekend that he is courting newspaper editorial board endorsements across the state, north to south. Yesterday Newt Gingrich received the influential support of the New Hampshire Union Leader, an endorsement that was not expected to go to Huntsman.

The former ambassador to China, who is currently polling at 8 percent in New Hampshire, also presented his own plan to shake up Washington: impose a lifetime ban on lobbying for members of Congress, tie salaries to performance, and impose term limits.

Huntsman vowed to cut the salaries of members of Congress "until they balance the damn budget."

In the final stretch to the January 10 primary, Huntsman says he is "jubilant" about where he stands among the candidates despite his single digit support.

"I want a sustained rise that is not fickle," Huntsman said, accompanied by his wife Mary Kaye. "You have to lay a substantive ground work here in NH...I don't want 15 minutes of fame."

Huntsman wraps up this campaign swing Thursday and will travel to South Carolina on Friday for more town hall meetings this weekend.

Republican presidential candidate Ron Paul’s campaign is increasing its efforts in early voting states by recruiting college-aged supporters to spend their "Christmas Vacation with Ron Paul" as part of a get-out-the-vote program. The campaign is asking students to devote their holiday break working for the campaign in Iowa (Dec. 27 - Jan. 4, 2012) and New Hampshire (Jan. 2-11) while providing meals, lodging and transportation.

A fundraising email sent to supporters after Thanksgiving calls the campaign's official youth effort "Youth for Ron Paul" its "Secret Weapon" -- one they say, "no other campaign will be able to duplicate. That's because no other campaign has the level of support and enthusiasm among young people that [their] campaign has."

The initiative hopes to organize “500 young activists knocking on doors and making phone calls ... to work all day and night to help" Paul succeed. The campaign claims it will cost "over $20,000 per day to put 500 young people on the ground in Iowa and New Hampshire," which means "a new expense of $600,000."

And the plea for donations includes a message meant to appeal to fiscal conservatives.

"I know that sounds like a lot, but actually, that is only $45.00 per person! I think you will admit that is a bargain!"

As part of the selection process, an online questionnaire asks applicants their views on public policy positions using a rating scale of 1 - 5 (from strongly agree to strongly disagree) answering statements like: The 9/11 attacks were carried out by Islamic extremists connected to Al Qaeda who were the sole perpetrators of the damage that day; after a complete audit of the Federal Reserve, the Fed should be abolished; cannabis should be legalized for recreational use; and preemptive, unilateral military action is never an appropriate policy for the U.S.

Democrats plan a Senate vote later this week as part of their initial push to extend and expand the payroll tax holiday that expires at the end of December.

This month's fight in Congress revolves around whether lawmakers should reauthorize another yearlong cut in the payroll tax, the duty used to finance Social Security. The 2 percent tax holiday is scheduled to expire at the end of this calendar year, but President Obama proposed extending and even expanding the holiday for another year as part of his jobs plan.

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV) previewed today a busy December in the Senate consisting of work on not just the payroll tax issue, but also a new Defense authorization bill and continued funding for government, which will run out on Dec. 16 barring congressional action.

It's the payroll tax, though, that appears to be the most contentious for lawmakers, who failed by way of the supercommittee to reach little, if any, consensus on tax and spending issues this fall.

Reid said the payroll tax holiday, which would cut in half the payroll tax paid by employees from 6.2% to 3.1%, will allow 120 million families to keep about $1,500. In addition, per Senate Democrats, 98 percent of businesses will see their payroll taxes cut in half on the first $5 million in payroll wages. Democrats want to pay for the cost of these tax cuts with a 3.25 percent surtax on millionaires, a sure no-go for most Republicans.

"If Republicans block this legislation, 120 American families and 98 percent of American businesses will not get the tax cut next year," Reid said on the Senate floor. "Instead, 120 million families and millions of businesses will be hit with a tax increase. those numbers are startling. They're shocking."

Republicans have shown little unanimity on the issue of the extended payroll tax holiday. Some favor letting rates tick upward to help adequately finance Social Security, while others object to the new surtax to offset the pricetag of the extension.

To that end, Senate GOP Leader Mitch McConnell followed Reid on the Senate floor by accusing Democrats of staging "symbolic show-votes" related to the president's jobs bill. The votes (Democrats have forced votes on individual components of President Obama's American Jobs Act.) "won't lead to anything except more tension and political acrimony," McConnell said.

"Republicans have said that extending the payroll tax break is a potential area of common ground, but coupling it with a job-killing tax hike on small businesses makes no sense whatsoever," said Michael Steel, a spokesman for House Speaker John Boehner. "It looks like Washington Democrats are playing politics with American jobs – again."

McConnell said Senate Democrats should take up jobs bills already passed in the House and he took a dig at the president's recent bus tours.

The bickering just a day into lawmakers' return from the Thanksgiving recess could signal how slow-turning the gears of legislating will be in the last few weeks of this year's session.

The solution could lie in an alternative way to offset the costs of the payroll tax cut extension.

Reid said that Democrats "are not going to let this lapse, we're going to continue working on it" in response to whether he'd be open to alternative ways to finance the tax cut, perhaps holding as many as two or three more votes on future, alternative proposals.

Massachusetts Rep. Barney Frank announced Monday that he would retire at the end of his term in early 2013, citing his redrawn district boundaries and his desire to write as reasons.

A longtime liberal stalwart on Capitol Hill, Frank said that he would leave the House after 16 terms primarily due to the way his 4th congressional district had been remapped as a result of Census-based reapportionment.

"I was planning to run again, and then the congressional redistricting came," he said at a press conference in Massachusetts.

Frank said that he wasn't particularly interested in the rigors of waging a full-fledged campaign -- particularly fundraising -- in a district that was mostly half new to him.

As chairman of the House Financial Services Committee, Frank coauthored of 2010's financial regulatory reform law; he serves now as the committee's ranking Democratic member. Frank said he had been flirting with retirement for some time now, but was motivated to return to Congress for another term to help defend the law from Republicans who have pledged to repeal the law.

Frank also denied that Democrats' chances of winning back the House next fall played a major role in his decision to decline re-election.

Frank has long been a lightning rod for critics, in no small part because of his blunt comments to the press, and sometimes cantankerous engagements with Republicans. But for conservatives hoping that Frank fades into a quiet retirement, the outgoing congressman promised anything but that.

"I'm not retiring from advocacy of public policy," he said. Frank said his preference would be to write -- perhaps on an unfinished Ph.D. dissertation -- and speak freely on issues. He said he didn't anticipate practicing law, though he suggested he "might show up pro bono someday for a gay rights case." (Frank is one of only three openly gay members of Congress.)

Frank also swore off becoming a lobbyist (He would be in a prime position to cash in because of his committee position.), while taking a shot at former House Speaker Newt Gingrich at that.

"I will neither be a lobbyist nor a historian," he said, referencing Gingrich's explanation at a recent debate of his work for troubled mortgage giant Freddie Mac as being in his capacity as a historian. "One of the advantages to me of not running for office is I don't even have to try to pretend to be nice to people I don't like ... and the notion of being a lobbyist, and having to go and try to be nice to people I don't like -- it would be ridiculous."

Gingrich and Frank have sparred publicly over the course of their respective careers, most recently when Gingrich suggested that Frank should be jailed for the policies the Massachusetts Democrat had supported, which Gingrich said had effectively triggered the housing crisis.

"I did not think I've lived a good enough life to be rewarded by Newt Gingrich being the Republican nominee. It still is unlikely, but I have hopes. I think he is," he said, calling the former Speaker's boomlet a repudiation of former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney.

All it took was a $22,000 ad buy in five swing states today to set off a war of words, conference calls and emails that seemed like a preview of a possible general election match-up between Barack Obama and Mitt Romney.

This morning, the Democratic National Committee unveiled a new website and ad campaign entitled "Mitt v. Mitt," featuring new television ads airing in New Mexico, Pennsylvania, Ohio, Wisconsin and North Carolina, as well as in the District of Columbia. The TV ad, which takes the form of a movie preview, splices video clips of Mitt Romney in 2011 with those of Romney from his previous presidential campaign, and from his time as Massachusetts governor. Online, a much longer version of the ad lays out a far more comprehensive list of alleged flip-flops, on issues ranging from gun control to abortion to TARP.

To get the word out, the DNC further announced a slate of so-called "amplifying events" -- mostly conference calls -- with Democratic officials around the country, further tweaking Romney for perceived flip-flops of note locally, particularly in swing states and early-nominating states like Florida, Iowa and New Hampshire.

On a morning conference call explaining the ad campaign to reporters, DNC communications director Brad Woodhouse said it was important to highlight Romney's evolving record on various issues, and that if Romney's GOP rivals weren't up to the task, the DNC was happy to help out. Woodhouse said he thought the ads would draw a response from the Romney campaign, including belittling the size of the ad-buy, because the new DNC campaign "stings."

But if the DNC was looking for a reaction from that sting, the Romney campaign seemed happy to oblige.

Before most Americans had finished breakfast, the campaign released an official on-the-record response to the ad, in which a Romney spokesperson ripped the president's economic record, and said that "instead of focusing on the economy and creating jobs, President Obama and Democrats are focused on tearing down Mitt Romney," and pushing back on the veracity of one of the ad's supposed flip-flops.

By midday, the Romney campaign had announced their own panoply of conference calls to push back against the DNC assault, led by the campaign's national co-chair, and former Romney opponent, Tim Pawlenty.

"Before the first vote in the Republican primary is even cast, the democrats are blasting Mitt Romney and trying to tear him down," Pawlenty told reporters. Why? "Because they don't want to focus on their own failures."

All told, Romney's campaign put on a dozen so-called "response" calls of their own, using surrogates like Nevada's Lt. Governor Krolicki and former Pennsylvania Congressman Phil English to attempt to hammer home the same message: the Obama campaign doesn't want to talk about the economy, they only want to tear down Mitt Romney.

As the conference call and email marathon wore on, it became apparent that the subject matter of the ad itself -- and the fact that President Obama frequently talks about the economy, as he did last week in New Hampshire -- was almost secondary to the Romney campaign's response strategy. Woodhouse, the DNC spokesman, noted in an email to reporters that the Romney campaign only aggressively pushed back against one of the eleven flip-flops they highlighted.

Instead, as a number of analysts pointed out today across cable television and on First Read this morning, the Romney campaign seemed to revel in becoming the primary target of Democrats, firing off press releases with titles like "OBAMA CAMPAIGN AND DEMOCRATS DO NOT WANT TO RUN AGAINST MITT ROMNEY" and "PRESIDENT OBAMA FOCUSED ON TEARING DOWN MITT ROMNEY, NOT CREATING JOBS."

Earlier today, we warned that the DNC's new TV ad buy hitting Mitt Romney probably isn't that big of a buy.

And according to an ad-tracking source, that's correct -- the DNC is spending just about $14,000 on it from Nov. 28 through Nov. 30.

By the way, the same source breaks down all the TV ad spending so far through 2011. Among the GOP presidential candidates:
-- Perry $2.8 million (including the campaign's national FOX buy)
-- Paul $2.1 million
-- Romney $134,000
-- Cain $78,900

Among the Super PACs:
-- Our Destiny PAC (pro-Huntsman Super PAC): $1.4 million
-- Make Us Great Again (pro-Perry PAC): $775,000

And among the national political parties:
-- DNC $6.8 million

*** UPDATED *** Sources say the buy size of the new DNC TV ad is now $22,000 -- after the DNC purchased nearly $8,000 on cable in the DC area.

Massachuetts Rep. Barney Frank (D) will announce Monday that he won't seek re-election in 2012, sources told NBC News.

The longtime lawmaker from the Bay State's 4th congressional district was expected announce his retirement after 16 terms in the House at an afternoon press conference.

The ranking member of the House Financial Services Committee, Frank helped author the financial regulatory reform bill that passed through Congress in 2010, when Frank served as the panel's chairman. California Rep. Maxine Waters (D) is next in line to become ranking member of the committee.

Frank has long been a lightning rod in Washington, known for his characteristically blunt commentary on any and all current events. That's made him a favorite target of conservative Republicans, most recently former House Speaker Newt Gingrich, who suggested in his campaigning for president that Frank be jailed for his role in crafting policies that, Gingrich claims, led to the housing crisis.

Frank is one of only three openly gay members of Congress.

A source close to the Massachusetts Congressional Delegation tells NBC News that they believe Frank's decision is due to the Congressman simply being tired and ready for a less hectic schedule.

***UPDATE*** More from NBC's Luke Russert: The source speculated that Frank realized that winning the House back in 2012 would be a big lift for Dems, that the earliest he could again be Chairman of the House Financial Services Comt would be Jan of 2015. Frank  would then be 75 years old. The source also speculated that Frank's longtime boyfriend Jim Ready was tired of being a political spouse.

In 2010, Ready got into a shouting match on an airplane with a fellow passenger about Frank. The story got a ton of blog pick-up. During Frank's last election, Ready was caught on video heckling Frank's opponent Sean Bielat after a campaign rally.

Frank ended up winning comfortably against Bielat 54%-43%.

Frank was also redistricted, however since MA is such a Democratic state, his district remained largely safe.

Five weeks (36 days!!!) to go until Iowa… Can Gingrich capitalize on the Union Leader’s endorsement?... Next up on Capitol Hill’s agenda this week: payroll tax cut… New tensions with Pakistan… DNC hits Romney in new TV ad… And Christmas break with Ron Paul.

*** Five weeks to go: Here’s where we stand in the GOP presidential race with five weeks (36 days!!!) to go until the Iowa caucuses: 1) Mitt Romney remains the overall favorite -- with his money, campaign staff, and poll position -- but he hasn’t been able to pull away from the field, and he’s a TV ad away from being all-in in Iowa; 2) Newt Gingrich, fresh off from his New Hampshire Union Leader endorsement, has emerged as the latest Romney alternative, but the question is whether he can survive the next 36 days; (none of the OTHER anti-Romneys has lasted longer); 3) Rick Perry’s campaign appears stuck in neutral, though he did receive an endorsement from controversial Arizona sheriff Joe Arpaio; 4) Ron Paul keeps on doing his thing, and is enlisting college students to help out his Iowa ground game; 5)  Herman Cain is trying to bounce back from his foreign-policy stumbles and those sexual-harassment allegations; and 6) with all the twists and turns that we’ve seen so far, the next five weeks (and beyond) promise to be a wild ride. Bottom line: We don’t know how Romney is denied the nomination, but we also don’t know how he gets there, yet.

Slideshow: Gingrich through the years

*** Can Gingrich capitalize on the Union Leader’s endorsement? As mentioned above, Gingrich won the conservative New Hampshire Union Leader’s endorsement, NBC’s Jo Ling Kent reported yesterday. “Newt Gingrich is by no means the perfect candidate. But Republican primary voters too often make the mistake of preferring an unattainable ideal to the best candidate who is actually running,” the paper said, never once mentioning New Hampshire front-runner Mitt Romney (though criticizing politicians who tell voters “what he thinks we want to hear”). “In this incredibly important election, that candidate is Newt Gingrich. He has the experience, the leadership qualities and the vision to lead this country in these trying times. He is worthy of your support on Jan. 10.” The endorsement is the latest evidence that Gingrich’s campaign is surging, despite the scrutiny over his past work for Freddie Mac and his comments on illegal question. Here’s the big question for Gingrich: Can he capitalize on this momentum -- to start airing TV ads and hiring more campaign staffers in the early states? The New York Times says his campaign has hired nine staffers in South Carolina and half a dozen in New Hampshire. But here’s another amazing stat: Gingrich hasn’t spent any money on paid ads in Iowa yet.

*** Track record vs. momentum: By the way, the Union Leader’s track record for picking NOMINEES is mixed, but its ability to generate momentum for a candidate in the state is worth a lot. The top story right now on the paper’s web site: “GOP candidates react to endorsement of Gingrich.”

*** A few “just askins” to ponder: Because Gingrich and Romney have “M.A.D.” (Mutually Assured Destruction)-type negatives, does it mean neither is ready to go nuclear on the other? And if that’s the case, who does end up doing the job on TV? Gingrich may have the “K Street” address, but does Team Romney want a compare/contrast with Gingrich going back to 1994? Gingrich on the trail in Oct. ’94 vs. Romney on the trail in Oct. ’94? How have the two candidates with the most traditional presidential candidate resumes (Santorum and Huntsman) not seen a boomlet of any kind? Or did we answer that question with the word “traditional”? While the goal first and foremost for Romney is to WIN the nomination any way he can, doesn’t he need to go long? If he wins early and ends the race, doesn’t the vacuum become a bigger problem as Romney actually won’t feel ready to pivot to the center too quickly? 

*** Next up on Capitol Hill’s agenda: payroll tax cut: Transitioning from the 2012 campaign trail to the nation’s capital, the Senate is set to vote this week on extending the payroll tax credit. On Wednesday, President Obama travels to Scranton, PA to press the Senate to pass the legislation, and he did the same last week in Manchester, NH. Roll Call: “Republicans in general have been divided about what to do about the payroll tax cut, with some preferring to let it expire and worrying about the long-term financing of the Social Security system. Other Republicans, including Sen. John McCain (Ariz.), are open to extending the cuts. Republicans have voted many times in the past for tax cuts — including last year in a December deal with the president — without paying for them.” By the way, don’t miss the Wall Street Journal’s excellent graphics and stats on presidential travel to swing states in the year BEFORE a re-election year. Obama has now surpassed George W. Bush for swing state travel (2011 vs. 2003).

*** New tensions with Pakistan: Yet the trickiest news the Obama White House is dealing is in Pakistan, where “a NATO airstrike that killed 24 Pakistani soldiers remained in dispute and Pakistan threatened to boycott an international conference on Afghanistan’s future,” the Washington Post says. “The military coalition in Kabul said it was still investigating the Saturday morning incident, but a spokesman suggested a joint U.S.-Afghan operation had called in the NATO helicopters for support after coming under fire. NATO Secretary General Anders Fogh Rasumussen called it a ‘tragic unintended accident.’ But Pakistani officials maintained that the air assault was unprovoked.” This feels like the typical Pakistan response -- at least for now -- where domestic political concerns on their end mean they have to react as negatively as possible in public to what the U.S./NATO may have done.

*** DNC hits Romney in TV ad: Turning back to the 2012 race, the Democratic National Committee says it’s going up with a new TV ad hitting Romney in six media markets: Albuquerque, NM; Raleigh-Durham, NC; Columbus, OH; Pittsburgh, PA; Washington, DC; and, Milwaukee, WI. The DNC’s charge in the ad: Romney is a serial flip-flopper. From the creator of "I'm running for office for Pete's sake" comes the story of two men trapped in one body," the narrator says. "Mitt vs. Mitt." It captures Romney saying, "I will preserve and protect a woman's right to choose." Then he says: "The right next step... is to see Roe v. Wade overturned." On health care, Romney says, "We put together an exchange, and the president’s copying that idea. I'm glad to hear that." Then: "Obamacare is bad news." Warning: We’re not sure how big the DNC’s buy is; right now, it looks more like a press-release advertisement. And we do know this: Every day that Team Obama and Democrats take a shot at Romney, the folks in Boston consider that a good day for them. Perhaps the ONLY way Romney wins over skeptical conservatives is to show he’s the candidate the White House fears the most.

*** Christmas break with Ron Paul: Over the weekend, NBC’s Anthony Terrell reported that the Paul campaign is increasing its efforts in early voting states by recruiting college-aged supporters to spend "Christmas Vacation with Ron Paul" as part of its get-out-the-vote program.  The campaign is asking students to spend their Christmas break working for the campaign in Iowa (Dec. 27, 2011 to Jan. 4, 2012) and New Hampshire (Jan. 2, 2012 to Jan. 11, 2012) while providing meals, lodging and transportation. A fundraising email calls the campaign's official youth effort -- "Youth for Ron Paul" -- its "Secret Weapon,” one that it says "no other campaign will be able to duplicate. That's because no other campaign has the level of support and enthusiasm among young people that our campaign has."

*** On the 2012 trail: Gingrich stumps in South Carolina, and so does Anita Perry… Santorum and Huntsman are in New Hampshire… Romney raises money in Florida…And Cain hits a fundraiser in McLean, VA.

*** Monday’s “Daily Rundown” line-up: Union Leader Publisher Joe McQuaid on backing Gingrich… L.A. Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa on what’s happening with Occupy L.A… The latest on Egypt and Syria with NBC’s Aymen Mohyledin and TIME’s Bobby Ghosh… And more 2012 news with the Washington Post’s Dan Balz, former DNC spokeswoman Karen Finney and former RNC chairman Michael Steele.

*** Monday’s “Jansing & Co.” line-up: MSNBC’s Chris Jansing interviews Charles Arlinghaus of the New Hampshire Union Leader (on the paper’s endorsement of Gingrich), the Washington Post’s Ezra Klein, the Chicago Tribune’s Clarence Page, and the New York Times’ Charles Blow.

*** Monday’s “MSNBC Live with Thomas Roberts” line-up: MSNBC’s Thomas Roberts interviews the Washington Post’s Karen Tumulty and Anne Kornblut, as well as Jamal Simmons and Susan Del Percio.

*** Monday’s “NOW with Alex Wagner” line-up: Alex Wagner’s panel includes actor and former Obama White House aide Kal Penn, New York Magazine’s John Heilemann, Politico’s Joe Williams, and Meghan McCain.

*** Monday’s “Andrea Mitchell Reports” line-up: NBC’s Andrea Mitchell interviews the New York Times’ Thomas Friedman, the Washington Post’s Jonathan Capehart, the DNC’s Brad Woodhouse (on its new ad hitting Romney), Andrew Hemingway of the Gingrich campaign, and Dem Rep. Chris Van Hollen.

Countdown to Iowa caucuses: 36 days
Countdown to New Hampshire primary: 43 days
Countdown to South Carolina primary: 54 days
Countdown to Florida primary: 64 days
Countdown to Nevada caucuses: 68 days
Countdown to Super Tuesday: 99 days
Countdown to Election Day: 346 days

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The campaign is heating up with mailers and robo-calls, NBC’s Alex Moe reports.

Mississippi Gov. Haley Barbour, who earlier this year flirted with a potential Republican bid for the White House, warned conservative voters in Florida on Sunday that pushing GOP presidential candidates too far right will hurt the party's chances to beat President Obama, "This election isn't about who can be the most conservative.  Whoever we elect is going to be far more conservative than Barack Obama, OK?" Barbour said, per NBC’s Andrew Rafferty. "And I got news for you. Whoever we nominate, you're not going to agree with them on everything. If we make this election trying to make everyone as conservative as Haley happy, we make it harder for us to win."

The New York Daily News looks at the GOP’s efforts to use social media.

The Boston Globe fact-checks parts of last week’s debate.

BACHMANN: NBC’s Jamie Novogrod says that among Bachmann's eight announced radio interviews today are two hits with evangelical leader James Dobson and his son, Ryan. Per the campaign, Bachmann flew to Colorado Springs last night -- from Iowa -- in order to meet with the elder Dobson. Bachmann’s husband, Marcus, will join her on both radio shows.

Yesterday, Novogrod adds, Michele Bachmann concluded her three-day book tour through Iowa with a visit to a Holiday Inn, where she signed copies of “Core of Conviction” for about 50 people. “I think that they’re going to find out that with me, it’s not about politics,” Bachmann told reporters, of those who read her book.  “I’ve never been a politician.  I don’t even know how to be a politician.”

CAIN: The Cain campaign yesterday released a 30-second "movie trailer" video in anticipation of the five-minute "999 movie" that it will release today, per NBC’s Andrew Rafferty. The federal tax code looks to be the antagonist "monster" of the plot, and it looks as though “999” will be the hero that defeats it. The narrator says, "The 999 plan is simple enough to vanquish squirrelly bureaucrats."

“Cain has denied the accusations and says ‘nothing has gone wrong’ in terms of the campaign's mechanics. But he tells CNN's ‘State of the Union’ that some people ‘are heavily influenced by perception more so than reality,’” The New York Post writes.

GINGRICH: He got the endorsement of the conservative New Hampshire Union-Leader newspaper. The New York Post: “Call it Newt Hampshire.”

Politico's Martin: “The exquisite timing and validating effect of the New Hampshire Union Leader’s endorsement presents Gingrich with the biggest boost yet to his resurgent campaign — a conservative stamp of approval at a pivotal moment. Not only does the former House speaker now have a powerful political voice in his corner as he establishes himself in polls as Mitt Romney’s chief rival, he has it at the very moment his immigration stance is receiving fresh scrutiny from party activists. Now the question is whether the wave of momentum, cresting just weeks before votes are cast, will be significant enough for Gingrich to sweep away unease on issues where he isn’t in alignment with the base.

It’s his position on immigration that could be his toughest hurdle. “I am not for amnesty for anyone,” Gingrich contended in Florida, NBC’s Alex Moe reports. “I am not for a path to citizenship for anybody who got here illegally.”

“Newt Gingrich isn’t backing off his “humane” immigration stance despite complaints from Republican hardliners and fellow Presidential hopefuls — he’s embellishing it,” the New York Daily News writes. The former House speaker issued “10 Steps to a Legal Nation” this week, expanding on his remarks during Tuesday’s GOP debate that prompted former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney and Minnesota Rep. Michele Bachmann to accuse him of peddling amnesty for illegal immigrants.”

Rep. Steve King (R-IA) said Gingrich supports a “form of amnesty,” and his position “makes it harder” to support him, per O.Kay Henderson (via GOP 12).

JOHNSON: Former New Mexico Gov. Gary Johnson might run in a third-party bid.

PERRY: NBC’s Carrie Dann reports that, according to NBC promos, Perry will be on Jay Leno’s late-night program this Thursday evening. Per the campaign, he will be in California on a fundraising swing after a two-day New Hampshire campaign trip on Tuesday and Wednesday. Perry will appear on the same show with guests Melissa McCarthy and rapper/noted autotune enthusiast T-Pain.

ROMNEY: “Romney did not schedule campaign appearances on Monday, but his advisers were working to downplay The New Hampshire Union Leader's backing of Gingrich in Romney's back yard. The newspaper's rejection of Romney, who enjoys solid polling leads in that state and has worked to line up activists, stood to potentially reshape the entire campaign,” the AP writes. “The Union Leader's editorial is a sign that conservative concerns about Romney's shifts on crucial issues of abortion and gay rights were unlikely to fade. Those worries have led Romney to keep Iowa's Jan. 3 caucuses -- where conservatives hold great sway -- at arm's length.”

Shortly after Sen. John Thune (R-SD) campaigned with Romney in Des Moines, IA on Wednesday, NBC’s Morgan Parmet notes that the former Massachusetts governor took questions from the audience at a Nationwide Insurance. When a man in the audience said Romney’s plan does not put money back in his pocket, Romney responded, “I’m not looking to put money in people’s pockets.”

Here’s the full exchange:

Question: “First of all, thank you for making your plan available on Kindle for free. I wish everybody did that. One, your tax plan you plan to eliminate the estate tax. You plan to lower the corporate tax. And unfortunately, I don't see -- you want to keep the marginal rates at the current level. That sounds to me like it's not helping the middle class. It doesn't put any money in my pocket. And you want to keep the Bush tax cuts. How will this help the middle class, which is most of us really?”

Romney: “Actually, I'm not looking to put money in people's pockets. That's the other party. But I am interested in lowering the tax burden that gets taken out of your pockets. All right? I don't want you to pay more and more to government. My commitment is this:  I'm not looking to try and reduce the tax burden, the share of the tax burden that's paid by the top 1%. My intent and my passion is not saying how can I lower the burden paid by the wealthiest. I'm not looking to do that. I'm looking to keep that the same and instead to say how do I get relief to middle income Americans and one way to get relief to middle income Americans is lowering the rates as the senator just indicated, but also for it's saying, look this zero tax interest dividends and capital gains only applies to middle income Americans.

“President Barack Obama is hosting European Union leaders for a summit Monday that is likely to focus on the European debt crisis,” the AP notes.

The Wall Street Journal: “When President Barack Obama jets to Scranton, Pa., Wednesday to promote his jobs package, he'll log his 56th event in a presidential battleground state this year, putting him well ahead of President George W. Bush's record-breaking swing-state travel in 2003. Mr. Obama's extensive travels this year have opened the president to criticism from Republicans that he is intertwining campaigning and governing at a time when he has called for bipartisanship on intractable national problems. Most of the cost is typically born by taxpayers.”

Per Democratic congressional lobbyist Billy Moore, the first session of the 112th Congress has only a few legislative days before it adjourns sine die, and it will likely claim the prize as the least productive session in 60 years (when Congress started enumerating public laws). Congress has not made up for its lack of quantity with quality: of the 57 public laws Congress has enacted so far this year, 34 merely extended expiring laws (such as continuing appropriations or expiring tax or highway statutes).

“Senate Democrats and the White House are setting up a certain-to-fail vote to extend and expand the payroll tax cut as soon as this week as their signature political showcase heading into the election year,” Roll Call writes. “For Democratic partisans, the series of made-for-attack-ad Senate votes pitting tax increases on the rich against pieces of the president’s jobs package have served as appetizers to the main event: a showdown between tax cuts for more than 99 percent of taxpayers and many businesses and tax increases on millionaires.”

“Lawmakers are digging in for a fight over extending President Obama’s payroll-tax holiday that is set to expire in January, taking a $1,000-a-year bite out of middle-class paychecks,” the New York Post writes. “Democratic leaders said they want to raise taxes on the rich to pay for keeping the payroll-tax rate at 4.2 percent, instead of the usual 6.2 percent. Arizona Sen. Jon Kyl, the No. 2 Republican in the Senate, said that approach will meet stiff opposition because it taxes job creators to give a tax break that does nothing for job growth.”

KANSAS: Really - Gov. Sam Brownback’s office flagged a tweet from a teenager who said something mean about him and got her in trouble with her school principal?

SOUTH CAROLINA: “Beaufort County and three other counties have not decided whether to ask the S.C. Supreme Court to reconsider a decision requiring them to conduct next year's GOP presidential primary,” the Beaufort Gazette reports. “The S.C. Election Commission wants county election boards to conduct the Jan. 21 Republican primary. Beaufort, Greenville, Spartanburg and Chester counties filed a lawsuit in October arguing that there's no legal requirement that they do so.”

TEXAS: Rep. Charlie Gonzalez (D) announced his retirement Saturday. The seat should remain in Democratic hands: “Gonzalez succeeded his father, Rep. Henry Gonzalez, in 1998. Henry Gonzalez served 38 years in Congress and was the first Hispanic Member elected from Texas.  The Texas Tribune reported that State Rep. Joaquin Castro (D), who was running in the new 35th district, will switch to run for this newly open seat. That clears the way for former Rep. Ciro Rodriguez's expcted announcement next week that he will run in the new 35th.”