“Kelly Ayotte” on The Daily Caller

New Hampshire Speaker of the House William O’Brien told The Daily Caller that Mitt Romney would be “making a good selection” if he chose Sen. Kelly Ayotte as his running mate. (more)

The normally loquacious Senate Republican caucus is being uncharacteristically mum about whom they think presumptive Republican presidential nominee Mitt Romney should pick to play Robin to his Batman. (more)

The Romney campaign continued its attempt to appeal to women with a cache of conservative females on a Thursday phone call with reporters. (more)

South Carolina Republican Sen. Lindsey Graham is offended “as hell” over automatic cuts to the defense budget, suggesting that the American people “fire” Congress and “keep the soldiers.” (more)

Three Republican senators who claimed to have seen images of Osama bin Laden after he was killed may have been duped. (more)

It’s hard to turn around on Capitol Hill without bumping into one of the newly arrived victors of the midterm elections, most of whom are in Washington to receive orientation briefings and begin hiring staff. (more)

A group of 10 incoming Republican senators sent a letter Thursday to Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid calling on him to postpone a vote on a nuclear arms reduction treaty with Russia until they have been seated. (more)

WASHINGTON (AP) — Fresh off the tea party’s show of election might, GOP Sen. Jim DeMint said Tuesday he’ll force a showdown next week with Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell and other old guard Republicans over “earmarked” pet projects that DeMint and other victors last week made a symbol of out-of-control deficit spending. (more)

With the 2010 midterm elections behind us, the focus has turned to the new class of Republican leaders that were swept into office. Several have already been labeled as future stars of the party. Among them are Senator-elect Marco Rubio of Florida, Congresswoman-elect Kristi Noem of South Dakota, Governor-elect Nikki Haley of South Carolina, Senator-elect Rob Portman of Ohio, and Governor-elect Brian Sandoval of Nevada. These names have been floated as potential presidential and vice presidential candidates in the coming years. Here is a look at several other newly elected officeholders who have the potential be stars for the GOP: (more)

Tuesday’s election marked a stunning turnaround for the Republican Party, which gained more than 60 new seats in the House and six additional seats in the Senate. As much as any other demographic, it was conservative men who brought the GOP back from two dreary years in the political wilderness. (more)

Trent Lott, the former senate majority leader from Mississippi, made news last summer when he said this of incoming tea party-backed senators: “As soon as they get here, we need to co-opt them.” Lott’s words have since been held up as evidence that the Republican establishment in Washington is corrupt and out of touch – as case made most recently by Sen. Jim DeMint, in a widely-read op-ed that ran in Wednesday’s Wall St. Journal. (more)

This election broke the mold in many ways, including the role that women played in the political arena. In fact, while the tug-of-war between champions of limited government and supporters of activist, big government will undoubtedly continue for decades, expectations for women in our political system may be permanently altered. (more)

There was a great deal of buzz this election cycle about the preponderance of Republican women who had thrown their hats into the ring — indeed some even went so far as to declare 2010 the year of the GOP woman. (more)

A look of the key races in the 50 states: (more)

NASHUA, N.H. (AP) — If John McCain hadn’t made it clear before, he’s leaving no doubt that the presidency is a dream gone by. (more)

WASHINGTON (AP) — Republican Senate hopeful Christine O’Donnell says her first priority if elected would be to help the GOP block Democrats’ priorities in a lame-duck session. (more)

NEW YORK (AP) — An unusually large contingent of female Republican candidates with strong anti-abortion views is heating up debate on the issue and could change the political equation in the next Congress. (more)

This past week I gave a speech to a group of investors. The organizer of the event e-mailed me the night before, asking that I please try to be optimistic. Well, that’s my usual habitat. But optimism has been hard for me this year. Our muddle-through economy and lackluster stock market, challenged by so many taxing, spending, and regulating problems coming out of Washington, are the reasons why. (more)

Polls opened around the country this morning for the last major round of primaries before the midterm general elections in November. Today, voters are going to the polls in Delaware, New Hampshire, New York, Rhode Island, Massachusetts, Maryland and Wisconsin. (more)

WASHINGTON (AP) — Elections in Delaware, New Hampshire and New York on Tuesday are measuring the strength of the tea party movement against the Republican establishment as the primary season draws to a close. (more)