Mary Landrieu

There is no shortage of second and third generations of American political families addressing delegates at the Democratic National Convention in Denver this week: Caroline Kennedy Schlossberg, the daughter of President John F. Kennedy; James Roosevelt, Jr., the grandson of President Franklin D. Roosevelt; U.S. Rep. Jesse Jackson, Jr. (D-IL), the son of the Rev. Jesse Jackson, a candidate for the Democratic presidential nomination in 1984 and 1988; U.S. Sen. Mary Landrieu (D-LA), the daughter of former New Orleans Mayor/U.S. Secretary of Housing and Urban Development Moon Landrieu; U.S. Sen. Robert Casey (D-PA), the son of former Pennsylvania Gov. Bob Casey; Kansas Gov. Kathleen Sebelius, the daughter of former Ohio Gov. John Gilligan; House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA), the daughter of former Baltimore Mayor/U.S. Rep. Thomas D’Alesandro; Iowa Gov. Chet Culver, the son of former U.S. Sen. John Culver (D-IA); New York Gov. David Paterson, the son of former New York Secretary of State Basil Paterson; and Cecile Richards, the daughter of former Texas Governor Anne Richards.

A new Quinnipiac University poll shows Republican Dick Zimmer within seven points of the four-term incumbent, Democrat Frank Lautenberg (48%-41%), but it seems that the National Republican Senatorial Committee has already written off the former three-term Congressman. In an interview with Dow Jones Newswire, Rebecca Fisher, a spokeswoman for the NRSC, said that Louisiana’s Mary Landrieu is their priority and “admitted the party had no other hopes of unseating an incumbent Democrat."

Less than an hour after Rep. Rob Andrews formally kicked off his Democratic primary campaign in Trenton, 84-year-old incumbent Sen. Frank Lautenberg turned out one quarter of the women in the U.S. Senate to stump for him today at a Newark fundraiser.

Senators Mary Landrieu (D-La.), Maria Cantwell (D-Wash.), Debbie Stabenow (D-Mich.) and Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.) spoke at the $500-per-head show of force at the New Jersey Performing Arts Center.

Lautenberg staffers said the event is expected to raise at least $200,000 for the campaign – part of the $1 million in fundraising commitments that Lautenberg has gotten since Andrews started his challenge. That’s on top of the $4.3 million he already had in the bank.

Frank Lautenberg will give up his seat on the U.S. Senate Homeland Security and Government Affairs Committee after the Democratic leadership declined his request to become Chairman instead of Independent-Democrat Joseph Lieberman. Instead, Lautenberg will move to the Appropriations Committee, with his seat on Homeland Security going to Mary Landrieu of Louisiana.

Robert Menendez has won a seat on the Foreign Relations Committee.