Rasmussen painted a bleak picture for Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid's re-election prospects last Friday. And now it doesn't look good for his son, Rory, as he runs on the same ticket this fall as the Democratic nominee for governor. Rasmussen's latest Nevada governor poll (500 LVs, 3/3, MoE +/- 4.5%) shows the younger Reid leading only embattled incumbent Gov. Jim Gibbons (R).

General Election Matchups
Sandoval 53 (+8 vs. last poll, 2/3)
Reid 35 (+2)
Und 5 (-7)

Montandon 42 (+6)
Reid 37 (-3)
Und 8 (-2)

Reid 44 (unch)
Gibbons 36 (+1)
Und 4 (-4)

Just 37 percent approve of Gibbons' job performance, while 61 percent disapprove. Meanwhile 44 percent approve of President Obama, while 57 percent disapprove.

Democratic Congressman Eric Massa released the following statement announcing his resignation, effective Monday:

Two days ago as I sat reading my new annual CAT scan, having been told that the anomalies in the films may or may not be scar tissue, I decided to finally take the advice that my doctors have repeatedly given me, and that is to take care of my family and myself before my profession. After I decided not to run again I was told, for the first time, that a member of my staff believed I had made statements that made him feel “uncomfortable.”   I was told that a report had been filed with the Congressional Ethics Committee.  At no point prior to this had any member of the Ethics Committee communicated with me directly - if fact I first read it on the internet.

I own this reality.  There is no doubt in my mind that I did in fact, use language in the privacy of my own home and in my inner office that, after 24 years in the Navy, might make a Chief Petty Officer feel uncomfortable.  In fact, there is no doubt that this Ethics issue is my fault and mine alone.  But in the incredibly toxic atmosphere that is Washington D.C., with the destruction of our elected leaders having become a blood sport, especially in talk radio and on the internet, there is also no doubt that an Ethics investigation would tear my family and my staff apart. Some would say that this is what happens when you stand apart from political parties, which I have done.  Others will say that this is what happens to a non politician when they go to Washington DC.  I want to make something perfectly clear.  My difficulties are of my own making. Period.  I am also aware that blogs and radio will have a field day with this in today's destructive and unforgiving political environment.  In that investigators would be free to ask anything about me going back to my birth, I simply cannot rise to that level of perfection.  God knows that I am a deeply flawed and imperfect person.

During long car rides, in the early hours of the evening, late at night and always in private, I know that my own language failed to meet the standards that I set for all around me and myself.  I fell short and I believe now, as I have always believed, that it is not enough to simply talk the talk, but rather I must take action to hold myself accountable.

Therefore, effective at 5 PM on Monday the 8th of March I will resign my position as the Federal Representative of New York's 29th Congressional District in the 111th Congress.  I do so with a profound sense of failure and a deep apology to all those whom, for the past year, I tried to represent as our Nation struggles with problems far greater than anyone can possibly imagine.  I hope that my family, constituents, and fellow Members of Congress can accept this apology as being both genuine and heartfelt and I wish for them and all Americans only the best.  I will take all actions possible to ensure that my personal health is secured in that I know that mine is a far more fragile lifeline than most.  For the millions of fellow cancer survivors with whom I share this experience, they, more than anyone else, will understand the honesty and openness in this statement.

I ask that members of the press respect the privacy of my family, my staff, and me at this time.

-Congressman Eric Massa

Not only is Nevada Sen. Harry Reid (D) polling below 50% support right now, but his Republican opponents are now both polling at 50% or more, according to a new Rasmussen survey (March 3, 500 LV, MoE +/- 4.5%). The results fall right in line with a Mason-Dixon survey out at the beginning of the week.

Lowden 51 (+6 vs. last poll, Feb. 2)
Reid 38 (-1)
Und 3 (-5)

Tarkanian 50 (+3)
Reid 37 (-2)
Und 4 (-2)

Angle 46 (+2)
Reid 38 (-2)
Und 5 (-3)

President Obama receives a 44% job approval rating, with 57% disapproving. Just 37% approve of Gov. Jim Gibbons (R) job performance.

Perhaps another sign of a mini-boomlet for Democrats? A new Rasmussen survey in Colorado out this morning (500 LVs, 3/2, MoE +/- 4.5%) shows that both Democrats in the Colorado Senate race -- appointed incumbent Michael Bennet and former House Speaker Andrew Romanoff -- have cut into former Lt. Gov. Jane Norton's (R) leads.

General Election Matchups
Norton 44 (-1 vs. last poll, 2/2)
Romanoff 42 (+4)
Und 9 (-1)

Norton 48 (-3)
Bennet 39 (+2)
Und 6 (-1)

Norton had led both Romanoff and Bennet by 12 points in a January survey. Despite that progress, Democrats still should be concerned about the fact that the two better known figures run even with two other, lesser-known potential Republican nominees, state Sen. Tom Wiens and Weld County DA Ken Buck.

Wiens 41 (-1) -- Romanoff 41 (+1) -- Und 13 (+1)
Wiens 43 (-2) -- Bennet 40 (unch) -- Und 11 (+2)

Buck 41 (-4) -- Romanoff 40 (+1) -- Und 13 (+3)
Buck 44 (-1) -- Bennet 38 (-3) -- Und 11 (+3)

Despite (or perhaps because of) incumbency and the support of President Obama, which included a fundraising visit on his behalf last month, Bennet appears to still be a weaker general election candidate. Obama has a 43 percent approval rating, while 56 percent disapprove.

The White House's renewed push on health care has created one of the most fluid political situations we've seen in some time. Here's a quick - but by no means comprehensive - rundown on the political jockeying on health care:

Jon Ward reports that Dems are exploring a 'hold plus-reconciliation' strategy. Key quote: “We don't trust the Senate to do anything they say they're going to do,” Rep. Anthony Weiner, New York Democrat, told The Daily Caller.

In Colorado, Democratic Reps. Betsy Markey and Diana DeGette are stuck in the health care quagmire, but for different reasons. DeGette is co-chair of the Pro Choice Caucus and is under heavy pressure to vote against the language in the Senate bill (exactly the opposite of Bart Stupak's objections). Markey, on the other hand, voted no the first time around and is being pressured to switch her vote:

Markey, who declined requests to be interviewed for this story, is a vulnerable Democrat who last year voted against a reform bill viewed skeptically by moderates and conservatives in her Republican-leaning district.

But that vote has cost her dearly with party loyalists back home, and she's now squeezed between the unpleasant prospect of alienating either her base Democratic voters or the independents she'll need in a tough 2010 fight.

"She is in a challenging district, I understand that," said Alan Phipps, a Fort Collins Democrat who volunteered for Markey's 2008 campaign. "But if I was her, I would rather be a one-term congressman and do the right thing than do the wrong thing and get elected."

In Texas, the Ft. Worth Star-Telegram reports Chet Edwards is now a firm "no" vote: "If the question is whether I would vote for the comprehensive health care bill currently being considered, the answer is 'no,'" Edwards said in a statement to the Star-Telegram. "After listening to my constituents, I voted 'no' on the House bill last year, and I will vote 'no' on the Senate bill this year if it comes up for a vote."

In South Dakota, Stephanie Herseth Sandlin also reiterated her opposition to the bill yesterday: “I will not vote for the Senate bill as is,” she said. “I will not vote for a package of changes that would go through the reconciliation process.”

Lastly, on the Senate side, Joe Lieberman of Connecticut, who voted with the Democrats on Christmas Eve day to get the Senate version passed with 60 votes, says he's now undecided on the issue and is very wary about using budget reconciliation:  "Most of the big social changes have been adopted with bipartisan votes," Lieberman said, adding that using reconciliation is not "the best way to do this for a lot of reasons."

New numbers from the Bureau of Labor Statistics:

Nonfarm payroll employment was little changed (-36,000) in February, and the unemployment rate held at 9.7 percent, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. Employment fell in construction and information, while temporary help services added jobs. Severe winter weather in parts of the country may have affected payroll employment and hours; however, it is not possible to quantify precisely the net impact of the winter storms on these measures.

The preliminary job loss number from January was 26,000. Time to update the Organizing for America-sponsored unemployment graph.

With a 21% approval rating and locked in scandal, 42% in a new Quinnipiac survey say New York Gov. David Paterson (D) should resign before his term is up at the end of the year. Paterson announced a week ago that he would not run for re-election, but new information about his interference in the domestic violence case brought against a close aid has fueled talk of his immediate resignation.

"This is the lowest approval rating ever recorded for an elected official in 18 years of Quinnipiac University polling except for former President George W. Bush and former Sen. Robert Torricelli of New Jersey, who had approval ratings of 18 and 19 percent just before they left office," the survey's press release states.

Just 46% say Paterson should finish out his term -- a 15-point drop in a matter of days. In a Quinnipiac survey released Wednesday, 61% said he should stay and 31% said he should resign.

“Support for Gov. David Paterson erodes with every new headline," said Maurice Carroll, Quinnipiac polling director. "Voters surveyed Monday and Tuesday were in favor of keeping Paterson by a net 30 points. On Wednesday and Thursday, voter support was a net four points. That's a 26-point drop in two days."

The survey was conducted March 3-4 of 1,325 RV with a margin of error of +/- 2.7%.

A not so surprising announcement from Massachusetts Democratic Rep. William Delahunt: he's done. The 10th District represents a decent pick up opportunity for Republicans: Scott Brown carried the district with 60% in the special election in January. Wayne Woodlief of the Boston Herald adds a final cautionary twist:

A Republican victor in the 10th district might have another fight on his hands in 2012 if Massachusetts, as expected, loses a congressional seat after the 2010 Census and Beacon Hill Democrats try to redistrict the new representative out of business. But that's a ways off and for now even some savvy Democrats are warning that Delahunt's seat is going to be tough to hold.

Rasmussen has the first post-primary survey (500 LVs, 3/3, MoE +/- 4.5%) of the Texas governor's race, showing Gov. Rick Perry (R) leading former Houston Mayor Bill White (D) by six points.

General Election Matchup
Perry 49 (+2 vs. last poll, 2/22)
White 43 (+2)
Und 6 (-1)

Perry leads White by 5.5 in the RCP Average for Texas Governor. The non-partisan Cook Political Report classified the race as a "Toss Up," saying it could be "one of the more interesting contests on a statewide ballot this November."

Perry's job approval rating is 54 percent; 44 percent disapprove. White is viewed favorably by 54 percent, unfavorably by 34 percent.

Asked about Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison (R), who lost to Perry on Tuesday in the primary, 30 percent of voters say she should reconsider her decision to retire in 2012, while 39 percent say she should not.

"I cannot in good conscience continue in my current position." - Peter Kauffmann, Communications Director for New York Governor David Paterson, announcing his resignation.