Two former Republicans congressmen have filed paperwork to formalize their 2010 campaigns challenging incumbent Democratic governors. Scott McInnis of Colorado is taking on Bill Ritter Jr., who is seeking a second term, and Mark Neumann of Wisconsin is challenging James E. Doyle, who is expected to run for a third term.

In the latest attempt to increase pressure on state senators locked in a leadership stalemate, state Comptroller Thomas P. DiNapoli said he will withhold paychecks from them. He also said he had withheld more than 250 travel vouchers worth $560,000. Senators' base pay is $79,500 a year, and some are also paid tens of thousands extra for leadership posts.

The biggest mystery, now that Democrat Al Franken is heading to the U.S. Senate, is how soon Republican Norm Coleman will let Minnesotans know whether he wants to be their governor. The former senator's possible entry into the 2010 gubernatorial race was greeted with both wariness and inevitability by potential rivals, and he is seen as a candidate with big pluses and minuses.

Eight months after Election Day, the end of Minnesota's U.S. Senate race came quickly Tuesday. The Minnesota Supreme Court ruled that Democrat Al Franken won by 312 votes, Republican Norm Coleman conceded, and Gov. Tim Pawlenty and Secretary of State Mark Ritchie signed Franken's election certificate. Next week, Minnesota will have two U.S. senators again.

A federal judge weighing a lawsuit challenging Proposition 8 said that he was not likely to suspend the voter-approved gay-marriage ban without a trial. Judge Vaughn Walker said blocking the law before a trial might "inject still further uncertainty in an important area of concern and interest to the state and its citizens."

Amid controversy over his affair with an Argentine woman, Gov. Mark Sanford said that one of the key reasons he has decided to stay in office is to avoid influencing the 2010 Republican gubernatorial primary. If Sanford were step down, Lt. Gov. Andre Bauer would become governor, and many see that as giving Bauer a leg up over other GOP gubernatorial candidates.

Some Republican state lawmakers are privately saying they want Republican Gov. Mark Sanford to step down—of his own volition—this week. Meanwhile, Lt. Gov. Andre Bauer has approached members of the Senate to discuss the possibility that, if Sanford resigns, Bauer would only serve the remainder of the governor’s term and would not run for governor in 2010 as Bauer had intended.

If a bill on Gov. Donald Carcieri's desk becomes law, voters will consider in 2010 a proposal to drop "Providence Plantations," the controversial phrase conjuring up for many images of Rhode Island's role in the slave trade, from the state's formal name. Under the proposal, "State of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations" would become simply "Rhode Island."

Gov. David A. Paterson found the limits of his executive authority tested as he tried unsuccessfully for a sixth straight day to force the Senate to resolve its leadership fight. Senators flouted the governor’s orders again Saturday despite his attempt to call their bluff by forcing them to act on nominations to commissions and boards.

Mayor Willie Herenton, who became the city's first elected black mayor 18 years ago, announced that he will resign, leaving in July to seek the congressional seat held by fellow Democrat Steve Cohen. Herenton's departure will leave City Council Chairman Myron Lowery to serve as mayor until a special election in October.