Photograph by Rocky Widner/NBAE via Getty Images

Jason Collins, left, #34 of the Atlanta Hawks, warms up before the game against the Golden State Warriors.

Perhaps notably, it was the Obama White House — and then President Barack Obama personally — who spoke of their pride in Jason Collins, the NBA center who announced that he is gay.

And perhaps predictably, now it is Collins co-headlining a party fundraiser.

With first lady Michelle Obama, one of the first to tweet her pride in the ballplayer.

The two are the featured stars at the Democratic National Committee’s 2013 LGBT gala in New York on May 29.

Collins already had contributed $5,000 to Rep. Joseph Kennedy III’s 2012 campaign — half as an employee of the Atlanta Hawks in February, half as a member of the Boston Celtics in August.

(Collins cited Kennedy as an inspiration in his Sports Illustrated coming-out essay.)

As for his ready deployment on the fundraising circuit, it was the Obama White House, after all, that was quick to celebrate Collins’ announcement. That wasn’t Mitt Romney tweeting the news.

So proud of you, Jason Collins! This is a huge step forward for our country. We’ve got your back! -mo

— FLOTUS (@FLOTUS) April 29, 2013

Bloomberg’s Derek Wallbank contributed to this report. 

Original post is Jason Collins, Michelle Obama: Fundraisers for Party’s LGBT Gala by Political Capital.

Photograph by U.S Attorney Office for the Southern District of New York via AP Images

The fossil of the Tyrannosaurus bataar.

Who says the U.S. border is porous?

The patrol stopped a Tyrannosaurus.

And now they’re sending it home.

In a repatriation ceremony on Monday, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) will hand off a “70 million-year-old nearly complete Tyrannosaurus Bataar skeleton” to the government of Mongolia.

The skeleton was looted from the Gobi Desert and illegally smuggled into the United States, ICE says. It was seized by ICE’s Homeland Security Investigations special agents in New York.

The U.S. attorney for the Southern District of New York, Preet Bharara, will be on hand for the ceremony, as will ICE Director John Morton. Along with the Mongolian minister of culture, Oyungerel Tsedevdambda.

Make no bones about it, this is a friendship no longer on ice.

Original post is Border Patrolosaurus: Going Home by Political Capital.

Hayworth filed a statement of candidacy and a statement of organization with the Federal Election Commission last week to lay the groundwork for a 2014 campaign in New York’s 18^th District, a politically competitive area north of New York City.

“Since the beginning of the year Nan has been contacted by hundreds of friends, community leaders and contributors who have asked her to consider running for Congress in 2014,” Rob DiFrancesco, a spokesman for Hayworth, said in an e-mail to Political Capital. “Given the encouragement she is receiving, a new committee has been filed with the Federal Election Commission and Nan is now raising funds in anticipation of running.”

Hayworth was elected in 2010, a good Republican year, and lost to Maloney in 2012 by 51.9 percent to 48.0 percent — close to the 51.4 percent to 47.1 percent margin by which President Barack Obama defeated Republican challenger Mitt Romney, according to data compiled by Political Capital.

New York’s 18^th District (map) takes in all of Orange and Putnam Counties and parts of Dutchess and Westchester Counties.

Original post is Ex-N.Y. Rep. Hayworth Readies Rematch With Maloney by Political Capital.

Photograph by J. Countess/Getty Images

New York State Attorney General Eric T. Schneiderman, shown here speaking prior to a panel on Gun Violence on April 3, 2013 in New York.

Nonprofits that spend millions on political campaigns are attracting increased scrutiny from the federal government, and lawmakers of both parties are looking at legislation to require disclosure.

New York state officials on their own are moving toward requring such groups to reveal their donors, and seeking that  companies that give to these nonprofits disclose their contributions.

Attorney General Eric Schneiderman‘s proposed rules that nonprofits spending at least $10,000 on state and local elections disclose their donors and expenditures are expected to be adopted next month.

And state Comptroller Thomas DiNapoli, who invests in companies through his stewardship of the New York State Common Retirement Fund, has reached agreements with 18 corporations to disclose their contributions to nonprofits and trade associations. This year alone, five companies, including Southwest Airlines Co. and Harley-Davidson Inc., agreed to reveal their donations.

“Shareholders have a right to know how companies in their investment portfolio are spending corporate money and that their political expenditures are advancing proper corporate purposes,” DiNapoli said April 16 on a conference call with reporters as he endorsed a proposed Securities and Exchange Commission rule requiring all publicly traded corporations to reveal their political contributions.

Original post is New York Takes Steps Toward Disclosure of Nonprofit Donors by Political Capital.

Photograph by Spencer Platt/Getty Images

New York Governor Andrew Cuomo delivers his State of the State and budget proposals at The City College of New York on February 6, 2013 in New York City.

New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo, channeling his inner Rahm Emanuel, doesn’t want to let a good scandal go to waste.

Two New York lawmakers were arrested last week in separate corruption cases. A third lawmaker said he’d resign after pleading guilty to a perjury charge and wearing a wire for almost four years.

“I’ve been waiting for this moment for many, many years,” Cuomo said in a radio interview today. “Never waste a crisis, as they say.”

The statement was a nod to Emanuel, the former of chief of staff to President Barack Obama turned Chicago mayor, who in 2008 said: “You never let a serious crisis go to waste. And what I mean by that, it’s an opportunity to do things you think you could not do before.”

In this case, Cuomo, a 55-year-old Democrat, wants to overhaul the state’s electoral system, adding public financing of campaigns and new laws meant to reduce party control of nominating contenders for public office. He also wants state corruption laws to match what he sees as stronger laws at the federal level so local district attorneys can better prosecute public officials in their backyards.

All of the changes have been discussed before, Cuomo said.

“We haven’t had that force in the moment that has galvanized the political will,” he said. “We’re going to have  that moment now.”

Original post is Cuomo: ‘Never Waste a Crisis’ — Where We’ve Heard That Before by Political Capital.

The fight against fellow House Republicans to secure $60.2 billion so the Northeast region could begin rebuilding after Super-storm Sandy wreaked widespread devastation frayed the bonds of loyalty and trust that New York Rep. Peter King feels for colleagues in his own party.

“I am still a Republican,” King says. “It’s just going to be hard for me to trust them again” after almost 80 percent of House Republicans voted against the aid package to rebuild damaged hospitals, highways and other transportation infrastructure.

A delay in action by the Republican-run House from late December in the waning days of the previous Congress until Jan. 15, when the House approved the final installment of the aid package, sparked a revolt led by Chris Christie, the Republican governor of New Jersey. King spearheaded the region’s fight in Congress for the aid with help from Republican members of New Jersey’s congressional delegation.

Republican resistance to provide disaster assistance to help storm victims reflects the “puritanical, ascetic point of view” that allows no compromise from party principles of less spending, King said today at a Bloomberg Government breakfast in Washington.

“I never asked these guys for anything before,” King said. “They wouldn’t even listen to us.”

Almost three months after the storm ravaged shore communities in New York and New Jersey and flooded New York City’s subway system, Congress completed action Jan. 15 on the $60.2 billion aid package sought by President Barack Obama. The final $50.5 billion installment was passed by the House with the support of 179 Democrats and 41 Republicans. Another 179 House Republicans voted against the measure.

King said he particularly resented arguments by fellow Republicans that Christie and New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo, a Democrat, “wanted to set up a secret slush fund for themselves” with community development block grants that would provide flexibility to spend money quickly. “They were using the cheapest political arguments when people were really suffering,” he said.

Since then, King said, he has “already voted `no’ on a few things” to put his colleagues on notice that they shouldn’t “ever take my vote for granted again because party loyalty goes both ways, This time it only went one way.”

Original post is Peter King: Sandy Cost Trust in Party by Political Capital.

Photograph by Scott Eells/Bloomberg

A voter at a polling station in the Manhattan borough of New York, on Nov. 6, 2012.

So exactly how many votes did President Barack Obama and Republican challenger Mitt Romney receive in the November 2012 election?

It’s still a moving target — more than 90 days after the vote.

That’s because some states have issued amended vote totals, revising the numbers they originally certified a few weeks after the election.

New York election officials released a revised total yesterday, adding more than 8,000 votes, mostly from Suffolk County on Long Island. New York, where more than 7 million votes were cast, first amended its vote totals on Dec. 31, two weeks after electoral votes were cast.

New Jersey issued an amended vote count on Feb. 5, adding 2,315 votes to Obama and subtracting 520 from Romney. Colorado revised its results Jan. 24, adding about 300 votes. Wisconsin amended its totals in late December.

Look for Ohio election officials to post a revision soon. Obama beat Romney by 447,273 to 190,660 in Cuyahoga County in and around Cleveland, according to amended totals that county officials posted Jan. 24. Obama won Cuyahoga by 447,232 to 190,651, according to a document Ohio election officials posted in December.

For those of you keeping score at home, Political Capital’s nationwide vote tally at the moment has Obama with 65,907,124 votes and Romney with 60,931,731 votes.

Subject to revision, of course.

Original post is Obama, Romney Votes Trickling In — Still a 5-Million Margin for Obama by Political Capital.

Photograph by Emile Wamsteker/Bloomberg

The rear exterior and pool of a newly constructed mansion in New Jersey.

The Census Bureau has begun to release demographic and economic data for redrawn congressional districts that became effective this year, yielding valuable insight about the constituencies of the 435 members of the U.S. House of Representatives.

Following are the 10 districts with the highest median household income in 2011, according to Census Bureau estimates compiled by Bloomberg’s Frank Bass. The list is dominated by districts near Washington, D.C., New York City and San Jose, all areas with high costs of living.

While these districts are prime territories for political candidates to raise money, it’s less clear how income relates to voting. While Republicans generally do better and Democrats worse as voter income levels rise, there are plenty of areas that are wealthy, Democratic and socially liberal, including parts of Manhattan and some districts on this list, namely Virginia’s 8th.

The 51 districts with a median household income above $70,000 break down are represented by 29 Democrats and 22 Republicans. Democrats hold six of the 10 highest-income districts and 16 of the top 25.

1. Virginia’s 10^th ($109,505): Republican Frank Wolf represents suburbs of Washington, including all of fast-growing Loudoun County and part of Fairfax County, including McLean. President Barack Obama lost the district by about one percentage point in the 2012 election.

2. Virginia’s 11^th ($100,146): Democrat Gerry Connolly’s district abuts Wolf’s, enveloping parts of Fairfax and Prince William Counties. Connolly’s district became more Democratic-leaning in redistricting as Wolf’s became more Republican-friendly. Obama won 62 percent in Connolly’s district.

3. California’s 18^th ($97,001): Democrat Anna Eshoo represents part of San Jose and all of Mountain View, including the corporate headquarters of Google Inc., and Palo Alto, where Stanford University is located. Obama won 68 percent.

4. New York’s 3^rd ($95,699): Democrat Steve Israel’s district includes sections of Suffolk and Nassau counties on Long Island, plus a part of Queens.

5. New Jersey’s 7^th ($95,189): Republican Leonard Lance’s district cuts across the north-central part of the state, taking in communities like Bridgewater and Summit.

6. New Jersey’s 11^th ($93,655): Republican Rodney Frelinghuysen’s constituency includes most of Morris County.

7. California’s 17^th ($92,030): Democrat Mike Honda represents Sunnyvale, part of San Jose and the corporate headquarters of Apple Inc. in Cupertino. Obama won 72 percent.

8. Virginia’s 8^th ($91,027): Democrat Jim Moran’s district includes close-in suburbs of Washington, including Arlington, Alexandria and part of Fairfax County. Obama won 68 percent.

9. Maryland’s 8^th ($90,959): Democrat Chris Van Hollen represents most of Montgomery County near Washington.

10. California’s 45^th ($89,383). Republican John Campbell holds a district in central and southern Orange County that includes Irvine and most of Mission Viejo. Republican Mitt Romney won 55 percent of the district vote in 2012.

Original post is Top-10 Congressional Districts: Household Income by Political Capital.

Photograph by Amanda Gordon/Bloomberg

Sean Eldridge, president of Hudson River Ventures, left, and Chris Hughes, editor-in-chief and publisher of The New Republic and a founder of Facebook Inc., during the Paris Review Spring Revel gala in New York.

Sean Eldridge, an investor and Democratic political activist, has filed paperwork establishing a 2014 campaign for Congress in New York’s Hudson Valley.

A statement of organization creating “Sean Eldridge for Congress” and a statement of candidacy were processed by the Federal Election Commission on Feb. 1.

Eldridge is the president and founder of Hudson River Ventures LLC and a senior adviser to Freedom to Marry, which advocates for same-sex marriage. He’s married to Chris Hughes, a co-founder of Facebook and the publisher of The New Republic magazine. Eldridge created a political action committee that promoted an overhaul of campaign finance laws, according to Capital Tonight.

Eldridge would seek the 19th District seat held by two-term Republican Chris Gibson, who was re-elected by 53 percent to 47 percent in 2012. New York’s 19th District, which takes in all or part of 11 counties, backed President Barack Obama over Republican challenger Mitt Romney by 52 percent to 46 percent, according to data compiled by Political Capital.

Eldridge is a frequent donor to Democratic candidates and committees. He gave $30,800 in February 2012 to the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee, the campaign arm of House Democrats, Federal Election Commission records show.

Eldridge didn’t immediately return an e-mail seeking comment.

House Democrats, who fell 17 seats short of winning a majority in 2012, are targeting Republican-held districts like Gibson’s that voted for Obama. Andrew Romanoff, a former Colorado state House speaker, announced last weekend that he will challenge three-term Republican Mike Coffman in the 6^th District near Denver, a district that also voted for Obama.

Original post is Investor Eldridge Eyes N.Y. House Seat by Political Capital.

Photograph by Jeff Kowalsky/Bloomberg

Michigan lawmakers approved bills to prohibit mandatory union dues in workplaces as thousands of chanting protesters thronged the capitol in Lansing.

That’s the percentage of wage and salary workers who were members of a labor union in 2012, according to Bureau of Labor Statistics data released yesterday.

About 14.4 million of 127.6 million such workers belonged to a union last year, BLS data show. The 11.3 percent unionization rate set a record low for the third straight year, falling from 11.8 percent in 2011.

State unionization rates in 2012 generally were correlated with party preference in the November presidential election. President Barack Obama won 22 of the 25 states where at least 10 percent of workers were unionized. Republican challenger Mitt Romney won 21 of the 25 states with a unionization rate below 10 percent.

The most unionized state is New York (23.2 percent), followed by Alaska (22.5 percent), Hawaii (21.6 percent), Washington (18.5 percent) and Rhode Island (17.8 percent).

The least-unionized state is North Carolina (2.9 percent), followed by Arkansas (3.2 percent), South Carolina (3.3 percent), Mississippi (4.3 percent) and Georgia (4.4 percent).

Labor unions give campaign donations overwhelmingly to Democrats, who are more likely than Republicans to side with unions in opposing free-trade pacts and curbs in Medicare spending and supporting higher taxes for wealthy income-earners and an increase in the federal minimum wage.

“Union workers fought political leaders in states such as Wisconsin where Republican Governor Scott Walker supported legislation in 2011 curbing the collective bargaining rights of some public unions,” Bloomberg’s Jim Efstathiou Jr. wrote yesterday. “The law sparked protests outside the state’s Capitol and a 2012 recall election, in which Walker defeated Milwaukee Mayor Tom Barrett, a Democrat.”

Original post is Bloomberg by the Numbers: 11.3 by Political Capital.