I will be unavailable all day on Thursday and thus no postings ... well, except for the obligatory "this day in campaign history" in the morning. I expect to be back on Friday — with, among other things, a new ScuttleButton puzzle.

But, before I leave you ...

— New York Gov. David Paterson (D) has decided the special congressional election to replace now-Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand (D) in the 20th CD will take place March 31. The race pits venture capitalist Scott Murphy (D) against state Assembly Minority Leader Jim Tedisco (R). The race was profiled in a Monday posting.

— With Pennsylvania's Arlen Specter one of only three Republican senators to support the Obama economic stimulus plan (and the only one of the three up for re-election next year), there is more speculation about him facing a formidable primary challenge in the 2010 May primary. The name of former Rep. Pat Toomey (R), who took on Specter in the 2004 primary, has come up again, even though he had earlier talked about running for governor. Six years ago, Toomey, the head of the conservative Club for Growth organization, came close to defeating Specter — despite the support for Specter by a still-popular President Bush and Sen. Rick Santorum.

— Hilda Solis is closer to becoming secretary of labor. Late this afternoon, the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee voted to approve her nomination and send it to the Senate floor. Two Republicans voted against her: Pat Roberts of Kansas and Tom Coburn of Oklahoma. Final vote is expected by the end of the week.