With the Iraq war growing ever more unpopular among the American people, some vulnerable GOP senators are having to walk a fine line between principle and electoral demands. As the New York Times' Jeff Zeleny reports, senators like John Sununu of New Hampshire, who voted yesterday to strip the withdrawal language from legislation, "find themselves searching for balance as they juggle three tasks: responding to the frustrations of their constituents, resisting the demands of antiwar Democrats and not entirely abandoning the White House." Other Republicans, like Oregon's Gordon Smith, who voted for the withdrawal, have adopted a greater anti-war stance than the rest of their party.

Senate Democrats have made clear that Smith is one of the most vulnerable Republicans next year, Chris Cillizza of the Washington Post reports, but they've "yet to find a top-tier recruit willing to take on the two-term incumbent." The Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee released a poll showing Rep. Peter DeFazio (D-OR) beating Smith 42-38, but DeFazio "doesn't seem keen on running" after saying he's not interested, writes Cillizza.

In presidential politics, Rudy Giuliani scored a big get in South Carolina yesterday by hiring Gov. Mark Sanford's aide and campaign manager as his communications director. In Florida the Orlando Sentinel's John Kennedy reports that Sen. John McCain raised $300,000 at a recent fundraiser and gained "valuable face time with Gov. Charlie Crist, who remains officially unaligned in the race for the White House." Some of Crist's closest advisers and fundraisers are backing McCain, while former Gov. Jeb Bush's supporters have mostly lined up with Mitt Romney. On the Senate floor yesterday McCain said "we are starting to turn things around" in Iraq and that the surge is "working far better than even the most optimistic supporter had predicted" with tangible progress in "many key areas."

Sen. Hillary Clinton's campaign team members are drawing press attention for very different reasons. Campaign co-chair Bill Shaheen denied that Clinton promised him an ambassadorship in her administration for his campaign support. The New York Observer's Spencer Morgan profiles Clinton's mysterious and praised aide Huma Abedin.

The New York Times' Sarah Wheaton digs into just how accurate the number of views on websites like YouTube are. Sen. Barack Obama's YouTube channel registered 2.7 million views recently, but these numbers may be inflated for various reasons. Meanwhile, a South Carolina political blogger was fired for making disparaging remarks about John Edwards' decision to continue campaigning after his wife, Elizabeth, revealed her cancer had returned.

Finally, Democrats are starting to target two GOP House seats. The Politico's Josh Kraushaar reports Democrats are targeting Rep. Rick Renzi (R-AZ). In Iowa, retired Presbyterian minister Rob Hubler announced he would run as a Democrat against GOP Rep. Steve King.

Find the rest of today's elections news at RCP's Politics and Elections page.