I just got off a brief conference call with NRSC Chairman Senator John Ensign, who updated us the state of some competitive Senate races and what the NRSC's been up to of late. Of particular interest was Senator Ensign's announcement that the NRSC is launching a fundraising utility on their site, called "Two Seats".

Will allow users to donate directly to Senate candidates on our site, and they can learn more about the candidates.

Will allow users to create their own slate of candidates.

John Randall, the NRSC's online guru, promised more info on "Two Seats" - so stay tuned.

On the NRSC

We knew it'd be a tough year: because of losing the majority. A lot of donors didn't think we stood by our principals.

The NRSC raised $4 million less then 2 years ago, but we have $1.5 million more in the bank.

We've approached this committee less like a committee and more like a business.

Senator Ensign talked up Jim Ogonowski, who lost a special election for Congress back in the fall, but is now running against John Kerry in Massachusetts.

If Ogonowski is able to get resources, we think he could be a serious candidate.

On the Presidential Race

The best candidate for us is Hillary Clinton.

Michael Illions asked why Sen. Ensign & Sen. McConnell had personally donate $1000 each to Anne Evans Estabrook (running for Senate in New Jersey) who is pro-choice, when the Senator has acknowledged that the GOP has lost it's way and needs to get back to its Conservative values?

It's important to have a GOP majority in Congress, because that means we get Conservative judges approved. Estabrook is a strong candidate, and moderate Republicans have voted to confirm Conservative judges.

The call was brief, only 15 minutes, but this is the second bloggers call I've been on with Senator Ensign and it's a good sign that the NRSC is working to reach out to the blogosphere and engage us in a dialogue.