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One incoming member of the House of Representatives says shes buying a rabbits foot. Another will pat a trusted University of Notre Dame logo.

Theyre playing the lottery, though cash isnt the prize. Instead, they want a decent office that theyll call home for the next two years.

Most newly elected House lawmakers say theyre just happy to be coming to Washington and dont need fancy suites. Even so, theyre paying close attention to tomorrows congressional office lottery. No one wants to be stuck on the fifth floor of the Cannon House Office Building, among the toughest spots for lawmakers and constituents to reach.

Ive heard of people getting spots only accessible by one small elevator on the top of the Cannon building, said Ruben Gallego, an Arizona Democrat who will join Congress in January. The Iraq war veteran jokes that hes trying to lose weight so maybe the further away the better his office is from the House floor.

These are all freshman horror stories, though, so I dont know if theyre true, he said.

The prevalence of the tales means the 55 newcomers to the House -- five races are still undecided -- and their staffs will be on high alert tomorrow.

Heres how the House lottery works: The low-on-the-totem-pole freshmen draw numbers that dictate the order in which they can choose among the empty office spaces passed over by more senior lawmakers.

Some offices are larger than others, some have nice views of Washington, some are closer to the floor where the members will vote and others are closer to Washington Metro subway stations -- making it easier for constituents to visit.

As with many things in Congress, the U.S. Senate has a different system than the House. Instead of a lottery, the Senate Rules Committee makes office assignments based on seniority. Freshman lawmakers are given temporary spaces as more senior members have first pick of the offices of retiring members or those with more years in the Senate.

The freshman members have a choice of whats left over based on a system that weighs, among other things, previous elected service and the population of the state theyll represent in the Senate.

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Freshmen in Congress Play the Lottery to Avoid Office Horrors

TIME Politics Congress Inside Landrieus Last Fight: Keystone or Bust Senator Mary Landrieu, Democrat of Louisiana, holds a news conference with fellow committee member Senator Joe Manchin, Democrat of West Virginia, on the Keystone XL pipeline in Washington on Nov. 12, 2014 Gary CameronReuters The Search for 60

Before the doors to the Senators private elevator closed on embattled Louisiana Democrat Mary Landrieu in the basement of the Capitol building Monday afternoon, a reporter shouted to her from the hallway outside: Who is the 60th? She replied with a wink.

With just hours to go before a Tuesday night vote to authorize the TransCanada Keystone XL pipeline, Landrieu claims to have the 60 votes she needs for a filibuster-proof majority to ensure passage, but her supporters say they have just 59 votes. If she gets to 60 and the Senate passes the bill, despite opposition from Senate Democratic leaders and the White House, Landrieu hopes it will increase her diminishing chances at re-election in a run-off vote in Louisiana early next month.

Landrieu is still pulling out every stop, calling, texting, pleading, begging, says a Senate Democrat aide. Leadershipthey occasionally check in to make sure [my boss is] not flipping, but theyve been keeping tabs on it[My boss] had already told Landrieu no about 15 times before he got his first Harry Reid call.

Landrieus hunt for a 60th has become a bigger battle between powerful, well-funded environmentalists and energy interests. Passage of the bill would be the strongest signal to President Barack Obama, after six years of debate, that there is now robust political support in favor of building the pipeline.

The Chamber of Commerce has sent around letters supporting the pipeline, even putting the vote on its annual scorecard that helps determine which candidates the powerful business lobby will support in the future. A number of labor groups, including the Laborers International Union of North America, North Americas Building Trades Unions and the International Union of Operating Engineers have written letters urging Senators to vote yes.

American Petroleum Institute President Jack Gerard, who fully expects the bill to pass, touted its outreach Monday, telling TIME that Senators have heard from multiple thousands of constituents burning up the Hills phone lines. I promise you theyve heard from thousands of their constituents over the past week or two in the post-election cycle, Gerard says. These arent industry people, these are voters in their respective states.

The anti-Keystone side has also increased the pressure. On Thursday, League of Conservation Voters President Gene Karpinski hovered just off the Senate floor, giving a hug to Democrat Sen. Chris Coons of Delaware after their conversation, according to a Senate Democrat aide. Coons, a Landrieu target, will likely vote no on the bill.

Our hope is that it wont matter, says David Goldston, the top lobbyist for the anti-Keystone National Resources Defense Council, of the bill, which faces a possible veto from Obama even if it passes. It will either confirm Congress unwillingness to step in on an ongoing process or it will confirm the Presidents unwillingness to allow Congress to step in on an ongoing matter.

Outside groups have even already claimed some credit in influencing the outcome. Jason Kowalski, the policy director of anti-Keystone 350.org, said that his group decided to turn up the heat on Michigan Democrat Sen. Carl Levin after hearing that his front desk was telling callers the Senator was undecided.

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Inside Landrieus Last Fight: Keystone or Bust

The Atlantics Molly Ball: Mary Landrieu Is A Dead Democrat Walking
The Atlantic #39;s Molly Ball: Mary Landrieu Is A Dead Democrat Walking (November 16, 2014)

By: GOPICYMI

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The Atlantics Molly Ball: Mary Landrieu Is A Dead Democrat Walking - Video

The Democrat-controlled Senate is expected to take a long-awaited vote Tuesday on approving the Keystone XL oil pipeline -- in an unexpected and politically-charged turn of events for legislation that has languished in the upper chamber for roughly six years.

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid will allow the vote in part to give Louisiana Democratic Sen. Mary Landrieu an opportunity to vote yea and perhaps help her win her runoff election next month with Republican challenger Rep. Bill Cassidy.

However, Landrieus political future and the fate of the bill remain highly uncertain.

Most political analysts think Landrieus effort to win a fourth term by trying to show voters in oil-rich Louisiana how much she supports Keystone is a lost cause, with reports of Washington Democrats pulling out and polls showing Cassidy ahead by double digits.

South Dakota GOP Sen. John Thune said on Fox News Sunday the vote will be a cynical attempt to save a Senate seat in Louisiana," considering Reid has blocked the vote for years.

President Obama appears to be giving every indication that he will veto the bill, repeatedly saying the only way the $8 billion pipeline can be approved is after the completion of a long-stalled State Department review. There is also the pending outcome of a legal challenge to the pipeline's route through Nebraska.

And during his recent trip to Australia for an economic summit Obama said: I have to constantly push back against this idea that somehow the Keystone pipeline is either this massive jobs bill for the United States or is somehow lowering gas prices.

Rhode Island Democratic Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse told Fox News Sunday that he hopes Obama will veto the bill, considering the oil is the filthiest fuel on the planet.

Whitehouse said he thinks the new Senate Republican majority has long despised and denigrated this president and if they can roll him I think they would like to.

He also argued that Senate Republicans twice passed on voting on a Democrat-sponsored Keystone bill.

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SENATE SHOWDOWN Democrat-led house set for Keystone XL vote

Democrat Assemblyman Reed Gusciora is being considered for an appointment as a Mercer County Superior Court judge, in a possible career change that would end a political career of one of the leading liberals in the Legislature.

A top Mercer County Democrat said Friday that Gov. Chris Christie wants to nominate Mr. Gusciora to the bench. Despite their political and philosophical differences, the Republican governor views Mr. Gusciora as a "good guy," the source said.

At the moment, there are four vacancies in Mercer County Superior Court. One judicial insider said two seats are Republican appointments and two are for Democrats.

Mr. Gusciora, a graduate of Seton Hall University School of Law, said Monday he would seriously consider an offer to become a judge and called it "an honor" to serve on the judiciary. He said he has not been contacted by the governor about the appointment.

A spokesman for Gov. Christie did not respond to an e-mail seeking comment Monday.

Mr. Gusciora, 54, is the deputy majority leader in the Assembly, where he has served since 1996. He represents the 15th Legislative District, which includes parts of Mercer and Hunterdon counties.

If nominated, Mr. Gusciora would have to be confirmed by the state Senate. State Sen. Nicholas Scutari, chairman of the Judiciary Committee, could not be reached for comment Monday.

Should he become a judge, his departure would open an Assembly seat. It comes with fellow Democrat and 15th-district Assemblywoman Bonnie Watson Coleman running for the U.S. House seat being vacated by the retiring Rep. Rush Holt. She is expected to win in the Democrat congressional district, an outcome that would produce a second vacancy in that district.

Mercer County Democratic Chairwoman Liz Muoio, asked about the possibility of both of them leaving, said Monday that she is focusing on the Nov.4 election.

"Ive heard all sorts of rumors about possible vacancies," she said.

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PRINCETON: Gusciora eyed for judgeship in Superior Court