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Washington (CNN) - Top Senate Democrat Harry Reid struck a significant blow to one of President Barack Obamas judicial nominations Wednesday, as the senators office confirmed that Reid personally opposes Michael Boggs nomination to the federal bench.

Reid spokesman Adam Jentleson told CNN that the Democratic leader feels he cannot vote for Boggs nomination to the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Georgia, given Boggs past views on abortion, gay marriage and the Confederate flag.

The news sets up a pointed public break between the top two Democrats in the country.

White House spokesman Jay Carney defended Boggs on Tuesday, insisting he is qualified and has a ten-year record as an impartial state judge.

But there is more at play.

Carney also said the nomination was a strategic move. He told reporters that the White House pushed the Boggs nomination as part of a compromise package with Republicans. In exchange for Boggs, and a couple of other GOP recommendations, Carney said Republicans would stop blocking a handful key Democratic judicial nominees.

Our choice is clear: Do we work with Republican senators to find a compromise, or should we leave the seats vacant? Carney said.

But as the White House stands its ground, Reid is revving up opposition, stressing concerns raised by other Democrats in Congress at Boggs confirmation hearing on Tuesday.

Boggs served as a conservative Democrat in the Georgia state legislature from 2000 to 2004. During those years, he supported legislation to post the identity and number of procedures done by abortion doctors online, pushed for a Constitutional amendment banning same-sex marriage and twice voted to keep a Confederate emblem on the Georgia state flag.

Those issues formed a drumbeat of doubt Wednesday, with six top Democrats on the Senate Judiciary Committee asking Boggs how he balanced his previous views as a legislator with his current duties as a Georgia court of appeals judge.

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Democrat v. Democrat: Reid opposes Obama nominee

New Democrat Leader Andrea Horwath says she will release her election platform when shes ready and not before.

Howarth was asked why she wasnt releasing that platform instead of reannouncing measures as she did Thursday when she talked about increasing minimum wage and cutting business tax.

Wheres your platform? bellowed one television reporter when she was finished touring Torontos Paintbox Catering and Bistro.

We are rolling out a few other ideas over the next couple of days and we will certainly have not only our full platform . . . but also the costing as well, said Horwath, who refused to say when that would happen.

I will be laying out the specifics when the platform comes forward, she said before her handlers hustled her away from reporters.

The Liberals platform is the May 1 budget, which failed to pass, and the Tories have not been shy about where they are heading, including cutting 100,000 public sector jobs, freezing teacher salaries and suspending financial assistance to students and seniors.

Liberal campaign spokeswoman Rebecca MacKenzie said it only stands to reason there is no NDP platform.

No one knows anymore what Andrea Horwath stands for so its not surprising the NDP is having a hard time writing it down in a platform, MacKenzie said.

Asked about polls showing the New Democrats losing ground, Horwath said, There are many, many days left in this campaign where we are really just starting out.

Our platform is one that has some very sensible ideas in it . . . that respond to the priorities of Ontarians and I want to make sure that Ontarians know that they have an option when it comes to their vote on June 12.

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NDPs Andrea Horwath still wont release election platform

Idaho State Treasurer Candidates, Democrat Primary
Deborah Silver is one of two Democrats vying for the chance to take on incumbent Republican Idaho State Treasurer Ron Crane. Silver is a CPA with auditing experience who is running against...

By: Idaho Statesman

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Idaho State Treasurer Candidates, Democrat Primary - Video

Margo Davidson made history four years ago when she became the first Democrat, the first female, and the first African American state representative in her Delaware County district.

But since that election, the political landscape has changed. The district's lines have been redrawn and it is now solidly Democratic. Perhaps more significantly for Davidson, who is considered a somewhat unconventional Democrat, she has two challengers from her own party.

Billy Smith, 39, a defense attorney and former Lansdowne Borough councilman, is campaigning against Davidson's vote to increase restrictions on abortion clinics and her support for school vouchers.

Dafan Zhang, 37, a University of Pennsylvania law student who lives in East Lansdowne, is running a low-budget campaign and has stayed out of a battle over Davidson's record.

With redistricting in 2012, the 164th District changed to include Lansdowne and parts of Yeadon in addition to parts of Upper Darby Township, East Lansdowne, and Millbourne.

The winner of the Democratic primary will oppose Republican Saud Siddiqui, CEO of the Upper Darby Caring Foundation. But "the real election might be the primary," said Randall Miller, a history professor at St. Joseph's University, because the district is firmly Democratic.

Smith said he decided to run after researching Davidson's record. He has cast himself as the pro-choice and anti-school-voucher candidate.

"I bring these points up . . . to say, 'Is this who you want, Mr. and Mrs. Democrat in the 164th District, representing your interests?'" Smith said in an interview.

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Incumbent Delco Democrat faces challenges in primary

CHARLESTON, W.Va. (AP) Republican Shelley Moore Capito and Democrat Natalie Tennant will face off in Novembers general election, when West Virginia will elect a woman to the U.S. Senate for the first time.

Capito is favored to win Novembers contest in a state that hasnt elected a Republican to the Senate since the 1950s. A Capito victory could help the GOP take control of the Senate for the final two years of President Barack Obamas tenure.

Tennant and Capito easily won their respective party primaries Tuesday, setting up a general election showdown to succeed Jay Rockefeller, a Democrat who is retiring after nearly three decades serving in the upper chamber.

Obama is deeply unpopular with many West Virginians, who take his administrations proposed pollution rules on coal-fired plants, among other regulations, as an affront to the coal industry. Coal is not only a key facet of the states cultural identity its a major economic driver. A statue of a coal miner stands in front of the state Capitol.

Republicans clearly want to use Obamas poor standing to their advantage. For months, motorists in Charleston could see a billboard displaying a picture of Tennant at a 2008 Obama rally. Natalie Tennant (hearts) Obama, the billboard read.

The stakes are high, Capito said Tuesday night. She said her priorities as a senator would be ending the war on coal and rolling back Obamacares devastating effect on small businesses.

With more than $4 million in the bank, Capito has built a 4-to-1 cash advantage over Tennant by running as a moderate from the polarized, GOP-controlled House. She avoided a tea party-fueled challenge from the right, despite less-than-enthusiastic reviews of her voting record by well-funded conservative groups like Americans for Prosperity and the Heritage Foundation.

West Virginias coal industry backs Capito, 60, and the U.S. Chamber of Commerce spent $200,000 promoting her late last year, federal campaign finance records show.

Capito was first elected to the House in 2000. She defeated Tennants husband, state Sen. Erik Wells, in a 2004 House race.

Tennant has the backing of unions and abortion rights groups, and she has tried to distance herself from the president by vowing to be an independent voice on energy issues.

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Capito, Tennant to face off in W.Va. Senate race