With Congress back in session, candidates facing a tough election battle in November are going for a final fundraising blitz in the nation’s capital, with at least 48 DC fundraisers scheduled over the next three weeks alone.  (See spreadsheet below for a full list.)

We will update this spreadsheet weekly in the run up to the election as a tool to track fundraising parties for these races. To identify close races we’ve used analysis by the Cook Political Report.

Some highlights of this week’s list include:

• Tomorrow Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., is scheduled to fundraise at this breakfast at the Hyatt Regency. Listed as hosts are the entire Democratic Senate “classes” of 2006 and 2008. His opponent, Sharron Angle, will be in town the next day for a reception at the offices of the National Republican Senatorial Committee (NRSC) headlined by Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., and NRSC Chairman John Cornyn, R-Texas. A new poll shows the two running neck and neck in their race.
• Prominent Democratic lobbyists Tony and Heather Podesta are scheduled to host this breakfast tomorrow for Rep. Paul Kanjorski. The 13-term incumbent has long been a target for the GOP. This year his race against Hazleton Mayor Lou Barletta is considered a toss up.
• There are three scheduled fundraisers this month for Rep. Charles Kong Djou, R-Hawaii, who is running a closely watched race against Democratic challenger Colleen Hanabusa. Djou won the formerly solid blue seat last May in a special election to replace former Rep. Neil Abercrombie, who resigned to run for governor. Democrats regard it as one of the few prospects for a Democratic pickup this November. There is this $1,000-per-PAC, $250-per-individual lunch at the Associated General Contractors townhouse on Capitol Hill this coming Thursday. Then, on Sept. 22, Rep. Tom Price, R-Ga., is scheduled to appear at a lunch at the offices of the National Republican Campaign Committee (NRCC), and on Sep. 23, this breakfast, also at NRCC headquarters. features Rep. Jack Kingston, R-Ga.

Click here to download a spreadsheet of upcoming fundraisers for candidates in competitive races.

BP lobbyists planned at least 53 fundraising parties for  lawmakers and candidates since 2008,  including eleven this calendar year, according to an analysis of Party Time congressional fundraising data and federal lobbying data from the Center for Responsive Politics.

Nine out of 11 fundraisers we have on file for this year are those hosted either by Tony Podesta or other lobbyists for his firm, the Podesta Group, who represent the company, now under enormous scrutiny as oil from the Deepwater Horizon spill continues to foul the Louisiana coast and beyond. As the Washington Times reported earlier this week, the well  connected Podesta is the source of “tens of thousands” of dollars for the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee–which has been pushing a for a petition to hold BP “accountable” while accusing Republicans of making excuses for “bad environmental actors.”

While most of the Podesta-related events are for Democrats, at least one is for a Republican, Rep. John Thune, R-S.D.

Below are fundraisers hosted by BP lobbyists for this calendar year. We have also attached a spreadsheet that includes the full list of fundraising parties associated with BP lobbyists. One word of caution: we have not called each person on this list to verify their identity, nor do we always know that the fundraiser took place or if a specific lawmaker listed on an invitation actually was present. We offer this list as a guide for reporting on these fundraisers. Also, the Party Time data is collected from anonymous donors and is not a complete list, so there could be many more fundraisers that were held.

• Paul Brathwaite and Cristina Antelo, who both lobby for the Podesta Group, were among numerous hosts for a party benefiting CHC-BOLD PAC, a PAC for the Congressional Hispanic Caucus, on May 26.
• Tim Glassco, also a lobbyist for the Podesta Group, was a host of this “young professionals” happy hour for Rep. Glen Nye, D-Va., on May 25.
• Dan Meyer, a lobbyist for the Duberstein Group, was a  host of this event on April 29  for would-be GOP California senator Carly Fiorina California, GOPer.
• Tony Podesta and his wife, Heather, hosted this breakfast on April 28 for Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz, D-Fla.
• Courtney Johnson, a lobbyist for the Alpine Group, was one of a long list of hosts for this luncheon for Rep. John Dingell, D-Mich.
• Tony Podesta and his wife Heather were hosts of this reception for Rep. Paul Hodes, D-N.H., who is running for the Senate, on March 11.
• Paul Braithwaite of the Podesta Group was a host for this reception for Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee, D-Texas, on February 24 and this one on February 10. It is curious that both events, so close together, list a similar group of hosts.
• Tony Podesta and his wife, Heather, opened their home for this star-studded event–many other Democratic House members are also billed as appearing on the invitation–for House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., on February 9.
• On February 4, Podesta Group lobbyists Kimberly Fritts (who represented BP in 2009) and Randall Gerard hosted this party for Rep. John Thune, R-S.D.
• Tony and Heather Podesta were among the hosts for this fundraiser on January 12 for failed Massachusetts Senate candidate Martha Coakley.

Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-CA) is canceling a fundraiser this Wednesday after a flap when it became public that the lobbyist host, Heather Podesta, had advertised the work of the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence as the “first course” at the event. (Heather and her husband, Tony, are prolific fundraisers.)

Podesta reportedly wrote in an e-mail note attached to the formal invitation that donors who gave between $1,000 and $2,500 could order up “the Select Committee on Intelligence for the first course.” (We have mention of the event in our database, but not the actual email reported in the press.)

Feinstein’s spokesperson explained the cancellation this way:

“It was obvious that this would be subject to misinterpretation by some, and it was canceled to avoid any misinterpretation,” said Gil Duran, a spokesman for the senator. “No contributions were received, so there is nothing to return.”

Funny what a little sunlight will do. Of course it’s extremely common for fundraising invitations to include mention of lawmakers’ committee assignments.

Check out this event today for Rep. Pete King (R-NY), pointing out that he’s ranking member of the Homeland Security Committee and also serves on the House Financial Services Committee.

And this one, also for an event today, for Sen. Dan Boren (D-OK) mentions that he’s a member of the Blue Dog Coalition–and the House Committee on Natural Resources & Select Intelligence.

The fact is, if every politician who flagged his or her committee assignments were to cancel their fundraisers–well, there wouldn’t be many fundraisers.

We’ve found invitations for at least 28 parties this year for members of the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor, & Pensions, of which several can be linked directly to health care industry lobbyists. (This is part of a series we’ve been running on parties for members of key health care committees.) These include:

• Nine lobbyists from the Podesta Group broke from their boss, Tony Podesta’s Democratic proclivities and invited donors to a breakfast with Sen. Richard Burr (R-NC). Among the companies some of them represent: Amylin Pharmaceuticals, Millenium Pharmaceuticals, Roche Group, and Genzyme Corp. Burr’s gotten more than $2 million in campaign contributions from the health care sector for his campaigns. (The nine lobbyists are: Sharon Cohen, Kimberley Fritts, Randall Gerard, Lauren Maddox, David Marin, Elizabeth Morra, John Scofield, John Shank, and Missi Tessier.)
• A half dozen lobbyists for the firm Mehlman Vogel Castagnetti Inc.–Jamie Brown, Colette Desmarais, Bruce Mehlman, Elise Pickering, Dean Rosen, and Alex Vogel–planned a fundraising breakfast on March 10 for Sen. Johnny Isakson. Their clients include Abbott Laboratories, America’s Health Insurance Plans, and AstraZeneca Pharmaceuticals. Isakson has collected more than $855,000 in campaign contributions from health care interests for his campaigns.
• Back in February, lobbyists for Fabiani & Co. organized another Isakson fundraiser, this one featuring “special guest” –Sen. Burr. Jim Fabiani and Stephen Conafay represent such clients as Alnylam Pharmaceuticals, Braincells Inc., and Acorda Therapeutics.

[Thanks to intern Josh Heath who helped research this post.]