Well, it's not a three-day weekend like last week, but what the hell...a weekend is a weekend, right?
Let's get the weekend launched the right way, by polishing off this week in political news and notes:
NATIONAL: A Sotomayor Bounce??
Is the selection of Sonia Sotomayor to be the next associate justice of the Supreme Court paying political dividends for President Obama? Rasmussen seems to think so. They measure political approval a little differently than most pollsters—comparing those who have a “very favorable” view with those holding a “very unfavorable” view. By that metric, Obama had a +1 rating at the beginning of this week (yes...that is lower than just about every other pollster). This morning, Obama stood at a +10. His overall approval, according to Rasmussen, stood at 59%. That is up from 55% at the beginning of the week.
NATIONAL: Obama’s Numbers In Historical Context
Today, Gallup goes into their vaults, and looks at where presidents rated at the end of May, going back a few generations. The verdict? Obama is in better shape with the public than any president dating back to Ronald Reagan.
FL-GOV: Another Congressional Hopeful Getting Ambitious??
The NRCC may be on the verge of having a very bad week. A day after state Senator Paula Dockery indicated she might prefer a run for Governor over a bid for the House seat in FL-12, another potential House hopeful might want the key to the governor’s mansion, as well. Dan Webster, a former state senator, is looking at the open-seat governor’s race. He had been rumored to be considering a bid against freshman Democrat Alan Grayson in FL-08. He may also run for Mayor of Orange County (hat tip: DC's Political Report).
KY-SEN: Mongiardo Claims Double Digit Primary Lead In Internal Poll
As diaried here last night by RDemocrat, Democratic Lt. Governor Dan Mongiardo is claiming a fifteen point lead over attorney general Jack Conway (43-28), according to a new internal poll. Team Conway, not surprisingly, is disputing the poll, claiming a rather steep margin of sampling error. The guys at PPP have a few thoughts on the race, as well.
MA-02: Dem Congressman Richard Neal Gets GOP Challenger
You might wonder why any attention should be paid to a GOP candidate announcement in deep-blue Massachusetts. Well, when said Republican is the first in his party to contest the district since 1996, it is pretty newsworthy. Democratic incumbent Richard Neal will have to shake some rust off after being unopposed for six consecutive elections. His prospective opponent is physician Jay Fleitman.
NY-GOV: Politics1 Reports Paterson Convinced Cuomo Won’t Run
Just yesterday, there was the perplexing report that Sen. Gillibrand seemed to indicate mid-week that there was not going to be a contested Democratic primary for governor. Ron Gunzberger’s Politics1 might have the answer—they have talked to an operative in New York, who indicated that Governor Paterson is convinced that Andrew Cuomo will not run because of lingering concerns over racial disharmony which stemmed from Cuomo’s 2002 race against Carl McCall (who went on to lose to Governor George Pataki). The report also indicated that Paterson would stay in the race as a third party candidate (remember the whole fusion candidate thing exists in New York) even if he lost the Democratic Primary (which polls indicate is likely).
OR-GOV: John Kitzhaber Eyeing A Political Comeback?
This could get interesting—and it could have Congressional implications, as well. At the unveiling of his official portrait at the state capitol, former Oregon Governor John Kitzhaber (D) hinted that he might be interested in a return to the Governor's mansion. Kitzhaber still remains fairly popular in the state, and may be motivated by the opportunity to work with a Democratic state legislature, as opposed to fighting with a Republican state legislature (which is what Kitzhaber did for his previous eight years as governor). A Kitzhaber entry might keep Congressman Peter DeFazio in the House, which would render one of the NRCC’s few high-profile successful recruits (Springfield Mayor Sid Leiken) irrelevant, in all likelihood.
PA-06: A GOPer Eyes The Seat—Is This A Sign That Gerlach’s Gone?
According to CQ, Republican state representative Curt Schroder has filed with the FEC for Pennsylvania’s 6th Congressional District. Schroder’s move could just be a “just in case” action, but it could also be a sign that the longtime legislative veteran is convinced that Rep. Jim Gerlach (R) is leaving the House, for either a run for Governor or as a moderate alternative to Pat Toomey for the U.S. Senate. For the Democrats, former Inquirer editorial board member Doug Pike is already planning a bid.
TX-10: McCaul Benefitting From Limbaugh Largesse
Via Burnt Orange Report: Last night in Houston, GOP Congressman Michael McCaul was the beneficiary of a fundraiser headlined by none other than Rush Limbaugh. Limbaugh’s interest in McCaul is pretty clear: Limbaugh gets paid an obscene amount of money by Clear Channel. Clear Channel’s founder is a guy named Lowry Mays. Mays has a daughter—Mrs. Michael McCaul. I doubt this connection, or having the top-gun bloviator in the GOP raising cash for him, is lost on McCaul’s prospective Democratic opponent: Jack McDonald.
VA-GOV: A New View on McAuliffe-Nader; Deeds Gaining Momentum?
Two intriguing items today on the Democratic Primary for governor in Virginia, which takes place in just 11 days: first off is a little hint dropped by the boys at PPP:
...(next week we will release) our second to last Virginia primary poll. That one's a surprise so far too although we'll be in the field a couple more days. Looks like the WaPo endorsement could really make a difference.
Who received the WaPo endorsement?? None other than Creigh Deeds.
Also, here is a novel analysis from Hotline On Call. Yesterday, it was reported that Ralph Nader had made some pretty unsavory allegations about Terry McAuliffe. Jennifer Skalka over at Hotline On Call thinks that there is a distinct beneficiary to this story—Terry McAuliffe.