On this Veterans Day (and let me pause for a moment to salute the service of those who have honored us with their presence in the American Armed Forces, including my father, who served in the U.S. Navy over a half-century ago), we find it to be holiday-light in terms of the political news. We do have a couple of polls out there, and a handful of pretty darned interesting news items. So let's roll with what we have, and put Wednesday to bed...
OH-Gov: Strickland Now Dead Even With Kasich, According to Q Poll
As has been said many times on this site, the present political climate is just lousy for incumbent governors, of all political persuasions. The undertow has, predictably, hit the state of Ohio, where incumbent Democratic Governor Ted Strickland is now in a dead heat with former Congressman John Kasich (40-40), according to new numbers from Quinnipiac. Strickland has essentially mediocre approval numbers (45/43), while Kasich has a decent favorability spread despite being a relative unknown (23/7). The Q poll will release new numbers on both the Ohio Senate race tomorrow as well as the Connecticut Senate race.
THE BATTLE FOR CONGRESS: New Polling Numbers Muddy 2010 Waters
Anyone looking for post-2009 election tea leaves in the earliest polls after last week's results will be left wanting when they look at the new numbers from venerable pollsters Pew (PDF File) and Gallup. Both pollsters looked at pools of registered voters, but they got quite different results. Pew, as most pollsters have during the year, staked the Democrats to a modest lead (five points: 47-42). Gallup, meanwhile, made headlines today by stating that Republicans have moved into a narrow lead of four points (48-44). In a sign that many Republicans are now re-identifying as Independent, that same Gallup poll with a four-point GOP edge claims a twenty-two point edge for Republicans among Independents.
IN POLITICAL NEWS....
- Last week's twin victories in New Jersey and Virginia seem to have sparked a little run of GOP candidates who lost in 2008 salivating at their prospects in 2010. A pair of them are now contemplating rematches: Richard Hanna, who lost narrowly to Democrat Michael Arcuri in NY-24, and Lou Barletta, who lost to veteran Pennsylvania Democrat Paul Kanjorski in PA-11.
- He is most famous for a photo--taken six years ago when he was a Marine smoking a victory cigar as Saddam Hussein's statue was felled in Baghdad. The soldier in the photo, Californian Nick Popaditch, is running for Congress as a Republican. He faces quite the uphill battle--his opponent is longtime Congressman Bob Filner, who represents the heavily Democratic 51st district.
- File this one in the "we can't be this lucky" file: another viable 2010 candidate wants some of the magic that Sarah Palin brought to Doug Hoffman up in NY-23. This time around, it is Milwaukee County Executive Scott Walker, who is the current frontrunner for the GOP nomination to be Governor of Wisconsin.
- Now that he is trying in vain to reposition himself as a friend of the teabagger, headlines like this one are not going to be very helpful for Florida Governor Charlie Crist:
Charlie Crist wasted no time reaching out to Obama
The story is somewhat amusing: a high-ranking official in Obama's campaign has confirmed to the St. Petersburg Times that Crist made numerous attempts to get Obama on the phone in the wake of his electoral victory, including one call before Obama had even taken to the stage in Grant Park. It also reminded Florida voters that Crist issued a fawning statement about Obama's victory in the day following the election.
- You know the Republican Party is tilting precipitously to the right when Lindsey Graham is getting censured in his home state for being too conciliatory to the left.
Lindsey Graham?!?
- Republicans have been angling for an opponent to freshman Democrat John Adler in New Jersey's 3rd Congressional district, which stretches from the Philly suburbs east to the Atlantic Ocean. They might have found an intriguing candidate in former Philadelphia Eagles offensive lineman Jon Runyan. Runyan is not a confirmed candidate but has expressed some interest in the race. Runyan would bring star power to the race, but is a total political neophyte.
- Republicans also got their first candidate in the open-seat House battle to replace Mike Castle in Delaware. Business owner Fred Cullis jumped into the race on Wednesday, putting him on a collision course with former Democratic Lt. Governor John Carney, who has already been in the race for most of the year, and is off to a significant fundraising head start.
- It has been a while since the good readers at Daily Kos have been the beneficiaries of a Stormy Daniels update. That wait is over, beloveds, and it is a good one: Daniels might elect to pass go and head straight to the general election. She is flirting with switching from a proposed Republican primary bid to a bid as the candidate of the Libertarian Party. Given her background (for the uninitiated, Daniels is an adult film actress), the Libertarian Party might be a better fit than the GOP.
- Hmmm...Another day, another prominent Republican decides not to run against top NRCC target Alan Grayson in Central Florida's 8th district. This week's demurring GOP superstar is state legislator Eric Eisnaugle. That leaves 20-something businessman Armando Gutierrez, but The Hill reports that he is not the most popular dude in the Florida GOP. The party, quite clearly, is still fishing desperately for a candidate that is...well...not him.
- Last but not least: there will be more on this later, but there is an absolutely wonderful rumor now making the rounds in the state of Colorado. Three words for you.
Tom Tancredo. Governor.