A fairly (and surprisingly) robust day in campaign news, so let's get right into it:
NJ-Gov: Corzine Poll Numbers Improving--President Pays Visit
On day when the Governor of New Jersey welcomed the President of the United States to his state, a new poll out of Monmouth University shows a slightly more favorable picture of the Garden State electorate for the Democrat. While Corzine still trails Republican Chris Christie by eight points (45-37-4), that margin falls to just four points among the roughly half of the voters who have already firmly made up their minds. Furthermore, one-third of voters STILL do not have an opinion of the GOP challenger.
NC-Sen: Burr Still Underwhelming in Polls for 2010 Senate Bid
Incumbent Senator Richard Burr has had mediocre poll numbers all year, and that has improved only marginally, according to a new poll from PPP. Burr's numbers ticked up from last month, but given that he has gone from 34/35 favorability to 36/29, that is damning him with faint praise. Against the two leading Democratic candidates at present (former state Senator Cal Cunningham and lawyer Kenneth Lewis), he holds leads of nine and eleven points, respectively. Notable--he comes no higher than 42% of the vote against either of them.
TX-Gov: Perry Has Double Digit Lead Over KBH, Says Rasmussen
Rasmussen is in a little bit of a primary polling frenzy today. In addition to new numbers out of New York (coming next), we also get new numbers in the hot gubernatorial primary in Texas. Ras has incumbent Rick Perry leading Senator Kay Bailey Hutchison by ten points (46-36) in that contest. This is a marked improvement for Perry, who only led KBH by four points (42-38) in a similar Rasmussen poll in May.
NY-Gov/NY-Sen: One Close Race Plus One Blowout in Dem Primaries
Rasmussen also polls the Democratic primary for Governor in New York state, as well as the Democratic primary for the Senate. For the Statehouse, Attorney General Andrew Cuomo crushes incumbent Governor David Paterson (61-27). Meanwhile, in the Senate primary, Congresswoman Carolyn Maloney has a six point lead (33-27) over Senator Kirsten Gillibrand. Note one key difference: Very few undecideds on the gubernatorial side, and a ton of undecideds on the Senate side. That does not bode well for Paterson, who also loses to Rudy Giuliani by 22 (55-33), according to the poll. Cuomo, on the other hand, enjoys a seven point lead over Rudy (48-41).
NY-Gov: Cuomo Raising Money Like A Gubernatorial Candidate
When we last heard from Andrew Cuomo, the persistent rumor was that he was considering eschewing a bid for Governor, at the behest of Congressman Charlie Rangel. The pocketbook, on the other hand, tells us something quite different. Cuomo raised $5.1 million in the first six months of the year, which is not only a monster sum, but it also more than doubles up Governor Paterson, who raised $2.3 million in the same time period.
VT-Gov: Incumbent GOP Governor Doubled Up In Fundraising
Republican Gov. Jim Douglas raised $91,000 in his re-election bid, which was less than half of the amount raised by Democratic Secretary of State Deb Markowitz, who took in just under $185,000 (if these numbers seem a bit light, remember that Vermont is not an expensive media state). Unlike previous cycles, several well-funded Democrats (including Doug Racine, who challenged Douglas in 2002) are challenging Douglas, who some still see as a possible retirement possibility.
NM-Gov: GOP Picks Up Potentially Intriguing Gubernatorial Candidate
Republicans, who have been struggling to find a candidate to challenge likely Democratic nominee Diane Denish (the state's Lt. Governor) might have finally caught a break. Susana Martinez, the district attorney for Dona Ana County (home to Las Cruces, the second largest city in the state), announced her bid on Wednesday. Martinez could draw Hispanic voters in a state that is the most diverse in the nation, and she has been able to draw Democratic and Independent votes in a county that is overwhelmingly blue. Martinez's most likely primary opponent would be former Congresswoman Heather Wilson, who has still not announced any 2010 plans.
OHIO: DeWine Begins Political Comeback With Downballot Race
After losing his U.S. Senate seat in Democratic 2006 to Sherrod Brown, Mike DeWine has decided to try for a political second act. DeWine announced today that he will seek the position of state Attorney General. He will challenge Attorney General Richard Cordray, who was elected last year in a special election to replace Marc Dann.
NY-14: Scratch One Potential Candidate From The Maloney Seat
Seeing how the Manhattan-based 14th district in New York hasn't been open in almost two decades, it is not surprising that a number of Democrats are looking at the race. Here is one big name who is apparently not--Karenna Gore-Schiff. The eldest daughter of former VP Al Gore, who turns 36 next month, is focusing on motherhood (her and husband Andrew Schiff have three children) and a documentary project.
KY-Sen: Incumbent Jim Bunning Way Down Fundraising Depth Chart
So, it is not pretty clear that Jim Bunning was not sandbagging when he downplayed his second quarter fundraising numbers. He raised just over $300K. To put it in context, it is a few dollars behind Democrat and 2004 opponent Dan Mongiardo (who raised $303K). It is about half of the amount raised by likely GOP opponent Trey Grayson, and less than ONE-QUARTER of the amount raised by Democratic Attorney General Jack Conway, who led all candidates with over $1.3 million banked for the quarter.