As the MA-Senate race moves to front and center on the political agenda (and a tip of the cap to our own Laura Clawson for being on top of that race), there are still a handful of other tales from the campaign trail vying for our attention. Let's work our way through those on the mid-week edition of the Wrap, where the polls are a veritable Ras-a-palooza, and the campaign news contains notes both triumphant and disappointing for Democrats.....
NH-Sen: Hodes Leads Two GOPers, Trails One, According to Ras
Rasmussen wades into the Granite State on a particularly prolific day for the pollster (three polls released today alone). As they cast their eyes on the competitive open seat race to replace retiring Republican Senator Judd Gregg, they find a mixed bag for likely Democratic nominee Paul Hodes. When paired with establishment GOP favorite Kelly Ayotte, Hodes trails the Republican by nine points (49-40). This is almost identical to a previous Rasmussen foray into the race, where they had Ayotte up eight. Meanwhile, they also test Hodes against a couple of other candidates: wealthy self-funder Bill Binnie and right-wing insurgent candidate Ovide Lamontagne. Hodes leads both of these candidates by similar margins (he leads Binnie by six points, and Lamontagne by seven points). Another note worth keeping an eye on: they did not test trial heats for Democratic Governor John Lynch, but his job approval was tested. While it is still decent, it does appear to have come down from the stratosphere (58/38).
NV-Sen: Reid Hemorrhaging, With More Bad News To Come?
Even if most of the Democratic establishment, including the target of the remark, seems to have forgiven Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid for the "negro dialect" comment, the attitude of Nevada voters towards their senior Senator do not appear to have softened. Bad numbers have only gotten worse, according to new numbers from Rasmussen. Reid does no better than 40% against any of the three leading GOP candidates, and trails two of them (Sue Lowden and Danny Tarkanian) by double digits at this point. More bad news for Reid: PPP is also polling the state, and Tom Jensen gave advance warning today that Reid's numbers, which have been weak throughout the cycle, has only managed to worsen. Another danger sign for Reid: pollsters are now testing alternative Democratic candidates.
MN-Gov: It's Back To The Future in Minnesota Gov's Race
According to Rasmussen, if their poll of the Democratic and Republican primaries in Minnesota are any indicator, the 2010 gubernatorial election will be contested between a pair of familiar faces. On the GOP side, it is really no contest: recently vanquished Senator Norm Coleman (who has not confirmed his entry into the fray) leads with 52% of the vote. His nearest rival, Tom Emmer, trails badly with just 9% of the vote. On the Democratic side, things are considerably closer, as former U.S. Senator Mark Dayton leads Minneapolis Mayor R.T. Rybak by nine points (34-25). Margaret Anderson Kelliher and Matt Entenza run third and fourth in the crowded Dem field. There is still a lot of time for the calculus to be altered here, however: Minnesota's primary is late in the calendar; in fact, the filing deadline is still months away.
IN OTHER NEWS....