T-minus 5 days until Election Night 2009....
VA-Gov: McDonnell Maintains Lead As Campaign Heads Into Home Stretch
Two new polls today (one of which was our own DK/R2K poll) confirm that Republican Attorney General Bob McDonnell has a double-digit lead over Democratic state senator Creigh Deeds in the final days of the Virginia gubernatorial campaign. In addition to the Daily Kos poll (which has Bob McDonnell staked to a 54-44 lead), a new poll from in-state (specifically, from Roanoke College), gives the Republican a sixteen-point lead (55-39). Downballot, it also gives Republicans double-digit leads for the two other constitutional offices up for grabs (although both GOP candidates are under 50%), and gives Republicans a ten-point edge on the generic legislative ballot.
In campaign news, the Deeds campaign gets another high-profile assist as they try to reverse a possibly insurmountable deficit. President Barack Obama, who made an in-person appearance for Deeds earlier in the week, has penned an appeal for the Democratic nominee which will be sent to over 300,000 Virginia households on the weekend before the election.
NJ-Gov: Christie Now Daring Jon Corzine to Call Him Fat
Amid a polling collapse that might actually deny him the office that seemed to be his for the taking over the summer, Republican gubernatorial nominee Chris Christie has decided to become single-minded on the big issue of the day: Democratic Governor Jon Corzine mocking his girth. On an appearance with Don Imus this morning, he challenged Governor Corzine to "man up" and just call him fat. Christie, of course, is referencing a now-famous Corzine ad where Corzine accused the corpulent former prosecutor of "throwing his weight around" in order to escape punishment for some vehicular travesties.
As reported earlier in the day on DK, two polls were released out of the Garden State. The DK/R2K poll had Christie clinging with his fingernails to a lead of a single point (42-41-14), while Democracy Corps (PDF) had the incumbent, Jon Corzine, up by five (43-38-12). At the end of the day, SurveyUSA chimed in with numbers of their own: they have it tied (43-43-11). Perhaps tellingly, Corzine is leading quite handily among the 11% of the electorate that has already voted (45-37-8).
NY-23: More Republicans Turn Their Back on the GOP Nominee
Perhaps inspired by this morning's release of the new DK/R2K polling which showed the Republican nominee (DeDe Scozzafava) circling the drain, a host of new Republican luminaries have lined up behind third party candidate Doug Hoffman. The septet of GOP Congressman now backing Hoffman reads like a "Who's Who" of batshit crazy Republicanism--among the horde are Paul Broun (GA), Steve King (AZ), and Trent Franks (AZ). Franks, in an email sent out Thursday, smacked Scozzafava for being "radically out of the mainstream on issues that constitute the core of the Republican Party's principles." Late in the day today, Hoffman also got another high-profile right-wing endorsement, as Texas Governor Rick Perry gave his nod to the right-wing Independent as well.
Today's poll here at Daily Kos gave Democrat Bill Owens a lead of a single point over Hoffman, while Scozzafava lagged far behind. It seems likely that we will hear from two additional pollsters over the weekend, as PPP has already confirmed that they will poll the race this weekend, while Siena would seem to be a likely candidate as well (since they polled the race earlier).
IN OTHER NEWS...
- I have finally taken the plunge. You can now find me on Twitter.
- A day after Dick Cheney endorsed his rival for the Republican gubernatorial nomination in Texas, Rick Perry got a high-profile endorsement of his own: Mississippi Governor Haley Barbour.
- Anyone who thinks that Illinois GOP Senate candidate (and purported moderate) Mark Kirk isn't nervous about a Marco Rubio-esque primary challenge, ought to see how he is kicking off his campaign.
- It becomes harder for the New Mexico GOP to find a path to victory in the gubernatorial race upon hearing this news: former Congresswoman Heather Wilson will spend the 2010 election cycle on the sidelines.
- It looks like Vermont Democrats might cross Lake Champlain in the coming days to offer some manpower to Bill Owens.
- Most presidential aspirants would give their right arm to go to Iowa in the dead of winter and start to make connections with the critical caucus-state voters. Sarah Palin? She wants a six-figure speaking fee to come.