A smorgasbord of campaign news on this Tuesday evening--some new polling data, some people jumping into new races, and some familiar faces making their political returns.
LA-Sen: Vitter Leading, But Underwhelming, In New Senate Poll
As teased yesterday, PPP polls the state of Louisiana, and they find David Vitter in a somewhat compromising (electoral) position for 2010. Vitter sits at just 44% of the vote, either against a generic Democrat (where the margin is 44-38) or possible Democratic candidate Charlie Melancon (where the margin is 44-32). His re-elect numbers are pretty abysmal, all-in-all: 38% would vote to re-elect, while 47% are willing to look around. Melancon, the Congressman from Southern Louisiana, is expected to make an announcement about his 2010 plans within the next few weeks.
IL-Gov: Kennedy May Be Considering Jumping Races
After a couple of months of speculation about a potential bid for the U.S. Senate, we might be finally understanding the reluctance of Merchandise Mart CEO Chris Kennedy. He may be considering another race: the gubernatorial race in 2010. That might be prompted by two facts: Alexi Giannoulias announced an impressive seven-figure haul for the second quarter, and he had already notched several endorsements, including three members of Congress. Kennedy's spokesperson will only say that he is "keeping his options open.
IL-10: Dan Seals Declares That He Is Ready For Round #3
After two spirited (and close) runs for Congress against incumbent Republican Mark Kirk, Democrat Dan Seals is back for a third shot at this Northern Illinois district. Seals is likely to be the favorite for the Democratic primary, and has to be a narrow favorite for the general election in a district where home-state hero Barack Obama took 61% of the vote. The Democratic primary got a little less complicated for Seals when state Senator Susan Garrett announced yesterday that she will not be a candidate in 2010. Seals' main Democratic opponent appears to be state Senator Michael Bond.
PA-Gov: Quinnipiac Has Clear GOP Leader; General Elex A Toss-Up
Undecided is the runaway leader in the Democratic primary, while Republican state Attorney General Tom Corbett has a sizeable early lead in the GOP primary over Congressman Jim Gerlach and former US Attorney Pat Meehan, according to new data from Quinnipiac. Quinnipiac, given the scant name recognition for any of the Democrats, went generic for a ballot test for the general election. In that test, the outcome was a pure coin flip, as the GOP got 38% of the vote while the Democrats got 37%. In other news from the poll, Governor Ed Rendell's job approval has cratered--down to just 39% of Pennsylvania voters. No Senate data was released from this poll, at least none today.
NY-Sen: Good News/Bad News Week Thus Far For Challenger
Carolyn Maloney, the Democratic Congressman who is likely to challenge Senator Kirsten Gillibrand, has had an interesting week. On the plus side, the much-anticipated fundraiser with President Bill Clinton (a "thank you" for Maloney's support for HRC last year) came to pass last night, raising over a quarter-million dollars for Maloney. On the negative side, she has spent most of the week walking back her use of the "n-word" in a sloppy retelling of a conversation she had with someone angered with Gillibrand's position on English-only education.
IA-Gov: Culver Draws New GOP Challenger
This afternoon, a new Republican name surfaced in the 2010 Governor's Race in Iowa, one with a record of attracting Democratic votes. State legislator Rod Roberts, a minister, announced his bid for Governor. Roberts is in his fifth term in the state House, representing a district with a Democratic registration advantage. Culver is likely to seek re-election. As with other Governors of both parties around the country, Culver's poll numbers have taken a little bit of a beating over the last twelve months.
VA-11: Rematch Setting Up in Swing District In NoVa
Freshman Democrat Gerry Connolly will have a familiar-looking opponent in 2010: businessman Keith Fimian is talking rematch in 2010. Fimian was a self-funder, matching Connolly dollar-for-dollar in 2008. Connolly, propelled by a big Obama lead over John McCain in NoVa, defeated Fimian by twelve points (55-43) in the open-seat battle to replace retiring Republican Tom Davis.
AL-05: GOP Challenger Pays Hefty Price For Some Love From Huck
Some comic relief to close out the night: it was a tough fundraising quarter for Republican Les Phillip, who is planning a challenge to freshman Democrat Parker Griffith in Huntsville's Alabama 5th district. Phillip raised less than $20,000 for the quarter. On its own, that would be bad enough news. Where the story really becomes tragicomedic is in the fact that Phillip spent more than double that amount on his big fundraising event for the quarter, featuring an endorsement from Republican 2008 presidential contender Mike Huckabee. Included in the expenses was a cool speaking fee of nearly "4,000 for the Huck. Huckabee's daughter, who runs his PAC, later said that the endorsement of Phillip was not related to the speaking fee. It is still, to say the least, a tad unusual as a campaign tactic.