NV-Gov: Undeclared GOP Candidate Sandoval Leads Gov Field
With the possible inclusion of a legitimate GOP challenger to embattled incumbent Republican Governor Jim Gibbons, Mason Dixon polls the Silver State. They find that the new GOP hope, former state Attorney General Brian Sandoval, would defeat any of the three Democratic challengers surveyed. Sandoval leads Las Vegas Mayor Oscar Goodman by seven (45-38), state Assembly Speaker Barbara Buckley by eight (44-36), and Clark County Commissioner (and famous progeny) Rory Reid by seventeen (49-32). If Gibbons somehow can avoid/survive a primary, he appears to be toast in a general election: he trails the three Democrats by margins ranging from 12 to 27 points.
CO-Sen/CO-Gov: GOP Primary Polls Establish Clear Frontrunners
In day four (or is it five) of their rollout of numbers from the state of Colorado, the guys over at PPP look at the Republican primaries to challenge the pair of Democratic incumbents for Governor and Senator. On the gubernatorial side, "undecided" is the current leader, as half of the field is still not leaning towards a candidate. Among those with a preference, former Congressman Scott McInnis leads state Senator (and former McInnis staffer) Josh Penry by a sizeable margin (36-15). On the Senate side, former Congressman Bob Beauprez has a solid lead, with 41% of the vote. Ryan Frazier and Ken Buck trail far behind.
GA-Gov: Party Favorites Are Still The Favorites, According to Ras
Since the fields began to shake out for next year's Governor's race in Georgia, the Democrats and Republicans have had clearly defined frontrunners. Today, new numbers from Rasmussen confirm those frontrunners. On the Democratic side, former Governor Roy Barnes leads with 42% of the Democratic vote. Attorney General Thurbert Baker runs second, but with just 9% of the vote. On the GOP side, state Insurance Commissioner John Oxendine leads with 31%, with Congressman Nathan Deal and Georgia Secretary of State Karen Handel well behind with 13% of the vote.
IA-Gov: GOP Survey Clearly Trying To Lure Branstad into Govs Race
The Des Moines Register runs today with a dusty (conducted in late July) poll conducted for a Republican 527 group which shows that while former Republican Terry Branstad would have a solid lead over incumbent Democrat Chet Culver, Culver would have at least a nine-point advantage over any of the other Republicans contemplating the race. The poll was clearly designed to lure Branstad into the race, but it is telling that the same poll shows any of the other Republicans trailing, and all but one of them by double digits.
IA-Sen: This Won't Help Suppress The Braley Boomlet
You might recall that earlier in the week, speculation began to bubble up that Democrat Bruce Braley was starting to consider a bid against incumbent Republican Chuck Grassley in 2010. While that seems to remain a remote possibility, this will probably do little to kill the speculation. Braley penned an op-ed in the Huffington Post ripping Grassley for putting party before country on health care.
NV-Sen: Berkley Looking Ahead To 2012 Challenge to Ensign?
While Republican Senator John Ensign tries to convince Americans that he is a better guy than Bill Clinton, a pretty prominent Democrat is convinced that this is a much more winnable race than it was before. As a result, Congresswoman Shelley Berkley told the Las Vegas Review-Journal that a 2012 challenge to Ensign is now on her radar screen, although she also pointed out that her safe House seat and top-tier committee assignments might tempt her to stand pat.
2012: Ridge Not A Candidate, Unless GOP Clamors For It
From the "don't hold your breath" file: Tom Ridge, in the midst of his book tour, has let it be known to close colleagues that he is not interested in a 2012 bid for President, unless there is a "draft movement" within the GOP. Given that Ridge is recently making headlines by openly wondering whether terror alerts during the Bush era were politically motivated, it is hard to imagine that GOP loyalists are going to come calling.