So...I'm sorry there was no Wrap on Tuesday night.
I was busy catching up on TiVo'ed editions of "Iron Chef America".
Did anything happen of interest last night?
THE U.S. SENATE
CA-Sen: Campbell leads, but tenuously, in Senate primary poll
With a campaign that might be suffering from cash-flow woes (if the decision to pare back ad buys is any indicator), this is probably not the most comforting data for the campaign of Republican Senate aspirant Tom Campbell. A new poll by M4 Strategies for a small business PAC has Campbell leading Carly Fiorina by just five points (33-28). The problem for Campbell is that Chuck DeVore's campaign has simply not caught fire (he is a distant third at 15%). Fiorina will undoubtedly have more resources for the final three weeks than will Campbell, and that makes his five point lead an imperiled one, to say the least.
KY-Sen: Mongiardo reverses course, eschews recanvass
And...just like that...it is over. Dan Mongiardo, after releasing a statement this morning indicating that he would seek a recount, reversed course this evening and decided against seeking a recount of his narrow defeat at the hands of Democratic nominee Jack Conway. The initial decision seemed a curious one, given the relatively wide margin of victory (which has now grown to a shade over 5000 votes).
NC-Sen: Third-place Dem finisher endorses in June runoff
It had been the subject of speculation since the May 4th primary, but we now know who third-place Democratic primary finisher Kenneth Lewis prefers in the competitive runoff between NC Secretary of State Elaine Marshall and former state legislator Cal Cunningham. He endorsed Marshall today, which could well boost her fortunes (particularly with African-American voters). The runoff is still, amazingly, over a month away. Indeed, the Arkansas runoff between Senator Blanche Lincoln and Lt. Governor Bill Halter will occur before the Cunningham-Marshall runoff election in the Tar Heel State.
UT-Sen: Bennett to announce 2010 plans tomorrow
We will know, most likely by this time tomorrow, if Republican Senator Bob Bennett is going to seek to maintain his job via a write-in candidacy. Bennett lost the Republican nomination at the state convention a couple of weeks ago, and immediately refused to rule out a write-in candidacy. The Republican nominee remains to be determined, as a primary looms on June 22nd between top convention votegetters Mike Lee and Tim Bridgewater.
THE U.S. HOUSE
IN-03: Souder successors begin to rise to the surface
After that respectable period of waiting (which lasted approximately an hour) after Mark Souder's announcement of resignation, interested Republicans began to express interest in being the disgraced incumbent's replacement. The most prominent name being bandied about is Marlin Stutzman, the state legislator who came in a surprisingly strong second place in the Senate primary that just passed. State Rep. Randy Borror might be one step ahead, as he has already begun organizing a campaign apparatus in advance of the party caucus to determine Souder's replacement.
NY-15: Familiar face to challenge incumbent Rangel in Dem primary
The Democratic field to challenge longtime (and scandal-challenged) incumbent Charlie Rangel grew today, with the news that one of his former interns, Craig Schley, would be challenging him. Schley is the second man who was in Rangel's employee to declare for the seat (the first was former Rangel staffer Vincent Morgan). Familiar DK face Jonathan Tasini is also in the Democratic field. Schley ran against Rangel in 2008, with little success.
PA-06: Pike concedes primary to Trivedi, offers endorsement
One of the final loose ends of Primary Night was tied late today, with the news that former Inquirer editorial writer Doug Pike had conceded defeat in the Democratic primary against doctor (and Orange to Blue candidate) Manan Trivedi. Pike also offered his endorsement of Trivedi for the general election, where he will take on perpetually vulnerable incumbent Jim Gerlach.
THE GUBERNATORIAL RACES
AL-Gov: Davis claims internal poll gives him double-digit edge
This isn't the strongest show of strength ever manifested in a campaign internal poll, but for a campaign that has endured some whispering about being on the ropes, it is probably close enough. Artur Davis has released an internal poll showing him leading in the Democratic gubernatorial primary against Ron Sparks. Davis' poll shows him up 46-33 against Sparks, and up 50-25 among African-Americans. If a 50-25 margin among black voters seems strong, remember that Davis himself is African-American. In that context, a 2-to-1 lead (with a quarter still undecided) looks considerably less impressive.
MN-Gov: Dayton leads primary and general election bids
Former U.S. Senator Mark Dayton (D) seems on the verge of a big career comeback, according to a new poll conducted by the University of Minnesota. Dayton has a double-digit edge in the Democratic primary, leading with 38% of the vote. Former state House speaker Margaret Anderson Kelliher trails with 28% of the vote, with former state legislator Matt Etenza sitting on 6% of the vote. In the general election, Dayton is the only Democrat to lead the GOP nominee Tom Emmer (35-31, with 9% of Independent Tom Horner), albeit slightly. In a sign that this could be a very close margin in November, Emmer leads both Kelliher (31-29-10) and Etenza (32-28-11) by similarly slight margins.
NY-Gov: NYGOP about to go to the well again for a contender?
In what has to be seen as a fairly clear sign that there is nothing approaching a consensus Republican candidate to go heads-up with likely Democratic nominee Andrew Cuomo, a fourth name is now being bandied about in connection with the GOP gubernatorial race. His name is M. Myers Mermel, and he had been pondering a bid for Lt. Governor before apparently considering switching gears and running for Governor.
THE RAS-A-POLL-OOZA
In case you missed it, the House of Ras took a brutal (and, it must be said, deserved) shot from Markos this morning.
If the allegation is that Rasmussen is more interested in being a narrative-setter than a dispassionate creator of survey data, nothing in today's polls will disabuse anyone of that allegation.
One editorial note, however: if this new Rasmussen poll in Connecticut is to be believed, then Democratic frontrunner Richard Blumenthal will be just fine. I mean, damn, if Linda McMahon isn't ahead of him now, exactly when could she ever pulled ahead of the guy?
AZ-Sen (R): Sen. John McCain 52%, J.D. Hayworth 40%
AZ-Sen: Sen. John McCain (R) 57%, Rodney Glassman (D) 28%
AZ-Sen: J.D. Hayworth (R) 49%, Rodney Glassman (D) 33%
CT-Sen: Richard Blumenthal (D) 48%, Linda McMahon (R) 45%
CT-Sen: Richard Blumenthal (D) 50%, Rob Simmons (R) 39%
CT-Sen: Richard Blumenthal (D) 53%, Peter Schiff (R) 37%
FL-Gov: Bill McCollum (R) 43%, Alex Sink (D) 35%
FL-Gov: Rick Scott (R) 41%, Alex Sink (D) 40%
NY-Sen: Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand (D) 46%, David Malpass (R) 27%
NY-Sen: Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand (D) 51%, Bruce Blakeman (R) 31%
NY-Sen: Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand (D) 51%, Joe DioGuardi (R) 28%