Before we kick off the weekend edition of the ole Wrap, I'm going to indulge in a quick personal moment to wish my father a Happy Father's Day, as well as a hearty congratulations to all the gentlemen out there who answer to that most important of titles--"Dad."
Personal moment officially over. Let's go look at the polls and all the other goings-on in the electoral funhouse.
THE U.S. SENATE
CO-Sen: Jane Norton goes the full Rudy in outragerous new ad
You might recall that in a desperate last-ditch attempt to salvage his flagging 2008 presidential bid, former NYC Mayor Rudy Giuliani ran an explicitly 9/11 themed ad as a hail-mary pass. It failed.
Fast forward to 2010: Colorado Republican Jane Norton, in a desperate last-ditch attempt to salvage her flagging 2010 Senate bid, releases an explicitly 9/11 themed ad (right down to a ticking clock followed by jet engine sounds). This is her hail mary pass. I suppose we'll know on August 10th if it failed.
UT-Sen: Public poll contradicts Lee internal; Bridgewater leads
Given the high number of undecideds, the only proper way to describe the GOP Senate primary in the Beehive State to be a toss-up. That said, the first public poll of the Senate primary gives a very different result than the internal poll (for candidate Mike Lee) reported in Monday's Wrap. The new poll, out this weekend from local pollster Dan Jones, gives Tim Bridgewater a nine-point lead over Lee (42-33). Lee's own internal polling showed him up by nine points (39-30). In both cases, given the fact that a quarter of the electorate or more is still undecided with under a week to go, it is hard to dub either candidate the "favorite". The winner will be favored in this uber-red state against Democratic businessman Sam Granato.
THE U.S. HOUSE
AR-02: Griffin snares Democratic endorsement in first-tier battle
Given the ideology of the Democrat in question, this probably won't be much of a shock. Nonetheless, this qualifies as less than stellar news for Democratic nominee Joyce Elliott: Democrat D.C. Morrison, who finished a surprisingly strong third in the recent U.S. Senate primary, elected to endorse Republican Tim Griffin, saying that Griffin's views were more in line with his own, especially on fiscal matters.
FL-02: Episode #2 of candidate-on-cameraman violence
Less than a week after North Carolina Democratic Rep. Bob Etheridge became a national name when he got together...physically...with camera-wiedling adversaries, a similar incident has apparently occurred in northern Florida. The campaign of longtime incumbent Allen Boyd is alleging that rival Democrat Al Lawson physically accosted a tracker for the Boyd campaign, ripping a camera away from the staffer. Lawson countered that the staffer was in a meeting for Lawson staffers before a public event, and was asked to leave before the confrontation took place. Boyd and Lawson face off in the Democratic Primary in the Sunshine State, scheduled for August 24th.
NC-08: Johnson and D'Annunzio--Two peas in a pod?
CQ catches a slightly dusty, but potentially useful, unforced error by Republican frontrunner Harold Johnson in North Carolina's 8th district. In a late May interview, he tried to allay conservative fears by saying that he would vote much the same way as right wing firebrand Tim D'Annunzio, but that he was less edgy and more "electable". D'Annunzio is one of the real fringe characters in the 2010 election cycle, and in a general election, Johnson's reassurances will probably not prove to be too terribly...well...reassuring.
UT-02: Pre-Primary poll shows Matheson ahead (but not by a ton)
It is looking increasingly likely that longtime Democratic incumbent Jim Matheson will survive his Tuesday primary challenge against Democratic activist Claudia Wright. It is also looking increasingly likely that his performance in that primary will be a tad underwhelming. The Dan Jones poll has Matheson leading Wright by a 52-33 margin. Matheson was unable to avoid the primary by getting under 60% in the Democratic state convention several weeks ago.
VA-05: Hurt tries to marginalize conservative Indie candidate
Despite his mellow protestations to the contrary, it is becoming increasingly obvious that Republican nominee Rob Hurt is quite concerned about conservative Independent candidate Jeff Clark. The latest sign was a total reversal on an earlier pledge to include Clark in debates. His excuse rationale? That Clark is not a serious candidate.
THE GUBERNATORIAL RACES
AL-Gov: Runoff field now set as recount failed to change outcome
Tim James' excellent adventure has come to an end. Trailing by 167 votes after the June 1st primary, James dropped six figures on a statewide recount, which only padded the lead for second-place finisher Robert Bentley. This means that the state legislator is officially the opponent for Bradley Byrne in the July 13th runoff election to determine the opponent for Democratic state Ag Commissioner Ron Sparks.
MN-Gov: SUSA has guv race close--third party a potential player?
SurveyUSA heads into the state of Minnesota to close out the week, and they find a true tossup in the battle to replace outgoing Republican Governor Tim Pawlenty. The poll shows that Democrat Mark Dayton leads Republican Tom Emmer in a possible matchup (38-35), with 12% for Independence Party candidate Tom Horner. Emmer leads the other two potential Democratic nominees narrowly: he edged Margaret Anderson Kelliher by two points (35-33-12), and Matt Etenza by four points (37-33-12). SUSA also polled the forthcoming Democratic primary, and finds it to be fairly tight. Dayton, the former US Senator and best known candidate in the field, leads with 39% of the vote. Both Anderson Kelliher (26%) and Etenza (22%) follow not far behind. The primary will be one of the later ones in the cycle, scheduled to be held on August 10th.
SC-Gov: Eyes on 2012 as Romney doubles down on Haley
A couple of weeks ago, Sarah Palin endorsed the "less conservative" option in Iowa, Terry Branstad, with a very clear eye on 2012. It is hard not to view this story through the same lens: Mitt Romney has opened his checkbook and maxed out to GOP gubernatorial frontrunner Nikki Haley in advance of this week's runoff election for the Republican nomination. Indeed, taking advantage of a loophole in the state's campaign financing laws, he used all six of the PACs under his aegis to dump a total of $42,000 into Haley's coffers.
THE RAS-A-POLL-OOZA
Ras closed the week off with a light work schedule, at least on the horse race front. They headed to the Empire State, where they have appointed freshman Senator Kirsten Gillibrand lead waning, and veteran Senator Chuck Schumer in only the mid-50s.
What party do those two belong to, again?!?
AR-Gov: Gov. Mike Beebe (D) 57%, Jim Keet (R) 33%
NY-Sen (A): Sen. Chuck Schumer (D) 54%, Gary Berntsen (R) 35%
NY-Sen (A): Sen. Chuck Schumer (D) 54%, Jay Townsend (R) 33%
NY-Sen (B): Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand (D) 49%, Joe DioGuardi (R) 38%
NY-Sen (B): Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand (D) 50%, Bruce Blakeman (R) 38%
NY-Sen (B): Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand (D) 49%, David Malpass (R) 34%
TX-Gov: Gov. Rick Perry (R) 48%, Bill White (D) 40%
LATE UPDATE: Per the comments, KingofSpades reports that a new poll out of Florida puts Republican-turned-Indie Charlie Crist up double digits in the Senate race over Marco Rubio.