WEDNESDAY’S CAMPAIGN ROUND-UP….Today’s installment of campaign-related news items that wouldn’t generate a post of their own, but may be of interest to political observers.
* Sen. John Cornyn (R-Texas), the new head of the National Republican Senatorial Committee, believes it will be “real hard” and “a huge challenge” stopping Democrats from getting a 60-vote majority in the next Congress.
* In an apparent bid to keep the Senate Democratic caucus from reaching 59 seats, former Sen. Norm Coleman (R-Minn.) wants his latest court appeal to go slowly.
* San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom (D) has been informally campaigning for a while, but officially announced yesterday that he’s running for governor in California. He made the announcement, oddly enough, on Twitter.
* New Jersey Gov. Jon Corzine (D), facing re-election this November, continues to struggle in statewide polls. A new Quinnipiac poll shows the incumbent trailing Chris Christie, his likely Republican opponent and a former U.S. Attorney under George W. Bush, 45% to 38%. A new Strategic Vision poll showed Corzine trailing by an even larger margin, 47% to 36%.
* Sen. John McCain will face a primary challenge next year from Chris Simcox, a founder of the anti-immigration Minuteman Civil Defense Corps.
* In Kansas, Reps. Jerry Moran and Todd Tiahrt are both vying for the Republican nomination in next year’s Senate race. A new SurveyUSA poll shows Moran with a four-point lead over Tiahrt, 39% to 35%.
* State Rep. Bill Kortz (D) is the latest to enter Pennsylvania’s crowded Senate race.
* Elwyn Tinklenberg raised so much money, so quickly, late in his race against Rep. Michele Bachmann (R) last year that he couldn’t spend it all. He’s now transferring $250,000 to the DCCC.
* Former President Bill Clinton continues to help Terry McAuliffe’s gubernatorial campaign in Virginia.
