THURSDAY’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.
* Virginia gubernatorial hopeful Creigh Deeds (D) is struggling a bit in the polls, and has decided it’s time to shake-up the staff. Monica Dixon, Kevin Mack, and Mo Elleithee have been added to the campaign team.
* Sen. Arlen Specter’s lead over Rep. Joe Sestak in Pennsylvania’s Democratic primary is shrinking. A new Rasmussen poll shows the incumbent up by 13, 47% to 34%, after having led by 19 in June.
* On a related note, as Specter and Sestak go at it, former Rep. Pat Toomey, the conservative Republican, is now leading both Democratic candidates in head-to-head match-ups.
* With top-tier GOP candidates taking a pass on a race against Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D) in Nevada next year, Nevada Republican Party Chairwoman Sue Lowden is moving towards launching a campaign.
* Curtis Coleman, an adviser to former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee (R), will apparently seek the GOP nomination in the race against Sen. Blanche Lincoln (D-Ark.) next year.
* Roll Call reports, “It’s looking increasingly likely that state Treasurer Alexi Giannoulias will be Democrats’ anointed candidate in the 2010 Illinois Senate race.”
* Similarly, the party establishment in Kentucky seems to be rallying behind state Attorney General Jack Conway (D) for next year’s open Senate seat contest.
