FRIDAY’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’s gubernatorial race is getting more competitive, though how much more depends on which poll you rely on. Rasmussen shows Bob McDonnell (R) leading Creigh Deeds (D) by just two, 48% to 46%. Research 2000, however, shows McDonnell up by seven, 50% to 43%.
* Speaking of the McDonnell-Deeds contest, the two faced off in a heated debate in Northern Virginia yesterday. Deeds ran into more trouble after the event, giving seemingly contradictory answers on taxes.
* Rep. Michael Capuano (D-Mass.) hasn’t officially launched a Senate campaign, but he nevertheless is running the first television ad of the race in advance of the January special election. The ad hopes to connect Capuano to Ted Kennedy’s legacy.
* Also in Massachusetts, Boston Celtics co-owner Stephen Pagliuca (D) announced yesterday that he’s joining the crowded Democratic field for the Senate, too.
* The GOP gubernatorial primary in Texas will likely be one of next year’s most heated contests. The latest Rasmussen poll shows Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison leading incumbent Gov. Rick Perry by two, 40% to 38%.
* Rep. Ginny Brown-Waite (R-Fla.) yesterday became the second member of the Florida GOP delegation to endorse former state House Speaker Marco Rubio’s (R) Senate campaign, instead of Gov. Charlie Crist (R). Brown-Waite’s announcement further underscores the right-wing’s dissatisfaction with Crist.
* As expected, the White House has announced that President Obama will support Sen. Michael Bennet’s (D-Colo.) 2010 bid for a full term. Bennet, who was appointed to the seat earlier this year, will face former state House Speaker Andrew Romanoff in a Democratic primary.
