MONDAY’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.
* The Washington Post editorial board endorsed Creigh Deeds’ (D) gubernatorial campaign over the weekend: “[I]f he has not always been the most adroit advocate for astute policies, that is preferable to Mr. McDonnell’s silver-tongued embrace of ideas that would mire Virginia in a traffic-clogged, backward-looking past. Virginians should not confuse Mr. McDonnell’s adept oratory for wisdom, nor Mr. Deeds’s plain speech for indirection. In fact, it is Mr. Deeds whose ideas hold the promise of a prosperous future.”
* In New Jersey, Gov. Jon Corzine (D) won endorsements over the weekend from both the New York Times and the Philadelphia Inquirer.
* Speaking of New Jersey, Republican gubernatorial hopeful Chris Christie has been frustrated by independent candidate Chris Daggett’s growing support, which is splitting the anti-incumbent vote. With that in mind, Christie has begun going after Daggett and Corzine.
* Making matters more challenging for Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D), the Progressive Change Campaign Committee is launching an ad campaign in Nevada this week, challenging Reid to pass a public option. The spot is titled, “Is Harry Reid Strong Enough?” and features a constituent who explains she’ll “only be voting on one issue”” next year: whether Reid is able to “pass a public health insurance option into law.”
* Rep. Corrine Brown (D) had launched a Senate exploratory committee, but decided late last week to forgo the Senate race and instead seek re-election to the House.
* Connecticut Democrats are continuing to make an issue of GOP Senate candidate Linda McMahon’s leadership of World Wrestling Entertainment, and some of the “racier” content her company aired on television.
* It’s long been assumed that Florida Gov. Charlie Crist (R) would cruise to an easy victory in his Senate primary race against former state House Speaker Marco Rubio. Those assumptions are being challenged more and more all the time.
