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.
* A new Rutgers-Eagleton Poll in New Jersey’s gubernatorial race shows Gov. Jon Corzine (D) with a three-point lead over Chris Christie (R), 39% to 36%. Support for independent Chris Daggett’s campaign has surged to 20% in the poll.
* President Obama campaigned with Corzine in New Jersey last night, speaking at a rally with 3,000 people at Fairleigh Dickinson University.
* Hoping to turn things around in the special election in New York’s 23rd, Dede Scozzafava (R) campaigned yesterday outside of one of Conservative Party candidate Doug Hoffman’s offices. That probably wasn’t a good idea.
* In Florida, a new Rasmussen poll shows Gov. Charlie Crist’s lead over Marco Rubio down to 15 points, 49% to 35%, in a Republican Senate primary. The results are nearly identical to the poll released by Quinnipiac yesterday.
* Speaking of Florida, Rasmussen also found state Attorney General Bill McCollum (R) leading state CFO Alex Sink (D) in next year’s open gubernatorial campaign, 46% to 35%.
* A Research 2000 poll for the PCCC found Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D) trailing in his re-election bid next year, but by smaller margins than some other recent polls. This survey found Reid trailing Sue Lowden and Danny Tarkanian by five points each.
* To the disappointment of Kansas Democrats, Party Chairman Larry Gates announced this week that he will not run for governor next year.
* Would Arkansas Lt. Gov. Bill Halter (D) challenge Sen. Blanche Lincoln (D) in a primary next year? Rumor has it, Halter’s thinking about it.
* And in 2012 news, Rep. Michele Bachmann (R-Minn.) apparently isn’t planning a presidential campaign, but she’d like to see fellow crazy person, Rep. Steve King (R-Iowa), run for the Republican nomination.
