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.
* As absentee ballots get counted in New York’s 23rd, it looks like Doug Hoffman is going to lose to Rep. Bill Owens (D-N.Y.), again.
* In a bizarre twist, Hoffman now claims there was a conspiracy among union members and ACORN to “sway the results” of the congressional special election. Even local Republican officials dismiss the accusations as “absolutely false.”
* A new Rasmussen poll shows California Attorney General Jerry Brown (D) tied with Meg Whitman (R) in next year’s gubernatorial campaign, 41% each. Brown leads the other Republican candidates in hypothetical match-ups by about 10 points.
* Speaking of California, Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger (R) is apparently done with electoral politics. ”I have never labeled myself as a politician, so I am not going to run for anything else,” Schwarzenegger said Tuesday.
* Former North Carolina Lt. Gov. Dennis Wicker (D) is the latest in a long line of Democrats to decide not to run against Sen. Richard Burr (R-N.C.) next year.
* Republican National Committeeman Sean Mahoney had been rumored as a possible Senate candidate in New Hampshire, but he’s decided not to join the crowded GOP primary. Barring any unexpected announcements, former state Attorney General Kelly Ayotte, former gubernatorial nominee Ovide Lamontagne, and businessman Bill Binnie will vie for Republican nod in the open-seat contest.
* Arkansas Lt. Governor Bill Halter (D) remains coy about whether he’ll take on incumbent Sen. Blanche Lincoln (D) in a primary next year.
* Sarah Palin said she’d consider Glenn Beck as a running mate in 2012. I’m not sure if she was kidding.
* Dick Cheney, meanwhile, still isn’t interested in running for anything in 2012.
