TUESDAY’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.
* Voters head to the polls in Massachusetts today, with both parties selecting nominees for next month’s Senate special election. Democrats will choose between state Attorney General Martha Coakley, U.S. Rep. Michael Capuano, City Year cofounder Alan Khazei, and Celtics co-owner Stephen Pagliuca. The Republican primary features state Sen. Scott Brown and Duxbury businessman Jack Robinson.
* The closely watched Republican Senate primary in Kansas continues to get more interesting. While Rep. Jerry Moran (R) has been leading from the start, a new SurveyUSA poll shows Rep. Todd Tiahrt (R) closing the gap considerably over the last couple of months.
* With Rep. Mike Castle (R) giving up his House seat in Delaware to run for the Senate, the open House seat has drawn the interest of both parties. The latest survey from Public Policy Polling shows former Lt. Gov. John Carney (D) leading the pack, enjoying double-digit leads over former state Sen. Charlie Copeland (R) and businessman Fred Cullis (R) in hypothetical match-ups.
* Rep. Allen Boyd (D-Fla.) was set to face state Sen. Al Lawson in a Democratic primary, but facing an overwhelming financial disadvantage, Lawson is now thinking about switching to the state chief financial officer race.
* In a provocative comment, Virginia Gov. Tim Kaine (D) said that he would have “easily” won a second term if state law permitted incumbents to seek re-election. The remark comes just a month after Creigh Deeds (D) was trounced by Gov.-elect Bob McDonnell (R).
* As hard as it is to believe, former Sen. Rick Santorum (R-Pa.) really seems serious about running for president. Asked on ABC yesterday if he’s really interested, Santorum said, “Absolutely — absolutely taking a look.”
* And it was probably nothing, but former half-term Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin (R) suggested she’s open to running for president as a third-party candidate in 2012. Asked by a conservative radio talk-show host if she’s consider this route, Palin said, “That depends on how things go in the next couple of years…. If the Republican party gets back to that [conservative] base, I think our party is going to be stronger and there’s not going to be a need for a third party, but I’ll play that by ear in these coming months, coming years.”
