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.
* To gain a stronger financial edge in advance of next year’s midterms, Republicans are counting on Teabaggers to pony up: “Conservative leaders are eager to turn Tea Party anger into election-year cash – and to do that, they’re launching a flurry of new political action committees aimed at collecting small-dollar donations from newly engaged anti-tax, anti-spending activists.”
* It’s unclear if New York City Comptroller William Thompson (D) intends to challenge Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand (D-N.Y.) in a primary next year, but if he does, a new Quinnipiac polls shows Thompson faring very well.
* In related news, Gillibrand continues to reach out to possible Democratic rivals, in the hopes of winning them over. So far, it’s working — this week, Suffolk County Legislative Majority Leader Jon Cooper (D), a leading Gillibrand detractor, announced that he’s not only skipping a primary, he’s actually endorsing the incumbent senator.
* Republicans have made Rep. Tom Perriello (D) of Virginia’s 5th congressional district one of the party’s top 2010 targets. But the GOP field is huge, and the party’s favored candidate, state Sen. Robert Hurt, has been deemed insufficiently right-wing by the Tea Party crowd. Dems hope to see a NY23 dynamic emerge.
* Sen. Chris Dodd (D) of Connecticut swears he’s sticking with his re-election plans, polls be damned, but speculation about retirement scenarios continues to emerge.
* Louisiana Secretary of State Jay Dardenne (R) takes one step closer to challenging Sen. David Vitter (R) in a Republican primary next year.
* And in Texas, entertainer Kinky Friedman was seeking the Democrats’ gubernatorial nomination, but he ended his bid yesterday, announcing that he will instead run to be the state’s agriculture commissioner.
