FRIDAY’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.
* In an interesting twist in Texas, former President George H.W. Bush and former First Lady Barbara Bush are throwing their support to Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison in her Republican gubernatorial primary against Gov. Rick Perry. Twelve years ago, the Bushes were prominent Perry backers.
* In Pennsylvania, a Rasmussen poll shows former Rep. Pat Toomey, a far-right Republican, leading both Arlen Specter and Joe Sestak in hypothetical general election match-ups.
* Former Rep. J.D. Hayworth (R) is making taking steps in Arizona to challenge Sen. John McCain in a primary, but the challenger would start as a long-shot — Rasmussen shows McCain up by 22 points.
* One of the Dems’ better gubernatorial pick-up opportunities is in, oddly enough, Georgia. A Rasmussen poll shows former Gov. Roy Barnes (D), seeking his old job back, leading most of the GOP field, and trailing the Republican frontrunner, John Oxendine, by just two, 44% to 42%.
* In California, the latest Field Poll shows state Attorney General Jerry Brown (D) with fairly comfortable leads in this year’s gubernatorial campaign. The same poll shows Meg Whitman as the prohibitive favorite for the GOP nomination.
* In Connecticut’s wide-open gubernatorial race, a Quinnipiac poll shows Ned Lamont (D) as the early frontrunner in the Democratic primary and general election.
* Sen. Richard Burr’s (R-N.C.) approval rating is just 36%, but the latest survey from Public Policy Polling nevertheless shows him leading his top Democratic challengers by seven to nine points.
* Pennsylvania Sen. Arlen Specter (D) and Minnesota Rep. Michele Bachmann (R) appeared on a radio show yesterday at the same time. It didn’t go well.
* And CNBC’s Larry Kudlow considered a Republican Senate campaign in Connecticut a few months ago, before deciding not to pursue it. With no top-tier Republicans running for the Senate in New York this year, Kudlow’s name is, oddly enough, once again in the mix.
