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.
* In Nevada, Rasmussen shows Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D) trailing all of his Republican challengers in hypothetical match-ups, in margins ranging from 7 to 15 points.
* In Pennsylvania, a new survey from Public Policy Polling shows former Rep. Pat Toomey (R) leading Sen. Arlen Specter (D) by three, 46% to 43%. Toomey leads Specter’s primary opponent, Rep. Joe Sestak (D) by six.
* We learned this week about former Rep. John Kasich, Ohio’s Republican gubernatorial hopeful, benefited from a lucrative compensation package from Lehman Brothers as it collapsed in 2008. Yesterday, incumbent Gov. Ted Strickland (D) called on Kasich to release his income tax returns.
* In Indiana, corporate lobbyist Dan Coats is making opposition to cap-and-trade part of his Republican Senate campaign. In 2008, however, Coats lobbied in support of cap-and-trade on behalf of one of his clients.
* With Sen. Blanche Lincoln (D) distancing herself from labor unions in her re-election bid, the Communications Workers of America is launching a new TV ad, blasting Lincoln over her ties to “Washington special interests.”
* Now that Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) is distancing himself from his “maverick” label, his primary challenger, former Rep. J.D. Hayworth (R-Ariz.), is pouncing. “If you’re scoring at home, how many reversals is this?” Hayworth said. “He’s moving away from legislative reversals into branding reversals. It’s the new John McCain, non-maverick edition, for the Arizona Senate election.”
* Speaking of Arizona, the DSCC was disappointed to learn that attorney and businesswoman Nan Stockholm Walden has decided not to run for the Senate this year.
