MONDAY’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.
* Late on Friday, Florida Gov. Charlie Crist (R) conceded that he has not ruled out running for the Senate as an independent. “I’m not thinking about that today,” he said in response to a reporter’s question. “We’ll look at that later on.”
* In related news, former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney (R) has decided to jump on the bandwagon, announcing his support for Marco Rubio over Crist.
* And in still more Florida news, a new Quinnipiac poll shows the state’s gubernatorial race growing more competitive, with state AG Bill McCollum (R) leading state CFO Alex Sink (D) by four, 40% to 36%. Despite holding statewide office, neither candidate is well known.
* In Massachusetts, the Republican State Convention chose Charles Baker as their gubernatorial candidate over the weekend. He’ll face incumbent Gov. Deval Patrick (D) and state Treasurer Timothy Cahill (I) in November. A new poll shows Patrick with a narrow lead in the three-way race.
* Rep. Jane Harman (D-Calif.) is feeling some heat from primary challenger Marcy Winograd, but delegates to the California Democratic Party met over the weekend and formally endorsed the incumbent.
* Polls have been all over the place in Arizona’s Republican Senate primary, but Rasmussen now has Sen. John McCain leading former Rep. J.D. Hayworth by just five points, 47% to 42%.
* As expected, former Republican National Committeeman Sean Mahoney has announced he’ll take on Rep. Carol Shea-Porter (D) this year in New Hampshire.
* Former New York Gov. George Pataki (R) appears to be moving towards a presidential campaign, as is Mississippi Haley Barbour (R). Texas Gov. Rick Perry (R), however, appears to have ruled out a national campaign.
