THURSDAY’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.
* Republican National Committee Chairman Michael Steele believes there’s “a real possibility” that Gov. Charlie Crist could win Florida’s Senate race as an independent. That’s probably not the message the RNC intended to push today.
* In Ohio, a new Quinnipiac poll shows Lt. Gov. Lee Fisher (D) narrowly leading former Bush Budget Director Rob Portman (R) in this year’s Senate race, 40% to 37%.
* On a related note, the same poll shows Gov. Ted Strickland (D) leading Fox News personality John Kasich (R) in this year’s gubernatorial race, 44% to 38%.
* Former Rep. Scott McInnis, the leading Republican in Colorado’s gubernatorial race, argued this week that he’d like to see his state duplicate the outrageous new immigration law in Arizona.
* Polls in Arizona’s Republican Senate primary have been all over the place, but for what it’s worth, a Rocky Mountain poll released yesterday shows Sen. John McCain crushing former Rep. J.D. Hayworth, 54% to 28%. Public Policy Polling shows McCain ahead, but by a more modest margin, 46% to 35%.
* Speaking of Arizona, while PPP shows state Attorney General Terry Goddard (D) leading Gov. Jan Brewer (R), Rasmussen shows the incumbent ahead, 48% to 40%.
* Indiana’s Republican Senate primary is just a week away, and a new SurveyUSA poll shows corporate lobbyist Dan Coats leading the field. The poll showed Coats ahead with 36%, followed by former Rep. John Hostettler with 24%.
* And in Michigan, Rasmussen shows Rep. Peter Hoekstra out in front of the Republican gubernatorial field with 28%. Rick Snyder and state Attorney General Mike Cox are about tied for second.
