WEDNESDAY’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.
* Former President Bill Clinton shook up Colorado’s Democratic Senate primary a little yesterday, breaking with party leaders and endorsing Andrew Romanoff’s challenge to Sen. Michael Bennet. Some perceive this as a major fissure, but I think too much is being made of this — Romanoff is a long-time Clinton backer who championed Hillary Clinton’s campaign in Colorado, while Bennet backed Obama. Yesterday’s endorsement — which came in the form of an email — appears to be evidence of gratitude, not a Clinton/Obama split.
* In Ohio’s very competitive Senate race, a new Quinnipiac poll in shows Lt. Gov. Lee Fisher (D) with a narrow lead over former Bush budget director Rob Portman (R), 42% to 40%.
* Speaking of Ohio, while Quinnipiac shows incumbent Gov. Ted Strickland (D) leading former Rep. John Kasich (R), a new survey from Public Policy Polling shows Kasich up by two, 43% to 41%. [corrected]
* In California, a new Reuters/Ipsos poll offers some relatively good news for Democrats. It finds Sen. Barbara Boxer (D) leading Carly Fiorina (R) by four, 45% to 41%, and state A.G. Jerry Brown (D) leading Meg Whitman (R) by six, 45% to 39%.
* Freshman Rep. Tom Perriello (D-Va.), one of this year’s key GOP targets, released his first re-election ad, and he’s apparently “the first candidate of the season to smear his face with dust and dump coffee on his shirt for a campaign ad.” If you watch it, this makes more sense.
* In Arizona, right-wing state Sen. Pamela Gorman (R) has launched an ad in her congressional campaign, apparently trying to argue that her ability to use multiple firearms is evidence of her qualifications.
* And in South Carolina, Senate “candidate” Alvin Greene (D) finally has a website, but it’s not very good.
