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.
* As Democratic policymakers work on bringing accountability and safeguards to Wall Street, bankers, hedge fund executives, and financial services chief executives drop their campaign contributions to Democrats.
* Vice President Biden knows Dems are expected to have a rough cycle, but he nevertheless believes his party will “do a great deal better than anyone gives us credit for. I do not see this grand debacle.”
* In Missouri, Rep. Roy Blunt’s (R) Senate campaign is running its first television ad of the general election, it neglects to mention his party affiliation and the fact that he’s served in Congress for the last 14 years.
* In North Carolina, a new survey from Public Policy Polling shows a pretty competitive Senate race, with incumbent Sen. Richard Burr (R) leading Secretary of State Elaine Marshall (D) by five, 38% to 33%. Libertarian Michael Beitler is a credible third-party candidate, with 10% support in the poll.
* West Virginia Gov. Joe Manchin (D) has said he has no intention of appointing himself to fill the vacancy left by the late Sen. Robert Byrd (D-W.Va.), but he’s under increasing pressure to reconsider.
* In Colorado, Senate hopeful Jane Norton (R) doesn’t want voters to consider her a lobbyist just because she did lobbying work in the 1990s.
* The DNC unveiled another TV ad over the weekend, connecting Rep. Joe Barton’s (R-Texas) apology to BP to House Minority Leader John Boehner (R-Ohio) comparing the financial crisis to “an ant.”
* In Maryland, former Gov. Bob Ehrlich (R), hoping to get his old job back, is running into some campaign trouble because of a scandal surrounding his running mate.
* And in Ohio, convicted felon Jim Traficant’s congressional comeback effort appears to be over, at least for now. Hoping to secure a spot on the ballot in Ohio’s 17th, Traficant reportedly failed to submit the necessary number of valid signatures on his nominating petitions.
