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.
* Top strategists throughout the Democratic Party have been circulating a chart recently, documenting 10 Republican-friendly groups and the amount they’ve collectively pledged to spend on this year’s midterm elections: $200 million. Nearly every penny would go to support GOP candidates. (For context, the $200 million would be considerably more than the total spent by every independent group in the 2008 campaign combined.)
* President Obama will be on the campaign trail again today, hosting events in Nevada and Missouri.
* West Virginia Gov. Joe Manchin (D) reiterated yesterday that he would not appoint himself to serve temporarily in the vacancy left by the late Sen. Robert Byrd (D). But Manchin strongly hinted that when there’s a special election — which he hopes is in November — he’ll be on the ballot.
* In California, a new Field Poll shows incumbent Sen. Barbara Boxer (D) leading Carly Fiorina (R), best known as the failed/fired CEO of HP, by just three points, 47% to 44%.
* It’s Rasmussen, so take the results with a grain of salt, but the pollster shows Marco Rubio (R) with a narrow lead over Gov. Charlie Crist (I) in Florida’s Senate race, 36% to 34%. Rep. Kendrick Meek (D) is third with 15%.
* In North Carolina’s Senate race, the polls are all over the map. Rasmussen now shows incumbent Sen. Richard Burr (R) leading Elaine Marshall (D) by 15 points, 52% to 37%, though the same pollster recently found Burr up by one point. PPP this week found Burr’s lead at five points.
* And in Illinois, freshman Rep. Debbie Halvorson (D-Ill.) is facing off against Adam Kinzinger (R), a captain in the U.S. Air Force Reserves. In a growing problem for Illinois Republicans, it now appears that Kinzinger exaggerated his military service record.
