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.
* The new schedule out of West Virginia says that Gov. Joe Manchin (D) will fill the late Sen. Robert Byrd’s (D) vacancy by Sunday. If he or she is sworn in on Monday, the Senate Democratic caucus will be back to 59 votes for the rest of this Congress.
* Former Rep. Scott McInnis (R), the leading Republican gubernatorial candidate in Colorado this year, now has a plagiarism controversy to overcome.
* Retired judge Chet Traylor (R) conceded yesterday that he’s taking on Sen. David Vitter (R) in Louisiana’s Republican Senate primary in part because of the senator’s Brent Furer scandal. “That was a concern for a lot of people,” Traylor said, referring to Republicans who encouraged him to run. “And certainly to women. I don’t believe you put someone in charge of women’s affairs who’s had the kind of problems he’s got.”
* Alabama will hold primary runoffs today. The two races to keep an eye on are the Republicans’ gubernatorial race and GOP’s runoff in the 2nd congressional district.
* In Pennsylvania, a new Quinnipiac poll shows state Attorney General Tom Corbett (R) leading Allegheny County Chief Executive Dan Onorato (D), 44% to 37%.
* In Maryland, a new survey from Public Policy Polling shows a very close gubernatorial rematch, with incumbent Gov. Martin O’Malley (D) leading former Gov. Robert Ehrlich (R) by just two, 45% to 42%.
* It seems hard to believe given Carly Fiorina’s (R) history of humiliating failures, but a new SurveyUSA poll shows the fired HP CEO leading incumbent Sen. Barbara Boxer (D) in California’s U.S. Senate race, 47% to 45%
* And speaking of California, the same SUSA poll shows Meg Whitman (R) leading Jerry Brown (D) by seven in the gubernatorial race, 46% to 39%.
* In Pennsylvania, Senate hopeful Joe Sestak (D) is now facing an attack from neocons for being insufficiently supportive of Israel. The attack is sponsored by a far-right group led in part by Bill Kristol.
* And in a move that will likely lead to several dozen additional Sunday show appearances, disgraced former House Speaker Newt Gingrich (R) insists he’s “never been this serious” about running for president.
