FRIDAY’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.
* In an entertaining twist in Colorado, former Rep. Tom Tancredo (R) has delivered an ultimatum to the GOP’s two gubernatorial candidates: if they’re trailing in the polls in mid-August, they should agree to drop out and let him jump in. If they’re inclined to ignore him, Tancredo has said he’ll run as a third-party candidate in the fall.
* The DCCC reserves television time in 40 House districts: “The Democrats’ strategy to preserve their House majority became clearer Thursday as the party made a $28 million investment in television advertising for the final weeks of the fall campaign, a plan that is designed to build a firewall to protect freshmen and longtime incumbents.”
* In Florida’s crazy primaries, the latest survey from Public Policy Polling shows Rick Scott leading Bill McCollum in the Republican gubernatorial primary, 43% to 29%.
* Speaking of Florida, it’s a Rasmussen poll so take the results with a grain of salt, but the pollster shows Marco Rubio (R) narrowly leading Charlie Crist (I) if Kendrick Meek is the Democratic nominee, but Crist narrowly leading Rubio if Jeff Greene is the Democratic nominee.
* There’s a crowded field of Republicans running for the Senate in West Virginia — as of late yesterday, the field had 10 candidates — but none are expected to be able to defeat Gov. Joe Manchin (D) in November.
* In Kentucky, a Braun Research poll shows Rand Paul (R) with a narrow lead over Jack Conway (D) in the U.S. Senate race, 41% to 38%.
* In Arizona’s Republican Senate primary, J.D. Hayworth has a new attack ad, going after Sen. John McCain’s previous support for a bipartisan immigration package, having worked with the late Sen. Ted Kennedy on a comprehensive bill. The ad has the advantage of being true.
* And in Kansas, The Hutchinson News endorsed Tracey Mann’s (R) congressional campaign in advance of his primary, but that was before the paper’s editorial board realized he “questions the citizenship of President Barack Obama despite evidence that is irrefutable to most objective, rational people.” The paper has since decided to “withdraw that endorsement.”
