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.
* In the state of Washington, Sen. Patty Murray (D) and Dino Rossi (R) won a “top-two” primary yesterday, and will face off against one another in November. Former football player Clint Didier (R) finished a distant third, despite support from Tea Partiers and Sarah Palin.
* Wyoming Republicans held their gubernatorial primary yesterday, and Matthew Mead narrowly defeated state Auditor Rita Meyer, despite Palin’s backing of Meyer. Leslie Peterson narrowly won the Democratic primary, and will face Mead in the fall.
* In Kentucky’s closely-watched Senate race, a new Reuters/Ipsos poll shows Rand Paul (R) leading state Attorney General Jack Conway (D) by just five, 45% to 40%. Other recent polling has shown Paul with a larger lead.
* In Florida, a new Quinnipiac poll shows the self-financers trailing in their respective primaries. In the GOP gubernatorial race, state Attorney General Bill McCollum now leads disgraced former health insurance executive Rick Scott. 44% to 35%. In the Democratic Senate race, Rep. Kendrick Meek leads Jeff Greene, 35% to 28%.
* The latest survey from Public Policy Polling on Illinois’ Senate race shows Alexi Giannoulias (D) with a two-point edge over Rep. Mark Kirk (R), 37% to 35%.
* In Missouri’s Senate race, Public Policy Polling finds Rep. Roy Blunt (R) leading Secretary of State Robin Carnahan (D) by seven, 45% to 38%.
* Former Rep. Pat Toomey (R), the leading Senate candidate in Pennsylvania, fought for years to deregulate risky derivatives on Wall Street. This week, it’s starting to come back to haunt him.
* Rep. Zack Space (D-Ohio) continues to feel the heat from his former supporters after voting with Republicans against health care reform in March. The Service Employees International Union is launching a program, called “Skip-a-Space,” urging Democrats to withhold support from the incumbent.
* Former Rep. Rick Lazio (R), running for governor in New York this year, is now building his campaign strategy around hostility for a Muslim community center in lower Manhattan. By all appearances, it’s not working.
