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.
* A bizarre trend, largely limited to GOP candidates: “They’re ducking public events, refusing to publicize the ones they do hold and skipping debates and national TV interviews altogether — out of fear of a gotcha moment that will come back to haunt them.”
* In Colorado’s U.S. Senate race, a new survey from Public Policy Polling shows appointed Sen. Michael Bennet (D) inching past right-wing challenger Ken Buck (R), 46% to 45%. Most recent polling has shown Buck with a modest lead.
* In Connecticut’s U.S. Senate race, a new survey from Public Policy Polling shows state A.G. Richard Blumenthal (D) leading scandal-plagued wrestling executive Linda McMahon (R), 53% to 41%. The poll comes with news that McMahon has new attack ads, going after Blumenthal on the Vietnam issue.
* In New York’s gubernatorial race, a new Siena poll shows Andrew Cuomo (D) enjoying a 24-point lead over Carl Paladino (R), 56% to 32%, as a majority of New Yorkers come to the conclusion that Paladino “is a loose cannon, who doesn’t have the temperament to be governor.”
* In Illinois, a new Suffolk poll shows incumbent Gov. Pat Quinn (D), who’s been trailing for months, opening up a modest lead over Bill Brady (R), 43% to 37%. The same poll shows Rep. Mark Kirk (R) narrowly leading Alexi Giannoulias (D) in the U.S. Senate race, 42% to 41%.
* Though some recent polling in Ohio’s gubernatorial race has shown Gov. Ted Strickland (D) within striking distance, a new Quinnipiac poll shows him trailing John Kasich (R), 50% to 41%. For what it’s worth, the nine-point gap is better than the 17-point deficit Quinnipiac showed a couple of weeks ago.
* Is John Raese, the far-right Republican candidate for the U.S. Senate in West Virginia, a resident of West Virginia? It’s a debatable point.
* In her first television ad of the cycle, extremist Senate candidate Christine O’Donnell (R) of Delaware tells voters, “I’m not a witch.” Good to know.
* And in Texas’ gubernatorial race, former Houston Mayor Bill White (D) is slamming incumbent Gov. Rick Perry for more than $16 million in state technology grants that Perry’s administration awarded to companies run by top Perry campaign donors. Perry is also being slammed by his own media allies for being too much of a coward to debate White before the election.
