MONDAY’S CAMPAIGN ROUND-UP…. Today’s installment of campaign-related news items that wouldn’t necessarily generate a post of their own, but may be of interest to political observers:
* President Obama and First Lady Michelle Obama appeared at a huge “Moving America Forward” rally in Columbus, Ohio, yesterday, drawing 35,000 attendees according to local law enforcement.
* The Republican Party distanced itself from Nazi-reenacting House candidate Rich Iott last week, but House Minority Leader John Boehner’s (R-Ohio) political action committee continues to support Iott financially.
* In September, the National Republican Senatorial Committee raised $8.3 million, while the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee raised $15.5 million over the same period. The Dems entered October leading when it comes to cash on hand, $25.6 million to $19.2 million.
* The Senate debate in Kentucky last night between Jack Conway (D) and Rand Paul (R) was quite ugly, capped by Paul’s refusal to shake Conway’s hand.
* The Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee didn’t expect to have to worry about Reps. Jim Costa (Calif.) and Raul Grijalva (Ariz.). That’s suddenly changed.
* Rush Limbaugh endorsed West Virginia’s John Raese’s (R) Senate campaign the other day, noting that the two are both members of the same exclusive golf club in South Florida. Oddly enough, that helps reinforce the Democrats’ message surprisingly well.
* On a related note, because the Raese family doesn’t live in West Virginia, the Senate candidate’s wife will not be able to legally vote for him this year.
* In a poll that sent shivers down the spine of many Democrats, the latest Reuters poll showed Sen. Barbara Boxer (D) leading Carly Fiorina (R) in California’s U.S. Senate race by just one point, 46% to 45%.
* The same poll showed Jerry Brown (D) leading Meg Whitman (R) in California’s gubernatorial race, 48% to 44%.
* In the state of Washington, Sen. Patty Murray (D) leads Dino Rossi (R) in the latest Washington Post poll, 50% to 42%.
* In New York’s gubernatorial race, a new New York Times poll shows Andrew Cuomo (D) leading Carl Paladino (R) by 35 points, 59% to 24%.
* And in Pennsylvania’s gubernatorial race, the latest Magellan Strategies poll shows Tom Corbett (R) continuing to lead Dan Onorato (D), 48% to 38%.
