TUESDAY’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:
* It took longer than expected, but Republican Tom Foley conceded Connecticut’s gubernatorial race yesterday after narrowly losing to Gov.-elect Dan Malloy (D). To his credit, Foley told reporters, “The election on Tuesday was a conclusive victory for Dan Malloy, and this result should not be questioned.”
* In Minnesota’s gubernatorial race, Republican Tom Emmer, narrowly trailing Democrat Mark Dayton, will not be waiving a statewide automatic hand recount.
* In the state of Washington, Rep. Rick Larsen (D) was declared the winner of his re-election bid yesterday, defeating Republican challenger John Koster with 51% of the vote.
* In Virginia, Rep. Gerald Connolly’s (D) confidence over the weekend about re-election turned out to be right — his GOP challenger will concede defeat today in the state’s 11th congressional district.
* For those keeping track, there are now seven unresolved U.S. House races: California’s 11th and 20th districts, Kentucky’s 6th, Illinois’ 8th, New York’s 1st and 25th, and Texas’ 27th. All seven are currently held by Dems.
* With Rep. Chris Van Hollen (D-Md.) stepping down after two terms as head of the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee, the race is on to replace him. The Washington Post reports that Rep. Steve Israel of New York “appears to have the inside track.”
* On a per-vote basis, Sharron Angle’s Senate campaign in Nevada was the most expensive in the country: she spent $97 a vote. A close second was Linda McMahon’s Senate campaign in Connecticut, with her per vote average just 47 cents cheaper than Angle’s.
* There seems to be little doubt that former New York Gov. George Pataki (R) is running for president in 2012.
* And in a poll that will likely push Sen. Orrin Hatch (R) even further to the right, a new Mason-Dixon survey in Utah shows a plurality of voters (48%) believe it’s time to replace the long-time incumbent.
