WEDNESDAY’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 looks like the U.S. Senate race in Alaska is just about done with Sen. Lisa Murkowski (R) taking a 10,400-vote lead over Joe Miller (R). There are still 8,153 ballots Miller’s team is challenging, but they wouldn’t be enough to give him a victory.
* As of this morning, though, Miller was still questioning the tally. He suggested a statewide hand-recount may be in order.
* Rep. Melissa Bean (D) conceded defeat yesterday, after final tallies showed Rep.-elect Joe Walsh (R) with a 291-vote lead. Overall, the net gain for House Republicans in the midterms now stands at 61 seats.
* Sen. John Ensign (R) will apparently seek re-election in Nevada, unless he’s imprisoned for his corruption scandal, which would probably interfere with his campaign schedule.
* To say that Republican leaders on the Hill want Michael Steele replaced as RNC chairman would appear to be an understatement.
* It seems awfully early to look at polls for a race that’s two years away, but for what it’s worth, a new survey in Virginia from Public Policy Polling shows Sen. Jim Webb (D) leading former Sen. George Allen (R) in a hypothetical match-up, 49% to 45%. Webb, of course, has not yet said whether he intends to seek a second term, but Allen has made no secret of his comeback intentions.
* Perhaps the most sought after GOP endorsement in Iowa’s presidential caucuses is failed former gubernatorial candidate Bob Vander Plaats’, who’s creating a right-wing organization in the Hawkeye State.
