THURSDAY’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:
* Federal law-enforcement officials have launched a criminal investigation into Christine O’Donnell’s (R) failed U.S. Senate campaign in Delaware. The allegations are focused on evidence that the extremist candidate used campaign funds for person use.
* In response, O’Donnell, one of the most radical statewide candidates in recent memory, argued that the investigation is the result of an elaborate conspiracy involving the FBI, George Soros, both major parties in Delaware, Vice President Biden, and disgruntled former aides. All of them got together, O’Donnell said, to undermine her “political reputation.”
* In Alaska, Joe Miller (R) will host a press conference tomorrow to announce whether to continue his ridiculous legal fight. Miller who lost to Sen. Lisa Murkowski’s (R) write-in re-election bid, has gone 0-for-4 in the courts thus far.
* Due to population shifts, Ohio is poised to lose two congressional seats. Once the redistricting process is complete, Rep. Dennis Kucinich (D) fears one of the eliminated seats will be his. The liberal, Cleveland-area lawmaker hopes to rally supporters to prevent that outcome.
* Republican National Committee members will pick their party chair next month, and the early favorite appears to be Wisconsin GOP Chairman Reince Priebus, though a majority of the 168 members on the committee are still undecided.
* Public Policy Polling’s latest report shows approval ratings for governors likely to seek re-election over the next two years. The most popular incumbents appear to be Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal (R) and Delaware Gov. Jack Markell (D). The least popular is Christine Gregoire (D) in the state of Washington.
* When it comes to Sen. Olympia Snowe’s (R) 2012 re-election campaign in Maine, most of the attention is focused on who’ll challenge the incumbent in a Republican primary. But what about Maine Democrats? Rosa Scarcelli (D), the CEO of an affordable-housing agency, said this week she’s interested in the race, and might run if Snowe moves to the right or it appears likely Snowe will lose to a primary challenger.
