Today’s installment of campaign-related news items that won’t necessarily generate a post of their own, but may be of interest to political observers:
* A new Associated Press study found South Carolina’s voter-ID law disproportionately prevents African-American voters from participating in elections. Try not to be surprised.
* A new AP-GfK poll shows Mitt Romney hanging on as the national leader in the Republican presidential race, leading Herman Cain by four points, 30% to 26%.
* The same AP-GfK poll shows President Obama leading each of the top GOP candidates, though as usual, Romney comes the closest, trailing by three points.
* Responding to criticism that his tax plan would hurt working families, Cain said yesterday he has a secret plan to “fix” his policy that he hasn’t “told the public” about yet. (Remember, Cain is supposed to be a real candidate for national office.)
* In Ohio, Public Policy Polling shows President Obama struggling with a low approval rating, and in a hypothetical match-up against Romney, the two are tied at 46% each.
http://www.publicpolicypolling.com/main/2011/10/obama-struggling-in-ohio.html
* Rep. Dennis Cardoza (D-Calif.) will announce his retirement today, avoiding a primary next year against his friend Rep. Jim Costa (D-Calif.) in California’s new 16th District.
* There’s growing talk that Nevada will move its caucus date, again, this time to February 4. If so, it will come as a great relief to New Hampshire, which is leading the charge for Nevada’s change.
* In Iowa, several GOP presidential hopefuls are hoping to get Sen. Chuck Grassley’s (R) endorsement, but they can all forget it. He announced yesterday that he won’t pick a favorite before the caucuses.
* And Texas Gov. Rick Perry hopes to get his Republican presidential campaign back on track when he unveils a flat-tax plan next week as part of a larger tax overhaul agenda.
