Thursday, May 27, 2010

Daily Rundown: 5/27/10

AR-Sen: A new Research 2000 poll of the June 8 primary run-off finds Lt. Gov. Bill Halter (D) leading Sen. Blanche Lincoln 47% to 44%, within the margin of error. Lincoln, after running as a centrist in the primary, is now darting to the left for the run-off claiming that she is an Obama Democrat (whatever that means). Both candidates trail GOP nominee Rep. John Boozman in the general election.

CT-Sen
: Sen. Joe Lieberman (I) says he's open to supporting Republican nominee Linda McMahon (R) in the general election. His support for McMahon could further infuriate the Connecticut Democratic Party, which already has a sour relationship with the former Democrat.

NV-Sen: One-time Republican front-runner Sue Lowden dodged a question on whether she thought the 1964 Civil Rights Act should apply to private businesses. This question proved be a huge embarrassment for Kentucky senate candidate Rand Paul (R) last week. Lowden later put out a statement clarifying, "I want voters to know that I strongly support all aspects of the Civil Rights Act, just as I strongly believe it applies to my private business and all others." Republicans need to be careful not to piss off too many minorities (see: Arizona immigration law), or they might just get enthusiastic about voting for Democrats in what should be a favorable year for them.

CA-Gov: A new PPP poll shows Attorney General Jerry Brown (D) leading both Republican hopefuls in the general election. Brown leads Meg Whitman (R) 48% to 36% and Steve Poizner 48% to 32%. This can probably be attributed to the nasty tone that the GOP primary has taken, driving up the negatives of both Whitman and Poizner.

NM-Gov
: Two polls show Don Ana County District Attorney Susana Martinez leading the pack for the GOP nomination. A New Mexico Politics poll has her up 41-30 over former state GOP chair Allen Weh, and a Survey USA poll has her up 43-33. The polls also show that she would be the strongest general election candidate against Lt. Gov. Diane Denish (D).

SC-Gov: The controversy over the alleged affair between blogger Will Folks and Republican gubernatorial candidate Nikki Haley continues to dominate coverage of the the GOP primary. Folks says he does not know when the rest of the details of the alleged "inappropriate physical relationship" will surface. Haley has categorically denied the relationship, whose existence has yet to be proven. It'll be interesting to see if this affects Haley's status as the front-runner in the primary. Meanwhile, Dick Cheney just endorsed one of her rivals, Rep. Gresham Barrett.

AR-01: Chad Causey (D), who is competing in a June 8 run-off against the more conservative former state Sen. Tim Woolridge (D), was endorsed by two of his former rivals. Causey, the chief of staff of retiring Rep. Marion Berry (D), finished second to Woolridge in the May 18 primary, but this could be the necessary boost to put him over the top.

GA-12
: House Majority Whip Jim Clyburn (D-SC) is paying a campaign visit to Rep. John Barrow (D-GA) to talk about the merits of the landmark health care legislation passed earlier this year. The only problem is Barrow didn't vote for the bill. Is this just a massive miscommunication between the two or is Clyburn trying to weaken the conservative Barrow's chance of winning the Democratic primary against the more liberal former state Sen. Regina Thomas?

NC-08: Businessman Tim D'Annunzio (R) is losing support from the same local tea party groups that helped him with his fist-place finish in the May 4 primary. After allegations of serious past criminal activity, drug use, and declaring himself to be a prophet (among other ridiculous things), these tea party groups are throwing their support to former broadcaster Harold Johnson (R) in the June 22 run-off.

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