Daily Rundown: 6/24/10

AZ-Sen: A new Magellan Strategies poll finds Sen. John McCain (R) with a much bigger lead over former Rep. J.D. Hayworth (R) in the GOP primary than previous polls have found. According to the survey, McCain leads Hayworth by 23 points, 52% to 29%. The last two polls of the race found McCain up by 11 and 12 points, respectively, and McCain was under the 50% watermark in both.

NV-Sen: A new Rasmussen poll finds former Assemblywoman Sharron Angle (R) leading Sen. Harry Reid (D) 48% to 41%. Their poll from right after her primary victory found her up by 11 points, and there has been no other public polling of the race since then. Meanwhile, Reid is up with a new ad calling Angle "just too extreme" for Nevada. The ad slams Angle for wanting to wipe out social security (and calling it a form of welfare) and medicare.

NC-Sen: Rasmussen finds a very close race between Secretary of State Elaine Marshall (D) and Sen. Richard Burr (R) in the first public poll after Marshall won the Democratic primary. The poll finds Burr leading Marshall by only one point, 44% to 43%. Their last poll had Burr up by 14 (!) points. Before the Marshall camp gets too excited over this, Rasmussen has a reputation for finding big bumps for candidates after they win a primary (see: Rand Paul and Sharron Angle). PPP, meanwhile, found Burr with a 7-point lead earlier this month.

IA-Gov: Former Gov. Terry Branstad (R), the GOP nominee for governor, picked state Sen. Kim Reynolds (R) as his running mate earlier today. Reynolds is well-liked by state conservatives, which is important because Branstad doesn't have the best relationship with the conservative base of his party. Branstad was under considerable pressure to pick conservative activist Bob Vander Plaats (R), his defeated primary rival, as his running mate. Vander Plaats still hasn't endorsed Branstad, and has floated the idea of running as an independent, which would siphon off a good deal of votes on Branstad's right. There's also word that he might try to challenge Branstad's pick at the GOP nominating convention this weekend.

TX-Gov: Bill Clinton, who seems to be a much bigger campaign booster than Barack Obama these days, endorsed former Houston Mayor Bill White (D) today. He framed the election as a choice between "between a proven, mainstream public servant, Bill White, and one of the most strident, divisive political figures in the nation," referring to White's opponent, incumbent Gov. Rick Perry (R). Recent polling confirms that White is one of the few Democrats that has a real shot at knocking off a Republican incumbent this cycle.

VT-Gov: A new Rasmussen poll of Vermont's open gubernatorial contest finds Lt. Gov. Brian Dubie (R) leading all five Democratic candidates in a general election match-up. Secretary of State Deb Markowitz (D) appears to be the strongest general election candidate in the Democratic field, only trailing Dubie 47% to 40%, while her no other Democrat comes within 16 points of the Republican.

MA-10: Former Quincy Mayor James Sheets says he's going to run as independent for the seat left open by retiring Rep. Bill Delahunt (D). This move hurts the eventual Democratic nominee (either state Sen. Robert O'Leary or Norfolk County District Attorney William Keating), as Sheets used to be a Democrat.

PA-11: Rep. Paul Kanjorski (D) appeared to make a racist comment Wednesday at the financial reform conference committee. Said Kanjorski: “We're giving relief to people that I deal with in my office every day now unfortunately. But because of the longevity of this recession, these are people — and they're not minorities and they're not defective and they're not all the things you'd like to insinuate that these programs are about — these are average, good American people." Kanjorski's opponent, Hazelton Mayor Lou Barletta (R), and the NRCC pounced on these comments immediately, saying “Kanjorski’s candid moment reveals a mentality that goes against American values and traditions. The fact that he does not believe minorities are ‘average, good American people’ uncovers a harsh inequity that has no place today, never mind at the seat of government."