• MA-Sen: Now we know the dates for the special election to fill the seat left behind by Ted Kennedy. Deval Patrick set the dates as Dec. 8 for the primary (which will be the real focus in this dark blue state) and Jan. 19 for the general. Meanwhile, while many possible contenders are waiting to see what Joe Kennedy II does, it looks like AG Martha Coakley (who has been sizing up a Senate run for years) isn’t wasting any time. One of her representatives picked up filing papers today.
• FL-Sen: It shouldn’t be a surprise that Marco Rubio didn’t like Charlie Crist’s pick of George LeMieux as interim Senator, since approximately nobody liked it. Rubio takes to NRO to say he would have picked conservative Orlando-area state Sen. Dan Webster instead (who could still surface as a candidate in FL-08).
• IL-Sen: Cheryle Jackson, president of Chicago’s Urban League, hasn’t gotten much attention yet in the Democratic primary. However, she just got several noteworthy endorsements, from Rep. Bobby Rush and the Cook County Democratic Women Organization.
• NC-Sen: Maybe Rep. Bob Etheridge is moving toward a Senate run after all? He just launched a blistering salvo toward Richard Burr over health care reform in a DNC conference call today, attacking Burr’s “Patients Choice Act” counterproposal. Etheridge wouldn’t say anything about his intentions for 2010, though.
• NY-Sen-B: Somehow the New York Post got the ball rolling on the idea of an Eliot Spitzer comeback, either with a run for Comptroller or even Kirsten Gillibrand’s Senate seat. Spitzer quickly acted today to dispel the idea.
• SC-Sen: Democrats are back to the drawing board on a challenger for Jim DeMint. State Sen. Bradley Hutto had sounded very interested, but announced over the weekend that he won’t run. Lawyer and former Fritz Holling aide Ashley Cooper is about the only other credible name on tap.
• NJ-Gov: The police department of Lambertville, NJ – the town where Chris Christie got seemingly preferential treatment after he was pulled over for speeding back in 2005 – says that their director is “no longer returning media calls.” Sketchy, huh? Christie’s varying tales about what exactly happened at that stop aren’t helping him, either. He’s now claiming that his identity as US Attorney only came up during the incident because the tow-truck driver recognized him. Shah, right. (D)
• SC-Gov: Seems like Mark Sanford’s up to his 10th or 11th life already. After rumors that the legislature was ready to do a special session to impeach him, now the state GOP is saying it’s not ready to issue an ultimatum letter threatning impeachment (although they throw the door open to any lawmakers wanting to draft the legislation individually).
• MO-04: It’s not unusual for a challenger to have nice things he said about an incumbent thrown back in his face. But this is kind of an extreme case: GOP state Sen. Bill Stouffer, chasing 33-year Rep. Ike Skelton in the 4th, has not only called Skelton “an outstanding advocate for the people of west-central Missouri and the state as a whole” but said it while sponsoring legislation to name a bridge after Skelton.
• NY-19: Republican Assemblyman Greg Ball continues to impress, well, at least Pete Sessions; he just got named to the “On the Radar” part of the NRCC’s “Young Guns” program. He’s running against sophomore Rep. John Hall in this R+3 district.
• NY-23: Looks like Conservative Party candidate Doug Hoffman is gaining some traction, seeing as Republican nominee Dede Scozzafava has started attacking him in the press. This could bode well for Democrat Bill Owens – back in 2004, in a state Senate race in the same part of New York, Dem David Valesky snuck through with a narrow win after a Conservative candidate helped split the right-wing vote in the district. (D)
• WI-05: Best wishes for a speedy recovery for Wisconsin’s Rep. Jim Sensenbrenner, who has been diagnosed with treatable, early stage prostate cancer.
Suggests that Meehan is out. Joe II in?
NY-Sen-B: Spitzer shouldn’t run for Senate, but he should – eventually – run for something. The guy still has a lot to contribute, though one would hope he’s learned a few lessons in common sense in the last few years. Statewide voters aren’t going to forgive him for a while, but there are plenty of large cities he could probably become mayor of that need his caliber of leadership skills. Or he could pull a Weld and run for Governor of Massachusetts (j/k).
WI-05: I have no desire to see Sensenbrenner dead and wish him the best for his recovery, but I sincerely hope this forces him into retirement. After his draconian abuses of power as chairman of the House Judiciary committee and author of the PATRIOT Act and REAL ID act, guys like him have no business being anywhere near Congress. Even a Republican backbencher would be an improvement.
Yesterday, I got a call from some research organization I had never heard of. The woman asked me a series of questions about New York politics, and then read a series of endorsement statements about David Yassky for New York City Comptroller and asked me whether they were more likely to make me vote for him. I accused her of push-polling, and she claimed that they randomly test respondents on different candidates and that other people are read endorsement statements on the other candidates, but I should have asked her who paid the organization to do the poll. Later in the call, she read a statement by Yassky and asked whether it was more or less likely to make me vote for him. Do you think Yassky is doing push-polling, and if so, why? And did any of the rest of you receive such a call?
New numbers from PPP.
McDonnell – 49
Deeds – 42
This was taken before McDonnell’s senior thesis was leaked, so the race may be even closer.
It looks like Deeds is firming up his base. His numbers among African Americans have increased from 64% to 81%, and the 52-41 gap in favor of McCain among those likely to vote in 2009 has dropped to 49-45.
AG numbers still look pretty grim with Kookinelli leading Steve Shannon 48-35.
Bolling’s lead has narrowed to 46-40.
Does it diminish the credibility of a Rush endorsement that he endorsed Blair Hull over Barack Obama?
Or that his personal finances are a disaster and anybody with deep pockets can buy his endorsement? Only, Rush’s endorsement is so worthless, nobody with deep pockets bothers.