Tag: Mitt Romney

By: Inoljt, http://thepolitikalblog.wordpr…

Democratic candidates in Utah must feel as if they’re facing an impossible task. The state is often considered the most far-right Republican stronghold in the United States. Winning Utah is akin to slaying a mighty dragon with only a bow as one’s chosen weapon.

Like all dragons, however, Utah has a weak spot. The year 2012 may be a ripe time for Obama to shoot an arrow through it.

The majority of Utah’s voters are Mormon; the religion is a heavy influence on daily life in the state. The vast majority of Mormons are also conservative, because Mormonism is an inherently conservative beast. In every presidential election so far, Mormons have proved to be strongly Republican.

Mormons like to think of themselves as average, normal Americans. They’re good people. They help with the community. They love their children and teach them traditional values. Nobody cares if they have a different religion.

Except many people do care very much indeed, especially the type of person who tends to vote Republican. Many would never vote for a Mormon.

Imagine the following scenario, below the flip.

Mitt Romney decides to runs for president in 2012 and starts as the front-runner. The race quickly narrows down to Romney and another Republican – perhaps a Huckabee-type figure. Romney’s Mormonism becomes a strong undercurrent and then explodes into the media spotlight, much like race did in the 2008 Democratic primary. It becomes clear that Romney is losing support because of his religion; eventually he loses the primary and ends up faintheartedly endorsing the Republican nominee. The good folk of Utah, angered by Romney’s treatment, turn out in drastically reduced numbers during the general election. Many vote for Obama – enough that, in an election he’s winning by 10% or so – he barely takes the state.

An unlikely scenario? Not really. First, Romney seems nearly certain to run in 2012; even now he is running a shadow campaign. In 2008, Mormonism was a strong undercurrent; Romney even gave a speech on his religion. There is no reason to think why it wouldn’t be in 2012. I doubt Mitt Romney will win the nomination in a competitive race; apart from his Mormonism, he is a terrible politician who lost all the important states in the 2008 primary (except for Michigan, which he won by promising to bring back jobs that will never come back).

On the other hand, its not certain that the media will pick up on the Mormon issue. And Republicans are strong enough in Utah that they might still win the state, even if all the above did occur.

Then again, Obama won Indiana when everybody said it couldn’t be done. Moreover, in 2008 he made strong gains in Utah, improving by 18% from John Kerry’s performance. Partly, this is probably because Obama is very popular in the West.

And maybe, just maybe, the Mormon factor had something to do with it.

• CA-Sen: We’re starting to get fundraising reports filtering in, via the media and the rumor mill. And one of the most eyebrow-raising numbers comes from Assemblyman Chuck DeVore, of all places: he pulled in $330K in the third quarter, leaving him sitting on over $700K. He’s been given afterthought status as the NRSC and tradmed have rushed to fawn over Carly Fiorina, but his seeming success at tapping movement conservative wallets indicates that he won’t be going away quietly.

• FL-Sen: When you have so many people giving you money, a few of them are bound to be very bad apples…. Alan Mendelsohn, a prominent eye doctor and chief fundraiser for the Florida Medical Association PAC, was also a key financial backer of Charlie Crist and a member of his transition team. Yesterday he was charged by a federal grand jury with mail and wire fraud, aiding and abetting fraud, and lying to federal agents.

• IL-Sen: Maybe Mike Ditka doesn’t have the same iconic power that he used to, but if he does, then upstart GOP primary challenger Patrick Hughes got a really big get. The former coach of da Bears endorsed Hughes, who seems to be coalescing most of the hard-right, anti-Mark Kirk sentiment in the Senate primary.

• MA-Sen: More showy fundraising numbers out of Massachusetts, where everyone is scrambling for money in view of the primary election a few months away. Most notable is AG Martha Coakley, whose only real weakness seemed to be a lack of money (as she already has statewide name rec, is the only woman in the race, and a big edge in the polls). That’s a weakness no longer, as she raised $2.1 million in less than a month. By contrast, Rep. Michael Capuano raised only $300K in that period; even with the $1.2 mil in his House account, his one advantage — money — has now vaporized. The big surprise is City Year founder Alan Khazei, who raised $1 million in just a week after a late start to his candidacy; the question is whether he can convert that into a decent share of the vote. Celtics co-owner Steven Pagliuca raised only $200K, but can dip into his own money to advertise.

• NV-Sen: A long but must-read piece from the NYT looks at the tangled web between John Ensign and the Hampton family. Most significantly, it looks like Ensign not only went further than previously thought in trying to line up a job for Doug Hampton (the mistress’s husband) but then used his governmental power to do favors for Hampton’s new employer, Allegiant Air — certainly a violation of Senate ethics rules. And this is the Ensign that new GOP golden girl Sue Lowden was trying to circle the wagons around, even long after most of the rest of the local GOP had decided he was better served under the bus.

• NY-Gov: This is interesting: Mitt Romney is moving to back ex-Rep. Rick Lazio in the governor’s race and hosting a Lazio fundraiser. Since polls show Lazio getting completely flattened by Rudy Giuliani if they face off in a gubernatorial primary, Romney’s expenditure of political capital is either a) a sign that insiders are pretty well aware that Giuliani won’t be getting into the governor’s race after all, or else b) a repayment for Lazio’s backing in the 2008 prez primary and a thumb-in-the-eye for primary rival Giuliani.

• GA-12: More news out of the 12th: Wayne Mosley, a wealthy doctor and the NRCC’s recruit in the race thanks to his self-funding capacity (in fact, one of their top recruits in the nation, if you believe Mosely himself), had to drop out of the race. Mosely is being sued by his hospital for breach of contract, and apparently that’s taking up all his time and money. That leaves Thunderbolt Fire Chief Carl Smith and activist Jeanne Seaver as options to go up against Blue Dog Dem Rep. John Barrow.

• HI-01: Here’s some good news for those of us who’d like to see the House stay nice and Ed Case-free: state Senate president Colleen Hanabusa is getting in the race for the Democratic nomination for the open seat in the 1st being vacated by Neil Abercrombie. Hanabusa’s main opponent looks like it will be ex-Rep. Ed Case, who beat Hanabusa in the 2002 race in HI-02; the progressive Hanabusa may have better odds against the moderate Case this time, as Case alienated a lot of the local party with an ill-advised primary challenge to Sen. Dan Akaka in 2006.

• MO-03: Rep. Russ Carnahan picked up a Republican opponent: attorney Ed Martin. The 3rd is a D+7 district that has presented Carnahan with little trouble in the past.

• NY-23: Dede Scozzafava finally hit the TV airwaves with a new ad, leading the polls but lagging both her opponents in the battle for the airwaves. Also, check out Robert Harding’s thorough examination at the Albany Project of Scozzafava’s not-so-liberal actual voting record in the Assembly, if you’re looking for a counterpoint to yesterday’s Daily Kos piece about Scozzafava.

• SD-AL: Republican state Rep. Blake Curd, a Sioux Falls surgeon, is the first opponent to officially get in the race against Rep. Stephanie Herseth Sandlin. Secretary of State Chris Nelson is still considering the race, though, and given his statewide profiel seems like he’d be likelier to win the GOP primary if he got in.

• VA-10: Rep. Frank Wolf, the Republican dean of the Virginia delegation, has picked up a Democratic challenger in the form of attorney Patrick Lewis. Demographics are quickly moving this NoVa suburban/exurban district in the Democratic direction (it’s up to R+2 now), but Wolf has the kind of personal staying power that makes Lewis’s challenge an uphill fight.

• OH-SoS: Bad news out of the Ohio Secretary of State race (on the short list as one of the nation’s most important downballot statewide offices): Franklin County Commissioner Marilyn Brown decided to end her bid for the Democratic nomination, preferring instead to run for re-election. While this may spare the Dems a contested primary, this leaves only the much more conservative state Rep. Jennifer Garrison in the race, which may leave the base unenthused for the general election.

• ME-Init: Democracy Corps has a poll out on the anti-gay marriage ballot measure in Maine. They find 41% “yes” and 50% “no.” (Remember, as with California’s Prop 8, a “yes” vote is a vote against gay marraige.) These numbers are slightly better than the near-even split an R2K poll found a couple of weeks ago. But as Markos notes, D-Corps tested registered voters, while R2K looked at likely voters. (D)

Having had some time to let the passing of Ted Kennedy sink in, speculation inevitably turns to who succeeds him (and when). There hasn’t been an open Senate seat in Massachusetts since 1984, so there’s a backlog of long-time Representatives with huge bank accounts all trying to crash the door at the same time… and with a mid-term special election meaning no one would have to give up a safe seat to run, expect a lot of people running.

While Massachusetts currently has a system where there is no gubernatorial appointment but rather a mid-term special election (a result of a legislative change passed in 2004 to prevent Mitt Romney from appointing a Republican successor to John Kerry), there is now a push to update the law to a system more like what is done in Texas: a short-term appointment until the special election can be held. This was suggested by Kennedy himself in a letter released a week prior to his death (which met some initial resistance last week), but with Democrats painfully aware that Kennedy’s absence leaves Senate Democrats at 59 and at least one vote short on a health care reform cloture vote, momentum is building for a quick post-Labor Day vote that would change the law again to allow for the short-term appointment. Governor Deval Patrick said on MSNBC that he would sign such a bill, and state House Speaker Robert DeLeo has given it his tacit approval.

Roll Call suggests that, if this passes, the short-term appointee is unlikely to be someone who would contest the special election. They point to former Governor (and Presidential candidate) Michael Dukakis as a likely appointee; he has already given assurances that he will not run in the special.

The next question is: what’s the timetable on the special election? It doesn’t seem like any changes to the law regarding interim appointment will involve changes to the special election timetable. The Hill calculates:

The special election must be held between 145 and 160 days after the vacancy occurs. Since Kennedy died late Tuesday, that puts the window between Jan. 17 and Feb. 1. Holding the race on a Tuesday, a traditional Election Day, would mean Jan. 18, Jan. 25 or Feb. 1.

So who runs, among the Democrats, in the special? Speculation centers on as many as five of the state’s ten Democratic House members, and two former House members as well.

Rep.	District	Age	CoH
Ed Markey	MA-07	63	$2.89 mil
Richard Neal	MA-02	60	$2.5 mil
Stephen Lynch	MA-09	54	$1.39 mil
John Tierney	MA-06	57	$1.29 mil
Michael Capuano	MA-08	57	$1.2 mil
Martin Meehan	was MA-05	52	$4.8 mil
Joe Kennedy II	was MA-08	56	$1.7 mil

One high-profile House member who has already indicated that he won’t run is Barney Frank. The 69-year-old Frank is at the pinnacle of his power as House Financial Services Chair. Ed Markey is a something of a question mark; he’s also one of the most powerful House members, as a 33-year veteran and chair of the Energy and Environment Subcommittee of the Energy and Commerce Committee, making it less likely he’d be willing to give up his gavel… but there’s also no question he’s been stockpiling money for this very contingency for many years.

The remaining members of the House delegation are 72-year-old John Olver (considered a likely retiree soon), 68-year-old Bill Delahunt, 63-year-old Niki Tsongas (who just got to the House), and 49-year-old Jim McGovern. McGovern, based in Worcester’s MA-03, is sitting only only $536K, which apparently isn’t enough for prognosticators to consider him a likely candidate.

Former Reps Meehan and Kennedy are also question marks. Meehan has by far the most money of anyone, and has been sitting on it in miserly fashion since leaving the House to become chancellor of UMass-Lowell. Although he’s reportedly happily ensconced in his new job, his hunger for a Senate seat while still in the House was palpable, and the fact that he’s still hoarding his cash is a red flag. Kennedy has a huge intangible advantage, perhaps a field-clearing one, in that, well, he’s a Kennedy, and there’s understandable sentiment about keeping at least one Kennedy in the Senate. Kennedy, however, has been out of office for a while, and a subsequent ugly divorce and controversy of Venezuelan oil deals may cast a bit of a shadow over him. (Plus, more generally, the Kennedy name may not have the iconic power it used to, as seen in the Caroline Kennedy and Chris Kennedy flameouts this year, as well as the 2002 loss of Kathleen Kennedy Townsend.)

There are two other non-House, female candidates who could make the race. One is Kennedy’s widow, Vicki Kennedy, who hasn’t held office but could be a sentimental favorite; however, indications are that she isn’t interested in running (although she could be another possible short-term appointee). The other is AG Martha Coakley, who has had her eye on the Senate seat for some time, polling the race several times. While she doesn’t have a big stash of federal dollars like the other candidates (she has only $144K), she would bring something of a demographic advantage to the race by being the only woman, as well as the only statewide official. Coakley has been quick to hit cable TV in the last couple days.

There must be some Republicans to run, right? What passes for GOP top talent in the Bay State (Christy Mihos, Charlie Baker) is already looking at the Governor’s race, where they’ve been historically more successful and where Patrick is unpopular. That leaves former Lt. Gov. (and 2006 gubernatorial loser) Kerry Healey, former US Attorney Michael Sullivan, former Ambassador Chris Egan, state Senator Scott Brown, former Justice Dept. official Wayne Budd, and businessman David Sukoff as GOPers who’ve been mentioned. Former Bush CoS Andy Card, and Jim Ogonowski, who ran well in the MA-05 special election, are reportedly not interested.

There’s one other name being floated: former Governor Mitt Romney. To most observers, that’s comical, considering that Romney a) is busy running for President, and won’t want to get involved in the relatively small ball time-suck of the Senate, and b) didn’t run for re-election as Massachusetts Governor because he would have had his ass handed to him, after veering to the right in order to prep for his Prez run and repeatedly dissing his own state while doing so. US News’s delusional Peter Roff still sounds hopeful, saying that the fact that being in the Senate would help Romney prove his conservative bona fides — but offering no evidence for Romney’s electability in Massachusetts other than his 100% name ID.

Meanwhile, there’s one other entirely separate game of musical chairs: Senate committee assignments. Kennedy was chair of Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions (or HELP), one of the two key Senate committees on health care reform. The acting chair of HELP while Kennedy was out has been Chris Dodd, who has been doing double-duty while also chairing Banking. The ball’s basically in Dodd’s court now: whether he wants to switch full-time to HELP, or go back to Banking. This actually impacts his re-election strategy, interestingly: does he go to HELP, and focus on building accomplishments there in order to distract from lingering dissatisfaction (not necessarily deserved, but either way, the perception is there, especially regarding the AIG bonuses) from his tenure at Banking? Or does he go back to Banking in order to show his constituents he’s focused on cleaning up the mess there? (State Sen. Sam Caligiuri, one of his minor GOP contenders, is already jumping on Dodd over possibly moving to HELP.)

So, if Dodd moves to HELP, that means Tim Johnson of South Dakota takes over Banking. However, the moderate Johnson is still slowed by his brain hemmorhage from several years past, and has been a low-key participant since then; he might defer to the 3rd in line, the much more liberal Jack Reed of Rhode Island, which would certainly improve our chances of robust re-regulation of Wall Street in the coming year.

On the other hand, if Dodd stays at Banking, Tom Harkin is 2nd in line at HELP. While Harkin certainly has had a stake in such issues, he may prefer to remain as chair of Agriculture, the defining issue in his state of Iowa. Either way, we’d then likely get the only female committee chair: if Harkin stays at Agriculture, 3rd in line to chair HELP would be Barbara Mikulski. If Harkin moves to HELP, the Ag order then goes Patrick Leahy (chair of Judiciary), Kent Conrad (chair of Budget), and Max Baucus (chair of Finance). It’s hard to see any of them wanting to give up those gavels, so next in line to lead Agriculture would be Arkansas’s Blanche Lincoln — which might give her something valuable to honk her horn about as she faces a potentially difficult re-election.

UPDATE (James L.): This shouldn’t be considered a surprise to anyone with their head properly screwed on, but Mittens says that he won’t run for Teddy’s seat.

• KY-Sen: Jim Bunning’s conference calls with reporters are always good for comedy gold, and his most recent one was no exception, as he heads further off the reservation and out into Howard Beale territory: he referred to Mitch McConnell as a “control freak,” and said he’d be better off without McConnell’s endorsement. He also challenged a reporter, who’d questioned his fitness to serve, to an arm-wrestling match.

• NY-Sen-B: Another primary challenger to Kirsten Gillibrand dropped out of the race, but unlike Steve Israel’s disappearance, this one barely made a ripple in the pond. Manhattan Borough President Scott Stringer said he’ll run for re-election instead, citing Barack Obama’s desire for a clear path (nothing about an actual phone call from the POTUS, though). Gillibrand is also starting to rack up endorsements from some of her former House colleagues — Maurice Hinchey and Yvette Clarke — as well as state Senate leader Malcolm Smith, Assemblyman Peter Rivera (who was one of her loudest opponents at first), and NARAL New York.

• MN-Sen: The NRSC has better places to spend its money (like trying to salvage NH-Sen, OH-Sen, and MO-Sen), but they’re giving $750,000 to help Norm Coleman with his legal bills in his prolonged fight to get back his seat (or at least keep it empty as long as possible). Meanwhile, Rasmussen now finds that Minnesotans want Coleman to concede right now, 54-41.

• MO-Sen: New (likely) entrant to the race Tom Schweich has wasted no time in lighting Rep. Roy Blunt up like a Christmas tree. Responding to Blunt’s criticisms of a one-time donation by Schweich to Claire McCaskill, Schweich referenced Blunt’s “vintage Washington-style smear campaign” and made fun of Blunt’s big poll gap against Robin Carnahan. How sad is it (for Blunt) that he’s having already playing defense against a never-elected law professor instead of Carnahan?

• UT-Sen: Bob Bennett, suddenly facing a likely primary challenge from AG Mark Shurtleff, got high-profile help from Mitt Romney, who cut a TV spot for Bennett. Bennett’s decision to spend big and spend now may be timed to encourage Shurtleff to think more about the 2010 governor’s race that also just materialized.

• MA-Sen: Harry Reid backed down today on yesterday’s comments that Ted Kennedy’s cancer is in remission and that he’ll be back in the Senate after Memorial Day. He said he’ll leave the timeline up to Kennedy and his doctors.

• OK-Sen: Tom Coburn told the Tulsa World that he’ll announce on June 1 what he’ll do with his political future. (Not sure if that’s real world June 1, or Mark Kirk June 1.)

• NY-Gov: Rasmussen takes their first look at the NY-Gov morass. No big surprises: David Paterson has 31/67 approvals. Paterson loses 58-30 to Rudy Giuliani and 47-33 to George Pataki, while Andrew Cuomo beats Giuliani 55-37 and Pataki 57-29. Meanwhile, the GOP is putting together a Plan B in the likelihood that, as recently rumored, Rudy doesn’t even show up; with Rick Lazio exciting nobody, they’re increasingly interested in Erie County Exec Chris Collins.

• WA-Gov: Yes, it’s never too early to start thinking about 2012. AG Rob McKenna, the only Republican who poses a real threat to Dems in this blue state, seems to be staffing up with an eye toward bigger electoral challenges, hiring Randy Pepple (a prominent Republican strategist) as his new chief of staff.

• TN-03: Robin Smith, Tennessee’s GOP chair, quit her job in order to focus full-time on exploring the TN-03 race (to replace the retiring Zach Wamp, running for Governor). Insiders view Smith as the likely frontrunner for the GOP nod; she faces Bradley Co. Sheriff Tim Gobble in the primary, and maybe state Sen. Bo Watson as well.

• GA-12: Another Republican is getting into the race against Rep. John Barrow in this rural Georgia district, despite Wayne Mosely’s made-up statistics that he’s one of the NRCC’s Top 3 recruits. Carl Smith is the fire chief and former city councilor of “Thunderbolt.” (Yes, it’s a real town. I checked the atlas.)

• WI-08: Rep. Steve Kagen also got another Republican challenger: Brown County Supervisor Andy Williams, who represents De Pere on the county board. Marc Savard (Door County Supervisor) is already in the race, so GOP voters will apparently think they’re choosing between an NHL player and the guy who sang “Moon River.”

• FL-AG: Bill Nelson is trying to broker a truce to avoid a three-way primary between state Sen. Dan Gelber, Rod Smith (’06 gube candidate) and state Sen. Dave Aronberg for the AG slot. This could be a pretty important downballot test for Dems here — if a Dem could win this race, they could be the star player of the farm team in Florida for quite some time. (J)

Obama-Biden: The Change We Need

McCain picking Romney: The Spare Change They Need

Whoa. The latest poll from SurveyUSA on the GOP presidential primary race in California shows Giulani’s lead having shrunk from 20% last month to just 2% a mere 5 days after Fred Thompson’s announcement on Jay Leno. If Thompson can pick off California, we could be moving a lot closer to a deadlocked GOP convention.

Obviously, this is just one poll, and it could be an outlier. All of us regular SSP readers know better than to jump to conclusions just yet. But to go from a 20% lead to a 2% lead with a 4.4% MOE strongly suggests something big could be going on here.

Crosstab analysis below the flip.

Thompson leads by 4% with men, but trails 12% with women. The partisan breakdown by gender is huge here: 63% of the likely GOP primary voters were men. Thompson remained completely flat with women since last month, while Romney gained 8% among women.

Among conservatives (58%), Thompson beats Giuliani 31% to 22% (with McCain and Romney trailing at 17% and 16% respectively). Moderates (33%) strongly go for Giuliani (40%). Thompson gains 8% with conservatives.

Blacks (3%) preferred Thompson to Giuliani 35% to 23%. Thompson gains 20% here, more than double his previous numbers.

Thompson leads by 1% among a crucial GOP voter segment, complete idiots people who think Global Warming is made-up, whereas more sensible GOP voters (relatively speaking here) prefer Giuliani by 5%.

76% of likely GOP voters oppose gay marriage, and they prefer Thompson by 1%

Gun owners prefer Thompson by 2%, the gunless go for Rudy by 7%.

Young voters prefer Rudy, and increasing agge correlates with increasing preference for Thompson.

Here’s a really odd one. Giuliani leads among Bush voters (85%) by 2%. Thompson leads among Kerry voters (7%) by 3%. However, those who think Bush is one of the Greatest American Presidents (26%) prefer Thompson by 2%, and those who think he is one of the worst (18%) prefer Giuliani by 6%.

So, why do we care? If Thompson wins CA and the South, and Romney wins the Mountain West, eastern New England, and gives a strong showing in the Midwest (winning IA, MI, and perhaps some of the Great Plains states), and Giuliani does his thing in the Mid-Atlantic, Illinois, and Swing States like FL, MO, OH, and CO, then we could be headed for a deadlocked contest that goes to the convention for a resolution. This would force the GOP candidates to spend money on the primaries rather than saving for the General election. It would also increase the chances of the GOP’s weakest candidate, Mitt Romney, getting nominated and then crushed by the Democratic nominee in the general.

Michigan Republicans are going ga-ga for native son Mitt Romney, according to the latest ARG poll.

Among 600 Republicans, former Gov. Mitt Romney (at 39%) leads former Mayor Rudy Giuliani (13%) and former Sen. Fred Thompson (12%) in a statewide primary; Sen. John McCain trails at 9%, former Speaker Newt Gingrich at 7%. All other candidates receive less than five percent each.

(h/t – Pollster)

Analysis below the flip.

If the Republicans nominate Romney, we will win the White House in 2008 easily – every head-to-head matchup shows Romney getting crushed. Do you think a Romney win is far-fetched? Looks at the GOP primary schedule so far (subject to change, obviously):

Wyoming, 1/5: No polling yet, but this is Mormon country. Romney will win here.
Iowa, 1/14: Romney leading by 10% in the latest poll.
Michigan, 1/15: Romney leading by 26%, and was born here.
Nevada, 1/19: Mormon territory. Romney leading by 10%.
South Carolina, 1/19: Trends are pointing towards a win for Thompson, but the most recent poll (ARG) has Giuliani up by 5. I predict Thompson will take it though.
New Hampshire, 1/22: Romney up by 4%

Of course, this will be followed by Florida, which will likely be a big win for Giuliani, and then Maine – the last time Maine was polled was in May, when McCain was still leading in New Hampshire. I think a strong performance in New Hampshire could lead to a Romney win in Maine. That would have Romney racking up double-digit victories in the first 3 contests, winning 5 of the first 6 states, and 6 of the first 8 states.

That’s a pretty strong position to head in to Super Tuesday, isn’t it? Now, granted, Giuliani is likely score major victories on Super Tuesday – California, New York, New Jersey, and Connecticut, for example, and probably Illinois and Colorado. It could also be a good day for Thompson, with wins in Alabama, Tennessee, Georgia, and possibly Missouri and Arkansas (if Huckabee drops). Romney will pick up Utah, and if McCain has dropped out, he could net Arizona as well. With the momentum he’s generated, could it make him competitive in Super Tuesday states that have not been polled (or not polled in the past 3 months) such as Minnesota, Delaware, West Virginia, Alaska, Oklahoma, and North Dakota?

Giuliani will certainly perform well in most of the biggest states in the union: CA, NY, FL, IL, PA, and NJ, with very strong numbers in the mid-atlantic region. Thompson’s powerbase will be in the mighty Southeast. If Thompson draws enough votes to win Virginia, Giuliani might not win enough delegates for a majority. In order to compete with Giuliani, Romney will need strong performances in the remaining 3 areas of the country: New England, the Midwest, and the West.

In New England, he’s leading in New Hampshire, and his connections as former Governor of Massachusetts combined with the collapse of the McCain campaign could help boost Romney over Giuliani. In the West, he has a strong Mormon base in UT, NV, ID, and WY (not to mention being CEO of the organizing committee for the Salt Lake City Olympics), and the latest polling puts him within 1% in Oregon and second place behind McCain in Arizona (New Mexico, Washington, and Colorado look like Giuliani zones for now). That leaves the rather underpolled Midwest – which is where Romney was born and leads in MI and IA. Could IN, MN, and the Great Plains follow suit? If Romney can exploit his midwestern roots (possibly with a little ethanol support added in), a Romney nomination might actually happen. And for us, that’s a Good Thing.

Public Policy Polling is out with another poll.  This one is huge, with a lot of results for us to talk about.

But, before I dive into details, check out this quick insert from the Indy Weekly of the Triangle:
 

Our tracking signals indicate that Dole rarely travels to North Carolina, whereas Miller seems to be in perpetual campaign motion there. And Republicans like Dole are out of favor for sticking so close to President Bush, are they not? We thus conclude that Miller would beat Dole like a tympanic skin-a drum, I believe you call it.

Ok, now that I have your attention, to the poll.  This poll (link at bottom) consisted of 800 likely voters pulled from the voter rolls.

First, lets hit on the big and simple numbers.
Bush’s approval in North Carolina is 37%, with 59% Disapproval.

This number has been fairly consistent for a while.  If anything this number is worse than it has been in the past.

Next up is Elizabeth Dole.

This poll has Dole’s approval rating at 48% approval and 40% disapproval.  Her numbers have been fluctuating at around +5%.  She might have grabbed a point or two because she killed the immigration bill (first thing she has accomplished in months), but I think this is just margin of error fluctuations.

Just for kicks PPP did a matchup poll between Dole and each of the Democratic candidates for Governor.  Dole leads Lt Gov Beverly Perdue 46 to 37.  Dole leads Treasurer Richard Moore 45 to 34.

Neither of them will actually run, but its interesting because this is matchup poll #6 where Dole has polled below 50%.

From the other side of the aisle, Right Wing think lie tank Civitas has a poll out showing slightly different results.  I wont link to their poll unless I have to, for the same reason I wouldnt link to Rush Limbaugh or Bill O’Reilly.  However, I will talk about their results.

I do not trust these results, as they are normally as Republican friendly as possible without the group losing their non-profit status.  However, with that caveat, their poll results are really good for us.  They give Dole the same 48% approval rating, but with an impossibly low 28% disapproval.  They also show 22% with no opinion.  They also polled for Brad Miller, showing him with 14% approval, 10% disapproval, 38% no opinion and 38% dont know his name.  Considering Brad has only been in Congress since 2002, this is not too surprising.  It might be a little low, but is about what I expected his numbers to be.  If he is going to beat Dole it will just be a question of whether he can raise the money needed to get his name in front of people.

With all of those caveats, they polled Dole v Miller, and got 46% Dole 31% Miller.  So, a Republican friendly poll against a guy with 24% name ID, and they still cant give her numbers above 50%.  She is in BIG trouble.

Ok, back to the Public Policy Poll.  They did matchup polling between Hillary, Obama, Edwards and Rudy McRomneyson.

Against Rudy
Giuliani 47% Clinton 43%
Giuliani 46% Obama 42%
Giuliani 45% Edwards 46%

Against Romney
Romney 41% Clinton 47%
Romney 40% Obama 44%
Romney 37% Edwards 51%

Against McCain
McCain 44% Clinton 45%
McCain 45% Obama 44%
McCain 40% Edwards 48%

Against Thompson
Thompson 46% Clinton 43%
Thompson 45% Obama 40%
Thompson 43% Edwards 47%

In the crosstabs, Edwards bleeds off more Republican support than either Obama or Clinton.  But, his real strength is amongst independent voters.  Obama does the worst job of holding onto Democrats, but he is buoyed by his support amongst independents.

What is really interesting is the similarities amongst black voters for all the candidates.  Personally, I think these polls might be even better news for us than seem.  Does anyone really believe that Obama would lose up to 20% of black voters to McCain?  Does anyone really believe that on election day 24% of black voters will choose Rudy over Edwards?

All these Republicans have way too many skeletons for that to happen, meaning you can probably safely add 2-3 points to every Democratic result.

Some other thoughts on cross tabs.
Dole’s support amongst women is still much healthier than her support amongst men.  This is something that can be changed just by focusing on her actual record on “women’s issues”. 

Our numbers amongst younger voters are simply astonishing.
Amongst voters between the ages of 18 and 29:
Edwards leads Romney 64 to 33! 
Obama leads McCain 61 to 33!

There is a lot more to swallow, check out the poll for yourself.  There are 12 pages (PDF) of statistical goodness.

A quick personal note to end the diary.  Thank you to the people who donated to Brad Miller yesterday.  The Draft page raised over a 1000 dollars yesterday with donors from Kentucky to NC, and donations from $20.00 to $1000.08  Thank you a thousand times over to those people who put their money where their mouth is.

Virtually all national polls show that pretty much any leading Democrat would wipe the floor with Mitt Romney. So this here poll from the Granite State sounds like Very Good News to me.

More below the flip….

According to a SurveyUSA poll of 551 likely Republican Primary voters, Mitt Romney gathered 32%, followed by Rudy Guiliani at 23% and John McCain with 22%. Fred Thompson finished fourth with 11%.

Romney leads by 9%, a result sure to please Mormons and ecumenical Christian conservatives, and horrify the more traditional anti-Mormon Christian fundamentalists that make up the Republican base. As expected, Rudy and McCain are neck and neck in the somewhat (small-L) libertarian state that went for McCain in 2000, but they are far behind the former Massachusetts governor. Obviously, it appears that downstate Republicans in the Boston media market are sweet on him.

Looking at the crosstabs, we start with what we already know – his lot is cast with the conservative wing of his party – and find a few interesting tidbits: he gets impressive support from union households, people who don’t own guns, and Generation Y.

In a poll of 589 likely Democratic Primary voters, Clinton gets 40%, Obama follows with 24%, while John Edwards trails with 22%.

Not much to report there. The last time Rasmussen polled Clinton vs. Romney nationally, Hillary was up by 9%. Obama led by 15%, and Edwards led by 26%. Heck, even Richardson leads Romney by 8%.

Now, I don’t think Romney has a shot outside of New England and the Mormon Belt (Utah, Wyoming, Idaho, maybe Nevada). But if Romney wins New Hampshire, that hopefully will make the GOP primary at least a 3 man race for that much longer. You have to wonder what things will be like in South Carolina – do they go for the “liberal”, the man they spurned in 2000, or the Mormon? Or do they go outside the top 3 and vote for Huckabee, Thompson, or Brownback? Anyone else thinking it depends which one hires the slimiest folks to pull tricks out of the Lee Atwater playbook?

I guess I should welcome myself back to being an SSP diarist after a hiatus of several months. I’ll keep watching those polls, ladies and gents.

This is a diary of Presidential Endorsements that I will periodically update.  It will include those I learn of and I make no pretensions of this being a comprehensive listing.  I welcome comments that update endorsements as the election progresses as I plan to update this diary periodically.  The more eyes we have looking, the more accurate this can be.  I considered piggybacking the 2008 race tracker David set up as adding a line to the bio boxes would not be too time consuming, but will try a diary first.

I am attempting to track Members of Congress, Governors, State Party Chairs, former officeholders, and other politically prominent individuals like George Soros or Donald Trump.

If I missed any candidates in the tabs let me know.  I plan to list the states and sublist by candidate.  Will do Democrats then Republicans.  The primaries are by states so listing by states can show where someone is running strong.

If I am not sure what state someone connects to I will list as unknown under the state of the candidate they’re endorsing until I can place them more accurately.
Unless I can determine their home otherwise, I list anyone connected Hollywood under California, and move them later if I determine where exactly they do in fact live.

ALABAMA

Barack OBAMA
-Rep. Artur Davis

Duncan HUNTER
-Rep. Terry Everett

John McCAIN
-94 & 98 GOP Gov. nominee Winston Blount III
-Rep. Spencer Bachus
-Adjutant Gen. Stan Spears
-Dax Swatek campaign manager for fmr Gov. Bob Riley

ALASKA

Mike HUCKABEE
-Rep. Don Young

ARIZONA

Hillary CLINTON
-Raul Yzaguirre – President National Council of La Raza

John EDWARDS
-Rep. Raul Grijalva

Duncan HUNTER
-Rep. Trent Franks

John McCAIN
-Senator Jon Kyl
-Rep. Rick Renzi
-Rep. John Shadegg
-Rep. Jeff Flake

Mitt ROMNEY
-Joe Arpaio, Maricopa County Sheriff

ARKANSAS

Hillary CLINTON
-Gov. Mike Beebe
-Rep. Marion Berry
-Fmr. General Wesley Clark
-Jimmie Lou Fisher – losing 2002 Gov. nominee
-Mac McClarty – fmr. Chief of Staff for Bill Clinton
-Sen. Mark Pryor
-Rep. Mike Ross
-Rep. Vic Snyder

Mike HUCKABEE
-Rep. John Boozman

CALIFORNIA

Hillary CLINTON
-Sen. Diane Feinstein
-Hugh Hefner – of Playboy fame
-Magic Johnson – Hall of Fame Basketball player
-Rep. Tom Lantos
-Rep. Grace Napolitano
-Gavin Newsome – Mayor of San Fransisco
-Rob Reiner – filmproducer “meathead of All in the Family”
-Filmmaker Steven Speilberg
-Antonio Villaraigosa – Mayor of Los Angeles

Christopher DODD
-Rep. Xavier Bercerra
-Rep. Anna Eshoo
-Steve Martin – a “wild & crazy guy”
-Lorne Michaels – Saturday Night Live producer
-Rep. Doris Matsui
-Paul Newman – actor

JOHN EDWARDS
-fmr Rep. & St. Sen Leader John Burton
-Seth “Scott Evil” Green – actor
-Don Henley of rock band “The Eagles”
-David Mixner – noted GLBT activist
-Scott Weiner – Board of Directors: Human Rights Campaign

Barack OBAMA
-Jennifer Anniston – actress
-George Clooney – actor
-Tom Hanks – Actor
-Tobey Maguire – Actor

Bill RICHARDSON
-Michael Douglas – actor

Rudy GUILIANI
-Rep. David Drier
-Kelsey Grammer – actor
-Rep. Jerry Lewis
-Dennis Miller – comedian
-Fmr. LA Mayor Richard Riordan
-Adam Sandler – actor
-Ben Stein – actor
-fmr. Gov. Pete Wilson

Duncan HUNTER
-Chuck Yeager – retired Astronaut

John McCAIN
-Rep. Daniel Lungren

Mitt ROMNEY
-Rep. John Campbell
-Rep. Howard “Buck” McKeon

COLORADO

Barack OBAMA
-Frederico Pena – fmr Mayor of Denver and Clinton cabinet member

MITT ROMNEY
-Sen. Wayne Allard

-Bob Beauprez – losing 2006 gubernatorial candidate

Tom TANCREDO
-Bay Buchanan – political commentator

CONNECTICUT

Christopher DODD
-Sanford Cloud – fmr. Pres. National Conference for Community Justice
-Rep. Joe Courtney
-Rep. Rosa DeLauro
-Stanley Greenberg – Democratic pollster
-Rep. John Larson
-Rep. Chris Murphy

John McCAIN
-Rep. Christopher Shays

DELAWARE

Joseph BIDEN
-Senator Thomas Carper

John McCAIN
-Rep. Mike Castle

FLORDIA

Hillary CLINTON
-Rep. Alcee Hastings
-Rep. Debbie Wasserman-Schultz

Barack OBAMA
-Rep. Robert Wexler

Rudy GUILIANI
-Jeb Bush Jr., son of fmr Gov Bush

Duncan HUNTER
-Rep. C.W. “Bill” YOUNG

John McCAIN
-Rep. Ric Keller
-Rep. Ilena Ros-Lehtinen
-Rep. Lincoln Diaz-Balart
-Rep. Mario Diaz-Balart

Mitt ROMNEY
-Rep. Ginny Brown-gWaite
-Rep. Tom Feeney
-Dorothy Bush Koch – sister of Jeb & President George Bush

Fred THOMPSON
-George P. Bush s/o Gov. Jeb Bush
-Randy Enright – Fla. regional Director for RNC
-Rep. Jeff Miller
-Rep. Adam Putnam

GEORGIA

Hillary CLINTON
-Rep. John Lewis

John EDWARDS
-fmr. Gov. Roy Barnes
-Shi Shailendra – Atlanta business leader

Mitt ROMNEY
-Rep. Jack Kingston
-Rep. Tom Price
-Rep. John Lindner
-Rep. Phil Gingrey

HAWAII

Hillary CLINTON
-Sen. Daniel Inouye

Barack OBAMA
-Rep. Neil Abercrombie

IDAHO

Mitt ROMNEY
-Senator Larry Craig
-Lt. Gov. Jim Risch
-Rep. Mike Simpson

ILLINOIS

Barack OBAMA
-Rep. Melissa Bean
-Governor Rod Blagojevich
-Rep. Jerry Costello
-Matt Damon – actor
-Rep. Danny Davis
-Senator Richard Durbin
-Rep. Luis Guiterrez
-Rep. Phil Hare
-Christine Hefner – CEO Playboy Enterprises
-Rep. Jesse Jackson Jr.
-Rev. Jesse Jackson Sr.
-Rep. Bobby Rush
-Rep. Jan Schakowsky
-Oprah Winfrey

Rudy GUILIANI
-fmr. Gov. James Thompson

John McCAIN
-Rep. Mark Kirk
-Rep. Roy LaHood
-Rep. John Shimkus
-IL. Sen. Minority Leader Frank Watson

Mitt ROMNEY
-Rep. Dennis Hastert

Fred THOMPSON
-Rep. Donald Manzullo

INDIANA

Hillary CLINTON
-Sen. Evan Bayh

John McCAIN
-Gov. Mitch Daniels

Mitt ROMNEY
-James Bopp Jr. – Legal counsel for the National Right to Life Committee

Fred THOMPSON
-Rep. Dan Burton
-Rep. Steve Buyer

IOWA

Hillary CLINTON
-Jerry Crawford – noted Dem strategist in Iowa
-Ruth Harkin – wife of Sen. Tom Harkin
-fmr. Gov. Tom Vilsack

John EDWARDS
-Ed Fallon – fmr. St. Rep. & Dem. Gubernatorial candidate
-Jennifer O’Malley – 2004 Iowa field director for John Edwards

Mitt ROMNEY
-Joe Earle – Director of Outreach Iowa Christian Alliance

Fred THOMPSON
-Andrew Dorr – fmr. political director for Jim Nussle KANSAS

John McCAIN
-Sen. Sam Brownback

KENTUCKY

Mitt ROMNEY
-Rep. Ron Lewis
-Rep. Harold Rogers
-Rep. Ed Whitfield

LOUISIANA

Hillary CLINTON
-Thomas Boggs – Lobbyist

Rudy GUILIANI
-Senator David Vitter

Mitt ROMNEY
-Rep. Rodney Alexander
-Rep. Jim McCrey

Tom TANCREDO
-David Duke –  fmr KKK Imperial Wizard

MAINE

John EDWARDS
-David Garrity – fmr. DNC member & LGBT activist

John McCAIN
-Senator Susan Collins
-Senator Olympia Snowe

MARYLAND

Hillary CLINTON
-Sen. Barbara Mikulski
-Gov. Martin O’Malley

John EDWARDS
-Joe Trippi – Howard Dean’s campaign manager in 2004
-Rep. Albert Wynn

Barack OBAMA
-Rep. Elijah Cummings

Mitt ROMNEY
-fmr. Gov. Robert Ehrlich

MASSACHUSETTS

Hillary CLINTON
-Rep. James McGovern
-Rep. Richard Neal
-Joe Wilson – husband of outed CIA operative Valerie Plame

Barack OBAMA
-Laurence Tribe – noted Constitutional Law scholar
Mitt ROMNEY
-Paul Weyrich – Free Congress Foundation

MICHIGAN

Hillary CLINTON
-Sen. Debbie Stabenow

John EDWARDS
-Rep. Bart Stupak

Barack OBAMA
-Rep. John Conyers

Rudy GUILIANI
-Rep. Candace Miller
-James Tiganelli – Police Officers Association of America

John McCAIN
-Rep. Fred Upton

Mitt ROMNEY
-Rep. Dave Camp
-Rep. Peter Hoekstra
-Rep. Joe Knollenberg

Fred THOMPSON
-fmr. Sen. Spencer Abraham

MINNESOTA

John EDWARDS
-Scott Benson – Majority Leader Minneapolis City Council
-Rep. James Oberstar

Hillary CLINTON
-fmr. VP Walter Mondale

Barack OBAMA
-Rep. Keith Ellison

John McCAIN
-Governor Tim Pawlenty

MISSISSIPPI

Mike KUCKABEE
-Don Wildmon – (American Family Ass’n)

John McCAIN
-Senator Trent Lott

MISSOURI

Hillary CLINTON
-fmr. Rep. Richard Gephardt

Barack OBAMA
-Rep. Russ Carnahan
-Rep. Lacy Clay

-John McCAIN
-Rich BOND – fmr. RNC Chair

Mitt ROMNEY
-Governor Matt Blunt

MONTANA

NEBRASKA

NEVADA

Hillary CLINTON
-Rory Reid – son of Harry Reid
-Dina Titus – losing 2006 Dem. Gov. nominee

Barack OBAMA
-Floyd Mayweather, professional boxer
NEW HAMPSHIRE

Joseph BIDEN
-St. Rep. Steve Shurtleff, Ass’t House Majority Leader

Hillary CLINTON
-St. Sen. Betsey DeVries
-Bill Shaheen – husband of ex-Gov.Jeanne Shaheen
-St. Rep. Mary Jane Wallner – NH House Majority Leader

John EDWARDS
-St. Sen. Peter Burling
-St. Sen. Joe Foster
-St. Sen. David Gottesman

Barack OBAMA
-Rep. Paul Hodes
-Gary Hirshberg – CEO Stonyfield Yogurt
-Bishop Gene Robinson – 1st openly gay Epicopalian Bishop

Bill RICHARDSON
-Steve Marchand – Mayor of Portswouth

John McCAIN
-Steve Duprey – fmr. Chair NH GOP
-Peter Spaulding – fmr. NH Executive Councillor

Ron PAUL
-Barbara Hagan – Frm Rep. & Pro-life acticist

Mitt ROMNEY
-Sen. Judd GREGG
-Bruce Keough – 2002 GOP nominee for NH Gov.
-Jim Merrill – Attorney in Manchester

NEW JERSEY

Hillary CLINTON
-Rep. Rob Andrews
-Gov. John Corzine
-Sen. Robert Menendez
-Rep. Frank Pallone

John EDWARDS
-fmr. Governor Richard Codey
-A.J. Sabath – fmr. Labor Commissioner
-St. Sen. Stephen Sweeney

Barack OBAMA
-Cory Booker – Mayor of Newark

John McCAIN
-fmr. Gov Tom Kean Sr.

NEW MEXICO

Bill RICHARDSON
-Senator Jeff Bingaman
-Rep. Tom Udall

NEW YORK

Hillary CLINTON
-Rep. Gary Ackerman
-Rep. Michael Arcuri
-Actress Candace Bergen
-Rep. Steven Bishop
-Rep. Yvette Clarke
-Rep. Joseph Crowley
-fmr. Mayor of NYC David Dinkins
-Rep. Eliot Engel
-fmr Rep. Geraldine Ferraro
-Rep. Kristin Gillibrand
-Rep. John Hall
-Rep. Brian Higgins
-Rep. Maurice Hinchey
-Rep. Stephen Isreal
-Robert Johnson – billionaire founder of Black Entertainment TV
-Billie Jean King – All-time tennis great
-Rep. Nita Lowey
-Rep. Carolyn Maloney
-Rep. Carolyn McCarthy
-Rep. Michael McNulty
-Rep. Gregory Meeks
-Rep. Jerrold Nadler
-Rep. Charles Ragnal
-Senator Charles Schumer
-Rep. Joseph Serrano
-Rep. Louise Slaughter
-Gov. Eliot Spitzer
-Rep. Edolphus Towns
-Rep. Nydia Velazquez
-Rep. Anthony Weiner (candidate: Mayor of NYC)

Barack OBAMA
-Shelia C. Johnson – billionarie co-founder of Black Entertainment TV

Rudy GUILIANI
-Steve Forbes – Chief executive Forbes magazine
-Rep. Vito Fossella
-Louis Freeh – fmr. Director FBI
-Rep. Peter King
-St. Sen. Andrew Lanza
-Fmr. Rep. Guy Molinari
-Theodore Olson – fmr. Slicitor General
-Rep. James Walsh

John McCAIN
-Colin Powell – fmr. Sec of State

Fred THOMPSON
-fmr. Sen. Alphonse D’Amato

NORTH CAROLINA

John EDWARDS
-Rep. G. K. Butterfield
-Rep. Bob Etheridge
-Rep. Mike McIntyre
-Rep. Brad Miller
-Rep. David Price
-Rep. Heath Schuler
-Rep. Mel Watt

Mike HUCKABEE
-Ric Flair – Professional Wrestler

John McCAIN
-Charlie Black Jr. – longtime GOP political strategist
-Senator Richard Burr

Fred THOMPSON
-Rep. Sue Myrick

NORTH DAKOTA

John EDWARDS
-Merle Boucher – ND House Minority Leader
-Roger Johnson – ND Agriculture Commissioner
-David O’Connell – ND Senate Minority Leader

OHIO

Hillary CLINTON
-Jerry Springer – fmr Mayor of Cincinnati & Talk show host
-Gov. Ted Strickland
-Rep. Stephanie Tubb-Jones

Christopher DODD
-Rep. Timothy Ryun

Barack OBAMA
-Mike Coleman – Mayor of Columbus
-St. Sen. Eric Kearney

Mike HUCKABEE
-Phil Burress – “Citizen’s for Community Values”

John McCAIN
-fmr Sen. Mike Dewine
-Rep. Stephen LaTourette

Mitt ROMNEY
-Rep. Ralph Regula
-Dr. John Wilke – Chair Right to Life Committee

OKLAHOMA

John McCAIN
-fmr. Gov. Frank Keating
-Rep. Stephen LaTourette

OREGON

John McCAIN
-Senator Gordon Smith

Mitt ROMNEY
-Vance Day – fmr. Ore State GOP Chair
-Kevin Mannix – fmr. GOP Gov. nominee

PENNSYLVANIA

Hillary CLINTON
-John Street – outgoing Mayor of Philadelphia

John EDWARDS
-Kate Michelman ex-President of NARAL

John McCAIN
-fmr. Governor Tom RIDGE

Mitt ROMNEY
-Rep. Bud Schuster

RHODE ISLAND

Hillary CLINTON
-Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse

Christopher DODD
-Rep. Patrick Kennedy

SOUTH CAROLINA

Joe BIDEN
-st. Rep. Fletcher Smith

Hillary CLINTON
-St. Rep. Terry Alexander
-St. Sen. Robert Ford – black leader
-fmr. St. Sen. Maggie Glover
-St. Sen. Darrell Jackson – black leader
-St. Rep. David J. Mack III
-fmr. Gov. Richard Riley
-St. Rep. John Scott Jr.

John EDWARDS
-St. Rep. Bill Clyburn – black leader
-Bob Coble – Mayor of Columbia
-St. Rep. Chris Hart – black leader
-St. Rep. Lonnie Hosey – black leader

Barack OBAMA
-Ernest Finney – 1st black SC Supreme Justice
-Dick Harpootlian – fmr. Dem. State Chair

Bill RICHARDSON
-James Dukes – SC director for John Kerry 2004
-Lachlan McIntosh – Executive Director Dem Party of South Carolina

Rudy GUILIANI
-Karen Floyd – Spartenburg Co. Council
-Jim Miles – fmr. Sec of State in SC, failed 2002 GOP Gov candidate
-fmr. Rep. Arthur Ravenel, father of cocaine fiend Thomas Ravenel
-Thomas Ravenel -disgraced SC State Treasurer, indicted on cocaine distribution charges (SC chair Guiliani campaign when indicted)
-Heath Thompson – SC Political operative
-Barry Wynn – fmr. SC GOP Chair

Mike HUCKABEE
-Iris Campbell widow of Gov. Carroll Campbell
-Mike Campbell fmr. Lt. Gov candidate s/o Iris

John McCAIN
-Caroll Campbell III s/o fmr. Gov.
-Sen. Lindsey Graham
-Secretary of State Mark Hammond
-State House Speaker Bobby Harrell
-St. Sen. Hugh Leatherman
-SC Atty. Gen Henry McMaster
-Richard Quinn – SC political consultant
-St. Rep. Doug Smith (Speaker Pro Tem of the House)
-Adjutant Gen. Stan Spears

Mitt ROMNEY
-Rick Beltram GOP State Chair for SC
-Sen. James DeMint
-ex-Gov. James Edwards
-ex-Rep. Thomas Hartnett
-Bob Jones III
-Brig. Gen. Thomas R. Mikolajcik
-Terry Sullivan – Fmr. Sen. DeMint campaign manager
-Robert Taylor – Dean @ Bob Jones University
-Paul Thurmond: Charleston Councilman & son of fmr. Sen. Strom Thurmond
-Warren Tompkins – SC politial consultant
-Lt. Gen. Claudius “Bud” Elmer Watts III
-Don Wilton – Spartanburg superchurch pastor

Fred THOMPSON
-Rep. Gresham Barrett

SOUTH DAKOTA

John EDWARDS
-Rep. Stephanie Herseth-Sandlin

Barack OBAMA
-fmr. Sen. Tom Daschle

Mike HUCKABEE
-Governor Mike Rounds

John McCAIN
-Sen. John Thune

TENNESSEE

Christopher DODD
-fmr. Senator James Sasser

Mitt ROMNEY
-Ted Welch – prolific Southern GOP fundraiser

Fred THOMPSON
-Sen. Lamar Alexander
-Rep. Marsha Blackburn
-Sen. Bob Corker
-Rep. John Duncan
-fmr. Rep. & ex-Gov. nominee Van Hillery
-Rep. Zach Wamp

TEXAS

Hillary CLINTON
-Rep. Shelia Jackson-Lee

John EDWARDS
-fmr. Rep. & 2006 Dem Gov. nominee Chris Bell
-Rep. Charlie Gonzalez

-Rep. Eddie Bernice Johnson

Bill RICHARDSON
-Rep. Gene Green
-Rep. Silvestre Reyes

Rudy GIULIANI
-Tom Hicks, Owner Texas Rangers
-T. Boone Pickens
-Patrick Oxford – Managing Partner of Bracewell & Giuliani, LLP
-Gov. Rick Perry
-Rep. Pete Sessions
-David Wallace – Mayor of Sugarland

Mike HUCKABEE
-fmr. Rep. Tom DeLay
-Movie Actor Chuck Norris

Duncan HUNTER
-Rep. John Culberson
-Rep. Ralph Hall

John McCAIN
-fmr. Sen. Phil Gramm
-James Huffiness: Chair Texas GOP
-fmr. Rep. Tom Loeffler
-fmr. Commerce Secretary Robert Mosbacher Sr.
-Lance Tarrance Jr. (strategist & pollster)

Mitt ROMNEY
-Neil Bush – brother of the President
-Rep. Mike Conaway
-Bob Perry – primary financial backer of “Swift Boat Veterans”

UTAH

Bill RICHARDSON
-Rocky Anderson – Mayor of Salt Lake City

John McCAIN
-Sen. Majority Leader Curtis Bramble
-Gov. Jon Huntsman
-Atty Gen Mark Shurtleff

Mitt ROMNEY
-Senator Robert Bennett
-Jon Huntsman Sr. father of the Gov.

VIRGINIA

John EDWARDS
-Dick Cranwell: Virginia Democratic State Chair

Barack OBAMA
-Gov. Tim Kaine

Rudy GIULIANI
-ex. Va. Atty. Gen. Jerry Kilgore
-Televangelist Pat Robertson

John McCAIN
-Sen. John Warner

Mitt ROMNEY
-Jay Sekulow: Chief Counsel American Center for Law and Justice
-Gary Marx: Dir. Judicial Confirmation Network
-fmr. Sen. George “Macaca” Allen

WASHINGTON

Barack OBAMA
-Rep. Adam Smith

WEST VIRGINIA

 
WISCONSIN

Hillary CLINTON
-Rep. Tammy Baldwin
-Bill Broydrick – Fmr. St. Rep. Founder Broydrick & Associates
-Georgia Duerst-Lahti, Beloit College Professor, Commentator
-Dane Co., Executive Kathleen Falk
-Mathew Flynn – Fmr. State Chair Wis Dems
-Ambassador & Fmr. Majority Leader Tom Loftis
-Nancy Nussbaum – Fmr. Brown Co. Executive & Mayor of DePere
-Janis Ringhand – Fmr. Mayor of Evansville
-Teresa Villmain – long time Iowa Dem operative

John EDWARDS
-Dave Cieslewicz – Mayor of Madison
-Fmr. Gov. Tony Earl
-State Senator Jon Erpenbach
-State Senator Bob Jauch
-Dottie LeClair, 2nd Vice Chair Wi. Democratic Party
-State Senator John Lehman
-Rep. David Obey
-State Representative Sondy Pope-Roberts
-Dawn Marie Sass – Wi. State Treasurer
-State Representative Donna Seidel
-State Representative Mike Sheridan, UAW Local 95 President
-State Representative Jennifer Shilling
-State Representative David Travis, Fmr. Majority Leader
-State Representative Amy Sue Vruwink 
-Joseph Wineke – Democratic Party State Chair
-State Senator Bob Wirch

Barack OBAMA
-Rep. Gwen Moore

Bill RICHARDSON
-Paul Maslin – pollster for Howard Dean

Rudy GIULIANI
-fmr. Sen. Robert Kasten
-fmr. Gov. Tommy Thompson
-Rick Wiley – ex-Executive Dir. Wi GOP

John McCAIN
-Lawrence Eagleburger (Born in Milwaukee) fmr. Sec of State for BUSH I

WYOMING

Fred THOMPSON
-Elizabeth Cheney d/o VP Dick Cheney (is she from Wyoming?

District of Columbia

Hillary CLINTON
-Deborah Jeane Pelphrey – noted Madame

Mitt ROMNEY
-Bill Wichterman – Religious Right political operative