SSP Daily Digest: 10/20 (Morning Edition)

Too many polls, too little time. A quick-and-dirty morning digest for you.

  • CA-Sen, CA-Gov – SurveyUSA: Boxer (D-inc) 46, Fiorina (R) 44; Brown 47 (D), Whitman (R) 40
  • CA-Sen, CA-Gov (PDF) – Wilson Research (R): Boxer (D-inc) 43, Fiorina (R) 46; Brown (D) 44, Whitman (R) 45
  • CO-Sen, CO-Gov (PDF) – Ipsos/Reuters: Bennet (D) 45, Buck (R) 48; Hickenlooper (D) 46, Maes (R) 14, Tancredo (ACP) 35
  • FL-02 – Susquehanna for Sunshine State News: Boyd (D-inc) 38, Southerland (R) 50
  • GA-Gov – Insider Advantage: Barnes (D) 40, Deal (R) 45
  • KY-Sen – Bennet, Petts and Normington (D) for the DSCC: Conway (D) 49, Paul (R) 47
  • Note: I’m informed that this poll had a sample of 600.

  • MA-04 – Kiley & Co. (D) for Barney Frank: Frank (D-inc) 56, Bielat (R) 37
  • MD-Gov, MD-Sen (PDF) – Gonzales Research: O’Malley (D-inc) 47, Ehrlich (R) 42; Mikulski (D-inc) 55, Wargotz (R) 38
  • NC-Sen (PDF) – Public Policy Polling: Burr (R-inc) 48, Marshall (D) 40
  • NJ-06 – National Research (R): Pallone (D-inc) 44, Little (R) 43
  • NY-19 (PDF) – Monmouth: Hall (D-inc) 49, Hayworth (R) 48
  • NY-Sen, NY-Sen-B (PDF) – New York Times: Schumer (D-inc) 61, Townsend (R) 21; Gillibrand (D-inc) 50, DioGuardi (R) 25
  • OH-Gov – Quinnipiac: Strickland (D-inc) 41, Kasich (R) 51
  • OR-Gov, OR-Sen – Public Policy Polling for Daily Kos: Kitzhaber (D) 48, Dudley (R) 47; Wyden (D-inc) 56, Huffman (R) 40
  • SC-Gov (PDF) – Crantford & Associates (D): Sheheen (D) 41, Haley (R) 43
  • UT-02 Dan Jones & Associates: Matheson (D-inc) 57, Philpot (R) 31
  • WI-Sen – St. Norbert: Feingold (D-inc) 47, Johnson (R) 49
  • WI-07 – We Ask America: Lassa (D) 39, Duffy (R) 46
  • Margins & Errors: Marc Ambinder tweets about supposedly close internals on both sides in OH-Gov… If the gang at NBC is to be believed, Joe Miller might be turning into Bizarro Scozzafava: “Miller’s getting close to being in free-fall if some private polling is to be believed.”… The Fix faithfully transcribes a batch of NRCC polls, without firm names, sample sizes, or field dates

    SSP Updates 37 Race Ratings

    With only two weeks remaining, it’s time for another round of updates to our Senate, Gubernatorial, and House ratings. With DCCC triage in full effect, giving us a clear picture of who’s on the very wrong side of the House firewall, you may notice that this is the first time we’ve added House incumbents to the “Lean Republican” column. (In an interesting bit of symmetry, FL-24 was also the first race in 2008 where we dropped an incumbent — Tom Feeney — to “Lean D,” also about two weeks prior to the election.)

    • DE-Sen: Lean D to Likely D
    • FL-Sen: Lean R to Likely R
    • OH-Sen: Lean R to Likely R
    • WI-Sen: Tossup to Lean R

    • IL-Gov: Lean R to Tossup
    • ME-Gov: Lean R to Tossup
    • NH-Gov: Likely D to Lean D
    • SC-Gov: Likely R to Lean R

    • AR-04: Safe D to Likely D
    • AZ-07: Safe D to Tossup
    • AZ-08: Lean D to Tossup
    • CA-11: Lean D to Tossup
    • CA-20: Likely D to Lean D
    • FL-24: Tossup to Lean R
    • GA-08: Lean D to Tossup
    • ID-01: Tossup to Lean D
    • IL-11: Tossup to Lean R
    • IL-17: Lean D to Tossup
    • IN-08: Lean R to Likely R
    • MA-04: Safe D to Likely D
    • MI-15: Safe D to Likely D
    • MN-08: Safe D to Likely D
    • MS-04: Likely D to Lean D
    • NC-08: Lean D to Tossup
    • NJ-12: Likely D to Lean D
    • NY-04: Safe D to Likely D
    • NY-22: Safe D to Likely D
    • OH-01: Tossup to Lean R
    • OH-06: Likely D to Lean D
    • OH-09: Likely D to Safe D
    • OH-13: Tossup to Lean D
    • OH-15: Tossup to Lean R
    • OR-04: Safe D to Likely D
    • PA-03: Tossup to Lean R
    • PA-07: Lean R to Tossup
    • TX-17: Tossup to Lean R
    • WA-08: Likely R to Lean R

    28 of these changes favor Republicans; 9 races (DE-Sen, 3 of the 4 gubernatorial races, and 5 House races, including the Ohio implosion duo) have moved in the Democratic direction.

    Poll Roundup: 10/13

    I’m your poll pusher. 19 new ones:

  • AZ-Sen: Behavior Research Center (10/1-10, likely voters):

    Rodney Glassman (D): 22

    John McCain (R-inc): 56

    (MoE: ±4.7%)

  • DE-Sen: SurveyUSA for the University of Delaware Center for Political Communication (10/11-12, likely voters):

    Chris Coons (D): 54

    Christine O’Donnell (R): 33

    Undecided: 9

    (MoE: ±2.1%)

    Opinion Research for CNN/Time (10/8-12, likely voters, 9/17-21 in parens):

    Chris Coons (D): 57 (55)

    Christine O’Donnell (R): 38 (39)

    (MoE: ±3.5%)

  • FL-Sen: Quinnipiac (10/6-10, likely voters, 9/23-28 in parens):

    Kendrick Meek (D): 22 (18)

    Marco Rubio (R): 44 (46)

    Charlie Crist (I): 30 (33)

    (MoE: ±3%)

    Susquehanna (10/6-10, likely voters, 9/2-7 in parens):

    Kendrick Meek (D): 22 (23)

    Marco Rubio (R): 45 (43)

    Charlie Crist (I): 29 (29)

    (MoE: ±2.9%)

  • NV-Sen: Suffolk (10/7-11, likely voters):

    Harry Reid (D-inc): 45

    Sharron Angle (R): 43

    Scott Ashjian (T): 2

    (MoE: ±4.4%)

  • PA-Sen: Bennett Petts and Normington for Joe Sestak (10/4-6, likely voters):

    Joe Sestak (D): 45

    Pat Toomey (R): 46

    (MoE: ±3.5%)

  • WA-Sen: Opinion Research for CNN/Time (10/8-12, likely voters, 9/10-14 in parens):

    Patty Murray (D-inc): 51 (53)

    Dino Rossi (R): 43 (44)

    (MoE: ±3.5%)

  • WI-Sen, WI-Gov: Opinion Research for CNN/Time (10/8-12, likely voters, 9/17-21 in parens):

    Russ Feingold (D-inc): 44 (45)

    Ron Johnson (R): 52 (41)

    Tom Barrett (D): 44 (42)

    Scott Walker (R): 52 (53)

    (MoE: ±3.5%)

  • WV-Sen: Opinion Research for CNN/Time (10/8-12, likely voters):

    Joe Manchin (D): 44

    John Raese (R): 44

    Jesse Johnson (MP): 5

    (MoE: ±3.5%)

  • RI-Gov: Quest Research (10/4-6, likely voters, 9/15-17 in parens):

    Frank Caprio (D):  37 (36)

    Lincoln Chafee (I): 33 (24)

    John Robitaille (R): 22 (13)

    Ken Block (M): 2 (2)

    (MoE: ±4.4%)

  • CA-11: Lake Research Partners for Jerry McNerney (9/21-25, likely voters):

    Jerry McNerney (D-inc): 45

    David Harmer (R): 35

    David Christensen (AIP): 5

    (MoE: ±4.4)

  • GA-02: Public Opinion Strategies for Mike Keown (9/27-28, likely voters, August in parens):

    Sanford Bishop (D-inc): 47 (50)

    Mike Keown (R): 46 (44)

    (MoE: ±4.9%)

  • NJ-12: Monmouth University (10/9-12, likely voters):

    Rush Holt! (D): 51

    Scott Sipprelle (R): 46

    (MoE: ±3.9%)

  • NY-01: Siena (10/6-11, likely voters):

    Tim Bishop (D-inc): 51

    Randy Altschuler (R): 39

    (MoE: ±4%)

  • NY-19: Siena (10/5-10, likely voters):

    John Hall (D-inc): 43

    Nan Hayworth (R): 46

    (MoE: ±4%)

  • NY-23: Siena (10/5-7, likely voters):

    Bill Owens (D-inc): 42

    Matt Doheny (R): 31

    Doug Hoffman (C): 15

    After Hoffman voters told he suspended campaign/endorsed Doheny:

    Bill Owens (D-inc): 44

    Matt Doheny (R): 39

    Doug Hoffman (C): 1

    (MoE: ±4%)

  • PA-11: Franklin & Marshall College for Times-Shamrock Newspapers (10/5-10, likely voters):

    Paul Kanjorski (D-inc): 40

    Lou Barletta (R): 47

    (MoE: ±4.8%)

  • PA-12: Susquehanna for the Tribune-Review (10/9-10, likely voters):

    Mark Critz (D-inc): 43

    Tim Burns (R): 36

    (MoE: ±4.9%)

  • Poll Roundup: 10/12

    Another fire hose blast of polls…

  • DE-Sen, DE-AL: Monmouth University (10/8-11, likely voters):

    Chris Coons (D): 57

    Christine O’Donnell (R): 38

    John Carney (D): 53

    Glen Urquhart (R): 44

    (MoE: ±3.5%)

    Magellan (10/10, likely voters):

    Chris Coons (D): 54

    Christine O’Donnell (R): 36

    Undecided: 7

    (MoE: ±3.3%)

  • FL-Sen: Public Policy Polling (10/9-10, likely voters, 8/21-22 in parens):

    Kendrick Meek (D): 21 (17)

    Marco Rubio (R): 44 (40)

    Charlie Crist (I): 33 (32)

    Undecided: 3 (8)

    Charlie Crist (I): 46

    Marco Rubio (R): 46

    Kendrick Meek (D): 41

    Marco Rubio (R): 48

    (MoE: ±4.6%)

  • IL-Sen, IL-Gov: Southern Illinois University (9/30-10/10, registered voters):

    Alexi Giannoulias (D): 37

    Mark Kirk (R): 37

    Pat Quinn (D): 30

    Bill Brady (R): 38

    (MoE: ±3.5%)

  • LA-Sen: Magellan (10/10, likely voters):

    Charlie Melancon (D): 35

    David Vitter (R-inc): 51

    Undecided: 9

    (MoE: ±2.9%)

  • WI-Sen, WI-Gov: Ipsos (10/9-11, likely voters):

    Russ Feingold (D-inc): 44

    Ron Johnson (R): 51

    Tom Barrett (D): 42

    Scott Walker (R): 52

    (MoE: ±4%)

  • WA-Sen: Elway (10/7-11, likely voters, 9/9-12 in parens):

    Patty Murray (D-inc): 55 (50)

    Dino Rossi (R): 40 (41)

    Undecided: 5 (9)

    (MoE: ±4.5%)

  • AZ-Gov: Behavior Research Center (10/1-10, registered voters, 6/30-7 in parens):

    Terry Goddard (D): 35 (25)

    Jan Brewer (R-inc): 38 (45)

    (MoE: ±4.2%)

  • FL-Gov: Quinnipiac (10/6-10, likely voters, 9/23-28 in parens):

    Alex Sink (D): 44 (43)

    Rick Scott (R): 45 (49)

    Undecided: 9 (7)

    (MoE: ±3%)

  • IA-Gov: Global Strategies Group (10/7-10, likely voters):

    Chet Culver (D-inc): 39

    Terry Branstad (R): 47

    Undecided: 9

    (MoE: ±4%)

  • MI-Gov: Baydoun Consulting/Foster McCollum White and Associates (10/7, likely voters):

    Virg Bernero (D): 37

    Rick Snyder (R): 50

    (MoE: ±2.1%)

  • OK-Gov: SoonerPoll.com (10/3-7, likely voters, July in parens):

    Jari Askins (D): 38 (40)

    Mary Fallin (R): 54 (46)

    (MoE: ±5.2%)

  • CA-11: SurveyUSA (10/8-11, likely voters, no trend lines):

    Jerry McNerney (D-inc): 42

    David Harmer (R): 48

    David Christiansen (AIP): 4

    Undecided: 5

    (MoE: ±4%)

  • IL-11: Anzalone Liszt for Debbie Halvorson (10/5-7, likely voters):

    Debbie Halvorson (D-inc): 41

    Adam Kinzinger (R): 45

    (MoE: ±4.4%)

  • TX-27: OnMessage Inc for Blake Farenthold (dates unknown, registered voters):

    Solomon Ortiz (D-inc): 36

    Blake Farenthold (R): 44

    Ed Mishou (L): 2

    (MoE: ±4.9%)

  • VA-05: SurveyUSA (10/8-11, likely voters):

    Random Digit Dialing:

    Tom Perriello (D-inc): 41

    Rob Hurt (R): 52

    Registration Based Sampling:

    Tom Perriello (D-inc): 39 (35)

    Rob Hurt (R): 56 (58)

    (MoE: ±4%)

  • SSP Daily Digest: 10/12 (Afternoon Edition)

    WI-Sen, WI-Gov: Russ Feingold and Tom Barrett are both out with internal polls today, both from the same pollster (Fairbanks Maslin), both showing tied races. The Senate poll (Oct. 7, and 10-11) shows Russ Feingold and Ron Johnson tied at 48-48. The gubernatorial poll was an entirely separate sample, Oct. 5-7, showing Tom Barrett and Scott Walker are at 47-47.

    GA-Gov: InsiderAdvantage (10/10, likely voters, 9/27 in parens):

    Roy Barnes (D): 41 (37)

    Nathan Deal (R): 49 (45)

    John Monds (L): 3 (5)

    Undecided: 7 (13)

    (MoE: ±4%)

    If you’re wondering about downballot races, IA also has GOPer Casey Cagle leading Carol Porter in the LG race, 50-36, and GOPer Sam Olen leading Ken Hodges in the AG race, 50-40. Also, if you’re wondering how Nathan Deal seemed to regain his footing after a few rocky weeks where the race was seemingly tied, a lot of that seems to have to do with the RGA pouring money into this race ($3.2 million worth), as they’ve tacitly made this race one of their top priorities.

    AZ-05: Although this is an internal poll that has the GOPer leading the incumbent Dem, it’s a little on the lackluster side. David Schweikert responds to the DCCC internal giving Harry Mitchell an 7-point lead with his own poll showing him up by only 2, 45-43. (The poll was taken 10/5-6 by National Research.) An incumbent at 43% is no good, of course, but averaging the two polls out (for whatever that’s worth) gives Mitchell a small edge.

    NY-20, TN-08: What do these two races (one with a Blue Dog incumbent who seems in control of his race, the other an open seat with an aspiring Blue Dog not likely to win) have in common? In both races, the Dem said he wouldn’t support Nancy Pelosi for Speaker. Scott Murphy’s decision (granted, he’s more of a waffle than a flat-out “no”) is much more surprising than Roy Herron‘s; we’ll have to see if this becomes more of a trend in the closing weeks.

    OH-13: Tom Ganley has pulled his broadcast television advertising for the remaining weeks of the campaign, although he will be focusing on less-expensive cable and radio buys instead of going dark completely. He says that’s how he’s going to “cut through the clutter,” but somehow methinks the self-funder (savvy businessman that he is) realized that he shouldn’t throw his own money down the hole in a race that just got considerably more difficult once sex assault accusations started to fly. (H/t LookingOver.)

    PA-13: Here’s an unremarkable internal from a race where we shouldn’t even have to be looking at one: Allyson Schwartz, in the D+7 NE Philly district, leads Dee Adcock 57-32 in a 10/5-6 poll from Cooper & Secrest. Apparently this was released to combat rumors of a Republican internal showing it a single-digit race.

    SD-AL: This was the day’s big fundraising story until Sharron Angle showed up: the reason Kristi “Leadfoot” Noem was driving so fast was because she had to get to so many different donors’ houses. She raised $1.1 million for the quarter, compared to $550K for Stephanie Herseth Sandlin. That actually gives Noem the CoH edge, $770K to $500K.

    TN-03: Here’s one more place I wouldn’t think I’d be seeing an internal, considering that this GOP-held open seat in a dark-red district should be a slam-dunk this year, but I guess Chuck Fleischmann feels like he needs to look busy. The GOP nominee is leading Dem nominee John Wolfe by a 50-20 margin, in a poll (no dates) by Wilson Research.

    DCCC: More news on the triage front, on what’s apparently the last day to cancel ad reservations without taking a big financial hit. Having thrown Steve Driehaus overboard yesterday, the DCCC followed up today with Kathy Dahlkemper in PA-03 and Suzanne Kosmas in FL-24, who won’t get any more ad cover according to the NYT. Aaron Blake also tweets that open seats KS-03, IN-08, and TN-08 got the axe.

    AGs: You probably know Louis Jacobson of Governing magazine for his handicapping of state legislative chambers, but he also works the state AG beat (that’s often short for “Aspiring Governor,” so it’s a key bench-building step), and is out with handicapping for all the Attorney General races up this year. As you might expect, Dems should brace for some losses, especially in open seats.

    Gerrymandering: If there’s any place where people would be psyched to sit down and watch a movie about gerrymandering, it’s here at SSP. The movie’s creator is up with a diary here that lists all the theaters where it’s opening over the next month (including where he’ll be hosting Q&As). Some of them are one-night engagements, starting as early as tonight, so check out the listings ASAP!

    SSP TV:

    CO-Sen: The DSCC hits Ken Buck for his craptastic tenure working for the local US Attorney’s office

    KY-Sen: The DSCC goes back to the $2,000 Medicare deductible issue yet again to hit Rand Paul

    WA-Sen: I’m not sure why Washington Dems always wait until the last minute to remind voters that Dino Rossi is pro-life (that’s what happened in both gube races) — maybe they figure it’s their trump card — but they’re doing it again; meanwhile, the American Action Network hits Patty Murray by whipping up a second version of that weird Fred Davis ad with the tennis shoes walking on people

    WI-Sen: One of Russ Feingold’s myriad problems is that Ron Johnson actually comes up with some effective ads: this one’s a bio spot

    GA-Gov: Nathan Deal’s new ad hits Roy Barnes for having once said that “Mexican workers were good for Georgia”

    SC-Gov: The suddenly resurgent Vince Sheheen’s out with another spot, this one equating Nikki Haley to protégé Mark Sanford

    TX-Gov: Lone Star First (a DGA-backed group) hits Rick Perry on the HPV vaccine and links to Big Pharma

    OH-13: EMILY’s List steers clear of the sex assault allegations of Tom Ganley, going with a humorous spot on outsourcing and his 400 civil lawsuits at his car dealerships

    Rasmussen:

    IL-Sen: Alexi Giannoulias (D) 44%, Mark Kirk (R) 43%, LeAlan Jones (G) 4%

    OH-Sen: Lee Fisher (D) 34%, Rob Portman (R) 57%

    TN-Gov: Mike McWherter (D) 31%, Bill Haslam (R) 59%

    WI-Sen: Russ Feingold (D-inc) 45%, Ron Johnson (R) 52%

    Rasmussen (as Fox/Pulse):

    CT-Gov: Dan Malloy (D) 45%, Tom Foley (R) 41%

    CT-Sen: Richard Blumenthal (D) 49%, Linda McMahon (R) 43%

    DE-Sen: Chris Coons (D) 54%, Christine O’Donnell (R) 38%

    NV-Sen: Harry Reid (D-inc) 47%, Sharron Angle (R) 49%

    OH-Gov: Ted Strickland (D-inc) 42%, John Kasich (R) 47%

    OH-Sen: Lee Fisher (D) 35%, Rob Portman (R) 52%

    WA-Sen: Patty Murray (D-inc) 46%, Dino Rossi (R) 47%

    Angus-Reid: Another reason to be suspicious of Angus-Reid in addition to their Dem-friendly internet samples: they seem to have neglected to poll the actually interesting Senate race in New York…

    NY-Gov: Andrew Cuomo (D) 63%, Carl Paladino (R) 32%

    NY-Sen: Charles Schumer (D) 67%, Jay Townsend (R) 27%

    How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Polls

    The boys down at SSP Shipping & Receiving are, frankly, completely overwhelmed with the influx of incoming polling to report. That’s why we gotta dish ’em out with no added frills, bulk-style. Our latest dose:

    KY-Sen: Braun Research for cn|2 (10/4-6, likely voters, 8/30-9/1 in parens):

    Jack Conway (D): 40 (37)

    Rand Paul (R): 43 (42)

    Undecided: 17 (20)

    (MoE: ±3.5%)

    NC-Sen: High Point University (9/25-30, adults, no trend lines):

    Elaine Marshall (D): 31

    Richard Burr (R-inc): 45

    Mike Beitler (L): 4

    Undecided: 18

    (MoE: ±5%)

    WI-Sen: Fairbank Maslin for the DSCC (10/4-6, likely voters):

    Russ Feingold (D-inc): 48

    Ron Johnson (R): 49

    (MoE: ±4%)

    FL-Gov: Mason-Dixon (10/4-6, likely voters, 9/20-22 in parens):

    Alex Sink (D): 44 (47)

    Rick Scott (R): 40 (40)

    (MoE: ±4%)

    OH-Gov, OH-Sen: Suffolk University (10/4-6, likely voters, no trend lines):

    Ted Strickland (D-inc): 42

    John Kasich (R): 46

    Dennis Spisak (G): 4

    Ken Matesz (L): 2

    Undecided: 5

    Lee Fisher (D): 37

    Rob Portman (R): 47

    Michael Pryce (I): 4

    Undecided: 7

    (MoE: ±4.4%)

    ME-Gov, ME-01: Maine Center for Public Opinion for Pine Tree Politics (Gov | -01) (10/4-7, likely voters, no trend lines):

    Libby Mitchell (D): 29

    Paul LePage (R): 30

    Eliot Cutler (I): 11

    Shawn Moody (I): 5

    Kevin Scott (I): 2

    Undecided: 24

    (MoE: ±3.8%)

    Chellie Pingree (D-inc): 46

    Dean Scontras (R): 38

    Undecided: 16

    (MoE: ±5.3%)

    MI-Gov: EPIC MRA (10/3-7, likely voters, 9/11-12 in parens):

    Virg Bernero (D): 29 (29)

    Rick Snyder (R): 49 (53)

    (MoE: ±4%)

    CA-18: SurveyUSA for KFSN-TV (10/5-6, likely voters, no trend lines):

    Dennis Cardoza (D-inc): 50

    Mike Berryhill (R): 44

    Undecided: 6

    (MoE: ±4%)

    CA-18: J. Moore Methods for Dennis Cardoza (9/27-29, likely voters):

    Dennis Cardoza (D-inc): 53

    Mike Berryhill (R): 37

    (MoE: ±5%)

    ID-01: Moore Information for Raul Labrador (10/5-6, voter screen unspecified, 7/12-13 in parens):

    Walt Minnick (D-inc): 37 (37)

    Raul Labrador (R): 31 (27)

    Dave Olson (I): 6 (4)

    Mike Washburn (L): 6 (4)

    Undecided/None: 21 (28)

    (MoE: ±6%)

    IN-07: EPIC-MRA (10/1-3, likely voters):

    Andre Carson (D-inc): 50

    Marvin Scott (R): 33

    Dav Wilson (L): 6

    (MoE: ±4.9%)

    KS-04: SurveyUSA (10/6-7, likely voters, 9/14-15 in parens):

    Raj Goyle (D): 40 (40)

    Mike Pompeo (R): 53 (50)

    Shawn Smith (L): 3

    Susan Ducey (RP): 2 (4)

    Undecided: 3 (4)

    (MoE: ±4.3%)

    MI-15: Rossman Group/Team TelCom (10/4, voter screen unspecified):

    John Dingell (D-inc): 40

    Rob Steele (R): 44

    Undecided: 11

    (MoE: ±5.6%)

    NY-04: McLaughlin & Associates for Fran Becker (10/6, likely voters, 6/10 in parens):

    Carolyn McCarthy (D-inc): 46 (45)

    Fran Becker (R): 45 (25)

    Undecided: 9 (31)

    (MoE: ±5.6%)

    NY-19: Iona College for RNN-TV/Westchester County Association (10/6, voter screen unspecified):

    John Hall (D-inc): 42

    Nan Hayworth (R): 42

    Undecided: 18

    (MoE: ±3.5%)

    NY-25: McLaughlin & Associates for Ann Marie Buerkle (10/4-5, likely voters, 7/10 in parens):

    Dan Maffei (D-inc): 39 (46)

    Ann Marie Buerkle (R): 40 (39)

    Undecided: 21 (17)

    (MoE: ±4.9%)

    Take that last one with a grain of salt, though — note that directly before the head-to-head top line question, McLaughlin asked if voters would like to send an Obama-supporting Democrat to Congress or a Republican who would provide a “check and balance”.

    PA-03: Mercyhurst College (9/22-10/5, registered voters):

    Kathy Dahlkemper (D-inc): 37

    Mike Kelly (R): 44

    Undecided: 12

    (MoE: ±3.9%)

    SSP Daily Digest: 10/6 (Afternoon Edition)

    CA-Gov: Another few weeks go by, and Meg Whitman keeps smashing the barriers on over-the-top self-funding: she’s spent $140 million out of pocket over the entire cycle now. Here’s the number that’s gotta suck for her, though: Jerry Brown, having spent all of $10 million so far this cycle, is sitting on $22 million in reserves for the remaining month, allowing him to compete on perhaps an even financial footing for the last month. Whitman’s cash reserves are $9 million, but even if she cuts herself the biggest check of all to re-up, there’s only a finite amount of TV time left for her to buy. Truly the story of the ant and the grasshopper.

    NM-Gov: The Diane Denish camp keeps up the onslaught of internal polls showing her behind but within arm’s length of Susana Martinez. This time, the poll is from Greenberg Quinlan Rosner, and gives Martinez a 49-46 lead. That still feels kind of “meh” to me, but there’s an interesting kernel in the fine print: Martinez has fallen into net negative favorables for the first time (39/42, down from 42/31 in August), suggesting the ad war is having its effect.

    OH-Gov: I’m going to wait until I start seeing these kind of numbers in public polls before I start getting too optimistic about whether Ted Strickland’s comeback really has legs, but here’s another strong internal from his camp. The Feldman Group poll taken 10/3-5 gives Strickland a 46-42 lead over John Kasich, and finds Strickland with 47/40 favorables.

    CA-03: Ami Bera continues to be a fundraising force among Democratic challengers (not that he has much high-profile competition on that front); he raised $550K in 3Q, and $2.1 million raised over the cycle. He beat incumbent Dan Lungren yet again, who raised $480K for a $1.7 mil total.

    FL-02: We still haven’t seen any public polling of this race, but here’s a second GOP poll for challenger Steve Southerland giving him a double digit lead over Allen Boyd (the first one was an NRCC poll from the Tarrance Group way back in May, giving Southerland a 52-37 lead). This one’s from National Research (presumably on Southerland’s behalf?), taken 9/29-30, giving Southerland a 46-30 lead.

    VA-05: The US Chamber of Commerce gave its backing to Robert Hurt, not much of a surprise as he’s the kind of non-threatening establishment conservative that wing of the GOP tends to like. Tom Perriello picked that up and is using it as a cudgel that seems to combine various elements that have apparently polled well for Dems (outsourcing and Citizens United), saying that the endorsement means “foreign money” is pouring into the race now, citing companies in Bahrain, Russia, and China that give money to the US Chamber.

    DCCC: Here’s some more detail on the various ways in which the DCCC is, um, advancing in other directions (we told you about their pullout in AZ-08 last night, which probably has to do with Gabby Giffords having enough money to pull her own weight). They’ve also reduced buys for one week in a few other districts: a mix of ones where they seem genuinely hosed (CO-04, TX-17, FL-24, and the KS-03 and IN-08 open seats), one that seems a true tossup but where our guy has money (Harry Teague in NM-02), and one that’s looking like a pickup (LA-02). The DCCC will be using at least some of that money putting out a new brushfire that popped up in NY-23, where Doug Hoffman’s ceasing and desisting makes the race a tossup, and where they’re spending $500K.

    NRCC: Speaking of CO-04 and being hosed, here’s some additional evidence: the NRCC is taking $700K out of the 4th, and moving it next door to another race that’s looking decidedly tossup-ish: John Salazar’s CO-03.

    Redistricting: This may be the single best use of money anywhere by Dems this cycle: they’re finally putting some money into Florida’s redistricting amendments that purport to make the process less subject to gerrymandering. Over $1 million has flowed from Democratic groups to Fair Districts Florida, who are behind the measures. Fair Districts is ostensibly nonpartisan, but obviously the net effect of a less partisan map would be to dismantle one of the most effective Republican gerrymanders anywhere.

    Polltopia: With dramatically different results (especially in the generic ballot tests, but also in head-to-head polls) popping up that often seem to have very different definitions of “likely voter,” Mark Blumenthal looks at the various ways pollsters cobble together their LV models. There’s a marked difference between the way academic pollsters and partisan pollsters do it, revealing major disparities. If you haven’t seen it already, this should be required reading.

    Independent expenditures: The folks at Zata|3 have put together a very useful table, adding up and comparing DCCC and NRCC independent expenditures in all the districts where they’ve weighed in. (The NRCC has spent a lot more so far, despite their cash shortfall vs. the DCCC. The D-Trip seems to be saving up for a massive blast in the final weeks. Or maybe just saving up for 2012.) They also have charts for the DCCC and NRCC that break down each district’s expenditures by category (media buys, production, internet, etc.).

    SSP TV:

    CO-Sen: The DSCC hits Ken Buck for his enthusiasm for privatizing everything he can get his hands on

    CT-Sen: The Chamber of Commerce has a fairly boilerplate ad against Richard Blumenthal for being too anti-(big) business

    KY-Sen: There are six different ads embedded in this Inquirer article, several of which you’ve already seen (including the DSCC ad on Medicare deductibles), but including a new Rand Paul campaign ad on the “Conway = Obama” theme; separately, the NRSC has a new ad here on Conway waffling on extending Bush tax cuts

    MO-Sen: The DSCC has yet another ad about Roy Blunt and his lobbyist friends

    NY-Sen-B: Kirsten Gillibrand’s out with a second bio ad that seems specifically aimed at the upstate market, pointing out her roots in that part of the state

    PA-Sen: Joe Sestak’s new ad points to what we junkies have long known, that Pat Toomey’s free market fundamentalism has given him aggregator ratings even more conservative than Rick Santorum

    WI-Sen: A second cookie-cutter ad from the Chamber of Commerce, this one targeting Russ Feingold

    KS-Gov: Tom Holland’s out with his first ad of the cycle, a comparison spot that’s half negative against Sam Brownback, half positive intro of Holland

    TX-Gov: Bill White’s newest ad rebuts some of Rick Perry’s claims about his mayoral leadership and lists his various commendations

    AZ-05: The National Education Association gets into the ad war in a big way, hitting David Schweikert for being anti-public education (this buy is part of a $15 million initiative on the NEA’s part, also including TV in OH-13 and mailers in NC-08)

    CO-04: EMILY’s List is still sticking around in the 4th, bolstering Betsy Markey with an anti-Cory Gardener spot that’s a mother of a child with autism addressing Gardener not wanting to require insurers to cover that

    Rasmussen:

    AZ-Gov: Terry Goddard (D) 39%, Jan Brewer (R-inc) 55%

    CT-Sen: Richard Blumenthal (D) 54%, Linda McMahon (R) 43%

    IL-Gov: Pat Quinn (D-inc) 38%, Bill Brady (R) 46%, Rich Whitney (G) 4%

    IL-Sen: Alexi Giannoulias (D) 41%, Mark Kirk (R) 45%, LeAlan Jones (G) 4%

    MD-Gov: Martin O’Malley (D-inc) 49%, Bob Ehrlich (R) 41%

    RI-Gov: Frank Caprio (D) 30%, John Robitaille (R) 22%, Lincoln Chafee (I) 33%

    WV-Sen: Joe Manchin (D) 44%, John Raese (R) 50%

    Polls from IN-Sen, WI-Sen, RI-Gov, RI-01 & TX-Gov

    The polls are coming so fast and furious these days, we have no choice but to throw weird random assortments at you at all hours of the day.

    IN-Sen: EPIC-MRA for WISH-TV (9/29-10/1, likely voters, no trendlines):

    Brad Ellsworth (D): 33

    Dan Coats (R): 51

    Rebecca Sink-Burris (L): 5

    (MoE: ±4.4%)

    WI-Sen (PDF): Marist for McClatchy Newspapers (9/26-28, likely voters, no trendlines):

    Russ Feingold (D-inc): 45

    Ron Johnson (R): 52

    Undecided: 3

    (MoE: ±4.5%)

    RI-Gov, RI-01: Brown University (9/27-29, registered voters, 6/27-30 in parens):

    Frank Caprio (D): 30 (28)

    John Robitaille (R): 14 (8)

    Lincoln Chafee (I): 23 (27)

    Undecided: 30 (32)

    (MoE: ±4.1%)

    David Cicilline (D): 39

    John Loughlin (R): 21

    Undecided: 31

    (MoE: ±6%)

    TX-Gov: Public Strategies for KENS 5 and Texas Belo TV (9/26-10/2, likely voters, no trendlines) (crosstabs – PDF):

    Bill White (D): 36

    Rick Perry (R-inc): 50

    Undecided: 9

    (MoE: ±3.7%)

    SSP Daily Digest: 10/6 (Morning Edition)

  • KY-Sen: Jack Conway has succeeded in getting a false and misleading ad by the “First Amendment Alliance” pulled off at least one television station, Louisville’s Fox 41.
  • WI-Sen: On the other side of the equation, Russ Feingold is being forced by the NFL to alter an ad which featured some footage of embarrassing end zone victory dances, including Randy Moss taunting Green Bay Packer fans. Could this really have been a mindless goof by Feingold’s media team? The Hotline’s Tim Alberta had the same thought I did: This sure was a good way to get plenty of free media coverage for this ad. (Judging by the number of Twitter mentions, at least, this ploy worked – if it was indeed the plan.)
  • AZ-08: The Smart Media Group is reporting that the DCCC has cancelled all of their ad buys in Tucson except for the final week of October. I suppose there are three ways you can interpret this news. The first is that Gabby Giffords is cruising and doesn’t need much help. The second I’ll call “panzers reconsolidating”: She’s basically doomed. And the third lies between the two: The D-Trip is performing triage, figuring that Giffords is strong enough to have a chance on her own, while other more fragile campaigns are in greater need of help. Choose your own adventure!
  • NY-24: Mike Arcuri is a lucky man. As you may recall, he created a new third party just so that he could have an extra ballot line to run on (and perhaps draw in a few votes from people who like him personally but can’t stomach the thought of pulling the lever for a Democrat). The problem: He called it the “New York Moderates” party, but state law forbids any party name from including the words “American,” ‘United States,” “National,” “New York State,” “Empire State,” or any abbreviation of those. Fortunately, a court ruled that he was able to retain the line by renaming it just the “Moderates” party.
  • Fundraising:

    • MO-Sen: Robin Carnahan: $2.1 million raised, “on par with” Roy Blunt
    • PA-Sen: Joe Sestak (D): $3.2 million raised, Pat Toomey (R): $3.8 million raised
    • CO-Gov: John Hickenlooper (D): $361K raised from 9/16-29, Dan Maes (R): $28K raised, Tom Tancredo (ACP): $149K
    • OH-Gov: Ted Strickland (D): $1.6 million raised from 9/3-10/4
    • OH-15: Steve Stivers (R): $757K raised, Mary Jo Kilroy (D): $603K raised

    Independent Expenditures:

    • CT-Sen: Sources tell Aaron Blake that the DSCC has added $1.2 million to its buy here
    • OH-01: The Campaign for Working Families throws down $125K for ads to help Steve Chabot (R)
    • OR-05: CULAC the PAC chips in $34K for mail on behalf of Rep. Kurt Schrader (D)

    SSP TV:

    • NV-Sen: Harry Reid’s latest is actually half-positive/half-negative, and concludes by calling Sharron Angle “a foreign worker’s best friend”; Angle’s newest is a race-baity spot that – jeez – features footage of scary brown people sneaking through a fence (wish I were kidding)
    • PA-Sen: The DSCC also has an ad out that’s fairly race-baity, talking about Pat Toomey’s support for sending jobs to China – complete with Asian-style gong noises that were embarrassing even when John Hughes brought us Long Duk Dong more than a quarter-century ago
    • GA-Gov: In a reversal of the usual roles, Republican Nathan Deal paints himself as the friend of teachers (and education in general) in his first attack ad
    • NY-Gov: Andrew Cuomo continues to sound like an anodyne Republican in his ads (cut wasteful government, blah blah), and says that Carl Paladino’s “anger is not a governing strategy”
    • AL-05: Steve Raby goes back to his mailbox to criticize Mo Brooks for being a DC tool (and then litters)
    • CA-45: In this Steve Pougnet ad, little kids singing bowdlerized versions of the “Miss Mary Mack” (Mary Bono Mack, get it?) schoolyard rhyme are annoying
    • CO-07: In an ad with weak production values, Ryan Frazier attacks Ed Perlmutter for supporting the stimulus and cap-and-trade
    • FL-12: Dennis Ross recites some conservative pabulum
    • FL-25: In a minute-long spot, Joe Garcia uses news coverage to revisit the David Rivera ramming-a-delivery-truck-carrying-his-opponents-flyers incident
    • ID-01: Walt Minnick can’t resist hitting the illegal immigration theme again – and he, too, features footage of Hispanic-looking people. Just uck
    • MN-06: A Tarryl Clark ad with really low production values stands out only because the otherwise serious-sounding female announcer declares: “Michele Bachmann: Not doing [bleep] for the people of the sixth district” (yes, there’s an actual bleep sound) [UPDATE: Gah, it’s just a fucking web ad.]
    • NC-02: Bob Etheridge hits one of my favorite attack ad topics: Renee Ellmers’ support of a 23% national sales tax
    • NV-03: As she did in her last ad, Dina Titus compares Joe Heck to Sharron Angle, this time attacking his record on education
    • NY-13: Big fucking surprise: Despite voting against healthcare reform, Mike McMahon is getting attacked on it anyway – for not supporting repeal, and for just generally siding with Pelosi & Obama. Will Democrats never learn? Don’t answer that
    • NY-20: Chris Gibson attacks Scott Murphy for supporting the stimulus. Man, it was a damn long time ago, but remember how much traction Murphy got last year by attacking Jim Tedisco (lol) for opposing the stimulus? (Not surprised to see the ad in that link has since been removed)
    • OH-18: Oh man. Clearly polls must be showing Dems that attacks on Republicans for wanting to send jobs overseas must be especially potent, ’cause here’s another one, from Zack Space. No gong in this one, though – instead, he features a prototypical Chinese dragon, and then even has the announcer say a mock “thank you” in Chinese! I really can’t wait for this election to be over

    SSP Daily Digest: 10/5 (Afternoon Edition)

    AK-Sen: It’s never a dull moment with Joe Miller in the race. Hot on the heels of the news that he believes that federal unemployment insurance is unconstitutional, today comes the news that his wife went on unemployment after leaving a job in 2004, and that Miller did not disown his wife for betraying the Founding Fathers. But wait, it just gets more interesting: the job Miller’s wife left was working for… Miller himself. He hired his wife as a part-time clerk when he was working for several years as a magistrate judge for the federal district court (y’know, for the federal government he just hates so much). Local gadfly (and Lisa Murkowski ally) Andrew Halcro is, in fact, suggesting that Miller was forced to fire his wife because the blatant nepotism may have been a violation of court policies. (Of course, Miller’s response was that Murkowski’s not one to talk about nepotism.)

    And on top of that, now it’s come out that Miller is a full-on Seventeenther. In other words, part of the new crop of right-wingers who want you to vote for him so he can take away your rights to vote for him in the future.

    HI-Sen: Term-limited GOP Gov. Linda Lingle is saying she’ll “take a look” at a Senate bid in 2012. That seat’s current occupant, Dan Akaka, is 86 years old, so it’s not clear whether he’ll run for another term or not. Lingle is probably the only Republican on the bench in Hawaii with enough juice to make a Senate race, especially an open seat one, competitive.

    IL-Sen, IL-Gov: Mark Kirk is out with an internal poll (from Fulcrum), giving him a much larger lead than, well, anyone else, considering that most pollsters have seen this within a point or two either way. His poll says he leads Alexi Giannoulias 42-33, with 2 for the Green Party’s LeAlan Jones. (The same poll also shows Bill Brady leading Pat Quinn 39-27 in the Governor’s race.) Sitting on a big cash advantage, Kirk has reserved most of his entire kitty ($5.2 million) on ad buys for the remaining month.

    WI-Sen: Russ Feingold seems determined to follow Nancy Boyda down the path of integrity/obscurity. He’s telling the DSCC (who haven’t advertised yet on his behalf) to back off and let him fight the election himself. Says Feingold: “I consider it to be outside help of a kind that is uncontrolled and tends to believe in a philosophy of slash-and-burn politics. That’s frankly not who I am. I don’t want to win that way.”

    NH-Gov: Univ. of New Hampshire (9/23-29, likely voters, July in parentheses):

    John Lynch (D-inc): 51 (54)

    John Stephen (R): 34 (29)

    (MoE: ±4.3%)

    Considering that UNH’s sample had Paul Hodes down by 15 and Carol Shea-Porter losing too, it’s pleasantly surprising to see John Lynch hanging in there with little trouble (in contrast to several other recent polls, such as UNH’s in-state rival for weird results, ARG).

    WV-Gov: I guess the 2010 election is over already? Because the conversation today already seems to be changing to 2012. Republican state Sen. Clark Barnes (whom you might remember for briefly getting in and then getting out of the field in WV-01 last year) says he’ll run for governor two years from now.

    NY-20: Finding himself on the very wrong end of both a Siena poll and a Scott Murphy internal, Chris Gibson offers up a POS internal of his own, taken 9/27-28, showing that he’s still within striking distance. He says he trails Murphy 42-38.

    VA-05: Here’s one more Dem poll from the 5th that shows Tom Perriello is narrowly trailing, but not officially dead yet. Rob Hurt leads Perriello 44-43 in a poll sponsored by the League of Conservation Voters and the SEIU (no word on who the pollster is, though). (UPDATE: The pollster is David Dougherty, and the memo is here. The sample was taken 9/20-23 with a 4.4% MoE.)

    American Crossroads: Remember back when we all laughed at American Crossroads for not raising any money, apparently because they were waiting for the million-dollar checks from their half-a-dozen billionaire donors to clear? Ha ha, boy, those were simpler times. Anyway, Democracy 21 and the Campaign Legal Center are going to the IRS to ask for an investigation of Crossroads GPS, one tentacle of the group that’s organized as a non-profit “social welfare organization” or 501(c)(4). The larger Crossroads is a PAC, but GPS itself isn’t supposed to participate in campaigns. Rather than take it up with the FEC, which has fallen into chaotic uselessness because of empty seats on the commission, they’re going straight to the IRS, alleging tax law violations instead.

    Fundraising:

    MO-Sen: Roy Blunt raised $2 million in 3Q, no CoH given

    PA-07: Pat Meehan raised $725K, giving him $1.5 million CoH

    SSP TV:

    AK-Sen: Two different ads, one a coordinated spot between the Joe Miller camp and the NRSC that’s a bio spot for Miller, the other a Tea Party Express one-minute extravaganza that calls Lisa Murkowski a liar, a fraud, and various other things

    IN-Sen: Here’s a link to that Brad Ellsworth ad we mentioned yesterday, where he literally calls Dan Coats a sellout over that all-covers album he released outsourcing

    KY-Sen: The DSCC rolls out an ad hitting Rand Paul on his proposed $2,000 Medicare deductible, while Paul’s newest ad returns to the Jack Conway=Obama theme

    MO-Sen: Robin Carnahan goes back to the theme of Roy Blunt’s cozy DC insider relationships

    NY-Sen-B: Joe DioGuardi’s first ad is an intro spot, as well as bemoaning the dwindling American Dream

    WA-Sen: The DSCC revisits Dino Rossi’s days as a state Senator, including support for cutting unemployment benefits and the minimum wage

    WI-Sen: Russ Feingold takes the GOP to task for prematurely celebrating short of the end zone

    WV-Sen: John Raese follows the NRSC’s lead with his own ad doing the Joe Manchin=Obama thing

    FL-Gov: The DGA’s out with a Florida ad with various law enforcement officials bashing Rick Scott’s Medicare fraud

    NH-Gov: Here’s the ad of the day: John Lynch leaps out of the gate and punches John Stephen in the nose over scandals at New Hampshire’s HHS Dept.

    OH-Gov: Ted Strickland, bedecked in camo, reminds the state’s hunters who got the NRA’s backing

    PA-Gov: Well, at least Tom Corbett isn’t saying Dan Onorato = Obama, but he is saying Onorato = Ed Rendell

    RI-Gov: The DGA hits Lincoln Chafee from the right? Their new ad says that vulnerable Rhode Islanders can’t afford all the new taxes Chafee wants

    FL-24: Suzanne Kosmas hits Sandy Adams over the Paul Ryan roadmap

    PA-04: Oh, good… more kids complaining about how their allowance isn’t big enough to cover all the debt they’re going to have to pay off, courtesy of Keith Rothfus

    Rasmussen:

    AZ-Sen: Rodney Glassman (D) 33%, John McCain (R-inc) 54%

    CA-Sen: Barbara Boxer (D-inc) 49%, Carly Fiorina (R) 45%

    CO-Gov: John Hickenlooper (D) 43%, Dan Maes (R) 16%, Tom Tancredo (C) 35%

    CO-Sen: Michael Bennet (D-inc) 45%, Ken Buck (R) 50%

    Rasmussen (appearing as Fox/Pulse):

    CT-Gov: Dan Malloy (D) 47%, Tom Foley (R) 41%

    CT-Sen: Richard Blumenthal (D) 52%, Linda McMahon (R) 42%

    MO-Sen: Robin Carnahan (D) 42%, Roy Blunt (R) 50%

    NV-Sen: Harry Reid (D-inc) 46%, Sharron Angle (R) 49%

    OH-Gov: Ted Strickland (D-inc) 43%, John Kasich (R) 49%

    OH-Sen: Lee Fisher (D) 37%, Rob Portman (R) 53%

    WV-Sen: Joe Manchin (D) 43%, John Raese (R) 48%