TONS of new polls; Duncan Hunter launches White House bid; new PA scandal; more.
Continue Reading October 29th, 2006
MONDAY NEWS UPDATE.
BY THE NUMBERS: US SENATE RACES.
FLORIDA: US Senator Bill Nelson (D) - 56%, Congresswoman Katherine Harris (R) - 30%. (St. Petersburg Times).
MAINE: US Senator Olympia Snowe (R) - 74%, progressive activist Jean Hay Bright (D) - 14%, peace activist Bill Slavick (Independent) - 6%. (Critical Insights).
MARYLAND: Congressman Ben Cardin (D) - 54%, Lieutenant Governor Michael Steele (R) - 43%. (Washington Post).
MARYLAND: Cardin (D) - 50%, Steele (R) - 45%. (Rasmussen Reports).
MASSACHUSETTS: US Senator Ted Kennedy (D) - 66%, language school owner Ken Chase (R) - 25%. (Boston Globe).
MICHIGAN: US Senator Debbie Stabenow (D) - 50%, Oakland County Sheriff Mike Bouchard (R) - 38%, UAW local president David Sole (Green) - 1%. (Detroit News/WOOD-TV/EPIC-MRA).
MASSACHUSETTS: US Senator Kay Bailey Hutchison (R) - 60%, attorney Barbara Ann Radnofsky (D) - 34%. (Rasmussen Reports).
MINNESOTA: Hennepin County Attorney Amy Klobuchar (D) - 54%, Congressman Mark Kennedy (R) - 39%. (Rasmussen Reports).
MISSOURI: US Senator Jim Talent (R) - 47%, State Auditor Claire McCaskill (D) - 47%, businessman Frank Gilmour (Libertarian) - 2%. (St. Louis Post-Dispatch/Research 2000).
MONTANA: State Senate President Jon Tester (D) - 51%, US Senate Conrad Burns (R) - 48%. (Rasmussen Reports).
NEW JERSEY: US Senator Bob Menendez (D) - 48%, State Senator Tom Kean Jr. (R) - 42%. (Bergen Record/Research 2000).
OHIO: Congressman Sherrod Brown (D) - 54%, US Senator Mike DeWine (R) - 43%. (Rasmussen Reports).
PENNSYLVANIA: State Treasurer Bob Casey Jr. (D) - 54%, US Senator Rick Santorum (R) - 38%. (Philadelphia Inquirer/Temple University).
PENNSYLVANIA: Casey (D) - 55%, Santorum (R) - 42%. (Rasmussen Reports).
RHODE ISLAND: Former Attorney General Sheldon Whitehouse (D) - 43%, US Senator Lincoln Chafee (R) - 33%. (Rhode Island College).
WASHINGTON: US Senator Maria Cantwell (D) - 54%, insurance executive Mike McGavick (R) - 42%.(Rasmussen Reports).
BY THE NUMBERS: GOVERNOR RACES.
CALIFORNIA: Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger (R) - 53%, State Treasurer Phil Angelides (D) - 40%. (Rasmussen Reports).
COLORADO: Former Denver District Attorney Bill Ritter (D) - 50%, Congressman Bob Beauprez (R) - 38%, Three Others - 5%. (Denver Post/Mason-Dixon).
FLORIDA: Attorney General Charlie Crist (R) - 48%, Congressman Jim Davis (D) - 42%. (St. Petersburg Times).
FLORIDA: Crist (R) - 52%, Davis (D) - 41%. (Rasmussen Reports).
IDAHO: Congressman Butch Otter (R) - 44%, newspaper publisher Jerry Brady (D) - 43%, Ted Dunlap (Libertarian) - 1%. (Idaho Statesman/Mason-Dixon).
ILLINOIS: Governor Rod Blagojevich (D) - 47%, State Treasurer Judy Baar Topinka (R) - 38%, attorney Rich Whitney (Green) - 11%. (St. Louis Post-Dispatch/Research 2000).
MAINE: Governor John Baldacci (D) - 42%, State Senator Chandler Woodcock (R) - 25%, State Representative Barbara Merrill (Independent) - 11%, radio talk show host Pat LaMarche (Green) - 7%. (Critical Insights).
MARYLAND: Baltimore Mayor Martin O’Malley (D) - 55%, Governor Bob Ehrlich (R) - 45%. (Washington Post).
MARYLAND: O’Malley (D) - 50%, Ehrlich (R) - 47%. (Rasmussen Reports).
MASSACHUSETTS: Former US Assistant Attorney General Deval Patrick (D) - 54%, Lieutenant Governor Kerry Healey (R) - 29%, businessman Christy Mihos (Independent) - 8%, affordable housing activist Grace Ross (Green) - 2%. (Boston Globe).
MICHIGAN: Governor Jennifer Granholm (D) - 44%, businessman Dick DeVos (R) - 37%, engineer Doug Campbell (Green) - 1%, hospital worker Greg Creswell (Libertarian) - 1%. (Detroit News/WOOD-TV/EPIC-MRA).
MINNESOTA: Attorney General Mike Hatch (D) - 45%, Governor Tim Pawlenty (R) - 44%. (Rasmussen Reports).
NEVADA: Congressman Jim Gibbons (R) - 47%, State Senate Minority Leader Dina Titus (D) - 41%, Others - 2%, None Of The Above - 4%. (Reno Gazette-Journal/Research 2000).
OHIO: Congressman Ted Strickland (D) - 58%, Secretary of State Ken Blackwell (R) - 36%. (Rasmussen Reports).
OREGON: Governor Ted Kulongoski (D) - 51%, former Portland School Board Member Ron Saxton (R) - 44%. (Rasmussen Reports).
PENNSYLVANIA: Governor Ed Rendell (D) - 56%, former pro football player Lynn Swann (R) - 38%. (Rasmussen Reports).
RHODE ISLAND: Governor Don Carcieri (R) - 49%, Lieutenant Governor Charlie Fogarty (D) - 35%. (Rhode Island College).
SOUTH CAROLINA: Governor Mark Sanford (R) - 58%, State Senator Tommy Moore (D) - 31%. (Clemson University).
TEXAS: Governor Rick Perry (R) - 38%, former Congressman Chris Bell (D) - 22%, State Comptroller Carole Keeton Strayhorn (Independent) - 21%, musician Kinky Friedman (Independent) - 11%, software sales analyst James Werner (Libertarian) - 1%. (Houston Chronicle/Zogby).
VERMONT: Governor Jim Douglas (R) - 51%, former State Democratic Chair Scudder Parker (D) - 41%. (WCAX-TV/Research 2000).
BY THE NUMBERS: US HOUSE RACES.
ARIZONA - CD-1: Congressman Rick Renzi (R) - 45%, attorney Ellen Simon (D) - 32%. (Northern Arizona University).
ARIZONA - CD-8: Former State Senator Gabrielle Giffords (D) - 48%, former State Representative Randy Graf (R) - 38%, Libertarian Party co-founder David Nolan (Libertarian) - 2%, architectural metal shop owner Jay Quick (Independent) - 2%. (Arizona Daily Star/KVOA-TV/Zimmerman).
IDAHO - CD-1: State Representative Bill Sali (R) - 39%, businessman Larry Grant (D) - 37%, USAF veteran Dave Olson (Independent) - 2%, advertising executive Andy Hedden-Nicely (Natural Law/United) - 1%. (Idaho Statesman/Mason-Dixon).
MAINE - CD-1: Congressman Tom Allen (D) - 62%, State Representative Darlene Curley (R) - 18%, peace activist Dexter Kamilewicz (Independent) - 6%. (Critical Insights).
MAINE - CD-2: Congressman Mike Michaud (D) - 62%, former Lisbon Falls Town Selectman Scott D’Ambroise (R) - 25%. (Critical Insights).
PENNSYLVANIA - CD-8: Congressman Mike Fitzpatrick (R) - 48%, Iraq War veteran Patrick Murphy (D) - 39%. (Philadelphia Inquirer/Keystone Poll/Franklin & Marshall Univ).
SOUTH CAROLINA - CD-5: Congressman John Spratt (D) - 61%, State Representative Ralph Norman (R) - 28%. (Clemson University).
VERMONT - CD-AL: Senate President Pro Tem Peter Welch (D) - 51%, former State Adjutant General Martha Rainville (R) - 41%. (WCAX-TV/Research 2000).
WYOMING - CD-AL: Congresswoman Barbara Cubin (R) - 44%, Teton County School Board Chair Gary Trauner (D) - 40%, substance abuse counsellor Thom Rankin (Libertarian) - 5%. (Wyoming Tribune-Eagle/Aspen Media).
P2008: HOUSE ARMED SERVICES COMMITTEE CHAIR TO ANNOUNCE WHITE HOUSE RUN.
Nobody inside the Beltway — and possibly nobody outside of the candidate’s own staff — saw this one coming. In a surprise move, House Armed Services Committee Chair Duncan Hunter (R-CA) plans to announce Monday he is forming an exploratory committee to seek the Republican nomination for President in 2008. Hunter, a Vietnam War veteran and the father of an Iraq War veteran, is a solid conservative. During his 13 terms in Congress, Hunter has supported significant increases in the military, including increased spending, an increased role in stopping illegal immigration into the US, and an increased position to influence the intelligence-gathering agencies. An attorney, Hunter was first swept into Congress when he defeated an 18-year Democratic incumbent on the coattails of the 1980 Reagan landslide. Despite his clout in the House and political strength within his district, Hunter is little-known elsewhere to most Republican primary voters and will need to struggle just to get noticed in the crowded pack of “second tier” GOP hopefuls. The timing of Hunter’s announcement also seems curious. However, it could possibly be attributed to wanting to be described as the “Armed Services Chair” — instead of “Ranking Minority Member” — in the news coverage, if Hunter is worried his party will lose majority status in the House in next week’s elections.
PA-18: DAILY SCANDAL-RAMA VISITS CONGRESSMAN MURPHY.
The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette reported that Congressman Tim Murphy (R-PA) may have violated House ethics rules by using taxpayer-funded congressional staff and interns for campaign work. Several congressional staff told the newspaper in interviews that Murphy may have acted unethically, but they have not filed a formal complaint. The staffers, some anonymous, claimed that Murphy used his congressional office and its equipment for campaign purpose; congressional interns were instructed to canvas neighborhoods and distribute campaign literature during the summer; and congressional staff members devoted time last December to mailing Christmas cards to campaign donors. Staffers said that they were highly pressured, though not forced, to engage in these campaign activities. However, the newspaper noted such allegations are difficult to prove “because workers are permitted to perform campaign tasks when on voluntary personal time, and there is no clock they punch to switch time. But it’s clear that multiple staff members believed that what they were instructed to do crossed an ethical line.” Voters in Murphy’s suburban Pittsburgh district could be somewhat concerned about these type of allegations, as a local state representative went to prison earlier this year for similar violations related to state law. However, despite the district’s large Democratic registration edge, Murphy is heavily favored to defeat telecommunications executive Chad Kluko (D).
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Posted by Ron Gunzburger - 10.30.06 | Permalink | postCount(’103006f’);
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