Thursday’s political round-up

My new daily feature about campaign-related news items that wouldn’t generate a post of their own, but may nevertheless be of interest to political observers:

* Wesley Clark is back with a new website for his political action committee and his stated plans to “stay at the forefront of the national debate.” As for speculation about the fomer general’s plans for 2008, WesPAC spokesperson Erick Mullen said, “To think that this means Wes Clark is running for president is ridiculous. Having said that, all options are on the table.” (I’m pretty sure he was making fun of Bush at the time.)

* In Maryland, where Republicans are looking for a top-tier candidate for next year’s open Senate race, Gov. Robert Ehrlich (R) announced yesterday that neither he nor his wife will run for the seat. Ehrlich did, however, suggest that his lieutenant governor, Michael Steele, may be a candidate.

* Senate Dems not only believe that Sen. Mike DeWine (R-Ohio) is a vulnerable incumbent going into next year’s election, they also believe they have the ideal challenger: Rep. Ted Strickland (D-Ohio). Strickland had a lunch meeting with Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid yesterday to start discussing the race. Reid, at this point, is optimistic: “I’m going to go have lunch with a candidate that is going to run for the Senate against a Republican,” Reid said at a MoveOn.org rally yesterday.

* Connecticut Attorney General Richard Blumenthal (D), who’s been a wildly popular rising star for a long time, is once again the subject of growing speculation for higher statewide office. This time, he’s a leading candidate for governor in 2006. If Joe Lieberman retires, Blumenthal is rumored to very interested in replacing him, though it’s unlikely Lieberman is going anywhere. For now, all Blumenthal will say now is that he’ll definitely be “on the ballot” next year, though he’s not sure for which office.

* Speaking of Lieberman, Connecticut’s junior senator seems to have frustrated some party activists so much that he may just face a primary challenge next year. John Orman, a poli sci prof at Fairfield University, who ran unsuccessfully for congress in 1984, said yesterday that he’s considering taking on Lieberman next year in the Dem primary.

* And in Washington, even all these months later, Republicans are still working on their challenge to the gubernatorial election of last fall. The latest news is that Dino Rossi’s list of alleged felon voters, which the GOP candidate has publicized widely, is badly flawed. Hundreds of the 1,135 people on his list were voters who had been tried as juveniles but never lost their right to vote. In related news, 63% of Washington voters accept the election results and do not agree with state Republicans on the need for a re-vote.