Tuesday’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:

* In Pennsylvania, a new poll shows state Treasurer Bob Casey Jr. (D) leading Rick “Man on Dog” Santorum (R) by the narrowest of margins — 44% to 43%.

* Also in Pennsylvania, re-election looks far safer for Democratic Gov. Ed Rendell, who leads all of his potential Republican rivals, including former Pittsburgh Steelers’ receiver Lynn Swann, former Lt. Gov. Bill Scranton, and Senate Majority Whip Jeffrey Piccola. Scranton is the most competitive, but he’s still trailing by 10 points (47% to 37%).

* Former state Attorney General Jerry Kilgore (R) kicked off his gubernatorial campaign in Virginia yesterday. He’ll be hitting the trail with more popular state Republicans, including Sen. John Warner and former Gov. Jim Gilmore, this morning for a daylong, statewide tour.

* Speaking of Virginia, Kilgore’s rival, Lt. Gov. Tim Kaine (D), started running radio ads yesterday. It’s a pitch that should resonate in this conservative state: “I’m Tim Kaine. I’m running for Governor, and I’d like to tell you about myself. My family and Christian faith are the core values that guide me. I’m tight with a dollar; my own dollar and the public’s dollar. I’m a dedicated husband who holds his marriage vows sacred and I’m the father of three great kids. As a young man, I served for a year as a Christian missionary teaching religion, carpentry and welding to poor children in Honduras, to help them improve their lives and expand their opportunities. From that experience I learned that every individual can make a difference. The Bible teaches us that we accomplish great things when we work together. As governor, I will bring people together — Republicans, Democrats, working people, business and community leaders — to keep us on the right track and bring economic opportunity to all areas of Virginia. These are my values and that’s what I believe.”

* Arizona Sen. Jon Kyl (R), the target of recent attention by the DSCC, must be at least a little nervous about his re-election chances. After all, he’s calling in the big guns: Karl Rove and Bill Frist will be hosting fund raisers for Kyl over the next few weeks.

* The tension between the seven Republicans vying for the GOP nod in this year’s gubernatorial race in New Jersey was ratcheted up a bit yesterday. A consultant for businessman Doug Forrester, one of the seven, contacted state party activists saying that nominating former Jersey City Mayor Bret Schundler would be a “recipe for disaster.” He also asked Republicans not to “support any candidate who supports the destruction of the party.” For some reason, Schundler’s camp was less than pleased by the missive.

* New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg (R) appears to have a real fight on his hands for re-election. According to two polls out yesterday, Fernando Ferrer (D), the Democratic former Bronx borough president, is leading the race by a fairly comfortable margin. One of the polls, taken for NY1 News and Newsday, shows Ferrer leading Bloomberg 49% to 35%. The other, a WNBC/Marist College Institute poll, showed things a little closer, with Ferrer leading 49% to 42%.