Today’s installment of campaign-related news items that wouldn’t generate a post of their own, but may be of interest to political observers:
* Working under the assumption that Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison (R-Texas) will run for governor next year, Rep. Henry Bonilla (R) has been laying the ground work for his Senate campaign. So far, it’s gone quite well — after three months of fundraising, Bonilla said Wednesday he’ll have nearly $2 million in cash for the race.
* Speaking of Texas, former Republican gubernatorial nominee Clayton Williams is worried that a Hutchison-Perry showdown over the GOP nomination will harm the party badly next year and has advised Hutchison not to run. Williams suspects, however, that his advice may have fallen on deaf ears.
* South Carolina Gov. Mark Sanford (R), whose name is sometimes mentioned as a possible presidential candidate in 2008, seems to have ruled out the race. Asked if a presidential campaign is in his future, Sanford quickly replied, “Absolutely not. I’m trying to survive the week.” (via Political Wire)
* South Dakota Rep. Stephanie Herseth (D) withstood two aggressive Republican challenges last year and seems to have come out of the campaign stronger than ever. Despite being the at-large representative for a conservative state, GOP strategists are privately acknowledging that that their best opportunity to beat Herseth has passed. “She faced down a very well-funded GOP opponent both in a special election and a general election with the president at the top of the ballot,” said one top Republican strategist. “Until she decides to run for governor or Senate, she will be tough to beat.”
* Rep. Benjamin Cardin (D-Md.), who’s been weighing a Senate bid for several weeks, moved one step closer to making it official this week, sending an e-mail to supporters last week asking them to volunteer on his nascent campaign. Former NAACP President Kweisi Mfume has already announced his campaign, while Reps. Chris Van Hollen and Dutch Ruppersberger have created exploratory committees to examine the race.
* A new poll commissioned by Rep. Harold Ford (D-Tenn.) offered good and bad news. The good news was Ford is poised to easily beat his only primary opponent, state Sen. Rosalind Kurita (D), in next year’s Senate race to succeed Bill Frist. The bad news is the poll showed Ford losing to or barely breaking even with his most likely Republican opponents.
* In Connecticut, after former Gov. John Rowland was forced to resign, state Dems looked forward to finally taking by the governor’s mansion in 2006. It’s not working out that way. As Kos noted, a new Quinnipiac poll shows Rowland’s successor, Gov. Jodi Rell (R) has proven to be quite popular with Connecticut voters. Rell not only has a stunning 80% approval rating, she also looks very strong against possible Dem rivals. The strongest Dem is Attorney General Richard Blumenthal, who trails Rell, 46% to 44%.