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:
* About a year ago, it seemed the Democratic Party of Florida was in real trouble. Bush won the state by a wider margin than expected, the GOP dominated Tallahassee, and the party itself had financial troubles. Now, Florida Dems are making a comeback. Two new polls — Rasmussen and Quinnipiac — show Rep. Jim Davis (D) more than holding his own in advance of next year’s gubernatorial race against state Attorney General Charlie Crist (R) and state Financial Officer Tom Gallagher (R). Moreover, as National Journal noted, former Rep. Karen Thurman has held turn the state party offices around and boosted fundraising. Florida Dems raised more than $1 million last quarter, their best in eight years.
* In Ohio, incumbent Sen. Mike DeWine (R) continues to look very weak going into his re-election campaign next year. A new Rasmussen poll shows DeWine trailing Paul Hackett 42% to 41%. (For unclear reasons, Rasmussen didn’t include Rep. Sherrod Brown in the poll.)
* Speaking of Ohio’s Senate race, the state’s House caucus is divided over who to support in the Dem primary. Rep. Tim Ryan (D), who endorsed Hackett before Brown entered the race, announced this week that he would not change course. “For me, it was just too late [once Brown announced],” Ryan said. “I was past the point of no return.” Brown does, however, enjoy the support of Dennis Kucinich and Ted Strickland, who is the likely Dem candidate for governor next year. [Full disclosure: Brown has advertised on The Carpetbagger Report]
* In Illinois, former Chicago Alderman Edwin Eisendrath (D) is apparently considering a race against Gov. Rod Blagojevich (D) in a Dem primary next year. “I’m very seriously considering a run,” said Eisendrath, who was an alderman from 1987 to 1993 and was later appointed by President Bill Clinton to head the federal Housing and Urban Development regional office in Chicago. Eisendrath is now vice president for academic affairs at Kendall College in Chicago.
* Former Virginia Gov. James Gilmore (R), whose tenure looks even more embarrassing in hindsight, has said he will be a candidate for public office again, though it’s not entirely clear which office he’d seek and when. “My intention is to speak out on these issues and help provide leadership any way I can and speak up on what direction I think the state should be going.” Gilmore hinted that he might be interested in a gubernatorial encore or a run for the U.S. Senate when Republican John Warner retires.