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:
* Rep. Katherine Harris’ (R-Fla.) Senate campaign remains up in the air, but also in disarray. Pollster Ed Goeas tendered his resignation this week, and plans for the “major announcement” Harris announced this past weekend were changed from a press conference in Florida to nationally televised remarks. One local reporter suggested several non-withdrawal possibilities for Harris’ announcement, including her possibly resigning from the House to concentrate on the Senate campaign.
* In Michigan, the latest EPIC/MRA poll shows Sen. Debbie Stabenow (D) enjoying a sizable lead over her three GOP rivals. Stabenow leads her closest rival, Oakland County Sheriff Mike Bouchard, 54% to 36%. Her leads over former Detroit City Councilman Keith Butler and the Rev. Jerry Zandstra are even bigger.
* Some Republican leaders in New York may have recruited Kathleen Troia (K.T.) McFarland into the Senate race against Hillary Clinton, but not everyone in the party is welcoming her with open arms. State GOP boss Steve Minarik suggested yesterday he’ll back former Yonkers Mayor John Spencer. Minarik told the New York Daily News, “I just don’t think she brings anything to the ticket.”
* And speaking of McFarland, the New York Post reported today that she has repeatedly failed to vote over the last decade and has been registered to vote at two different addresses, which is against state law.
* Republicans decided last year to target Rep. John Spratt (D-S.C.) aggressively in 2006, and successfully recruited state Rep. Ralph Norman (R) for the race. It hasn’t worked according to plan — a recent Garin-Hart-Yang Research Group (D) poll shows Spratt leading Norman by 40 points, 61% to 21%. The only good news for Norman is that former public school teacher Park Gillespie (R), Norman’s primary challenger, is scheduled to drop out of the race this week.
* In Illinois, Rep. Melissa Bean’s (D) re-election campaign suffered a bit of a setback this week when Bill Scheurer — an anti-war, pro-union, anti-abortion candidate — started siphoning off support in a big way. Scheurer lost to Bean in a Dem primary in 2004, and is running this year as an independent. After Bean voted with the GOP on a series of trade issues, including CAFTA, Scheurer picked up support from labor unions. “We would be willing to accept the temporary consequences of losing in the short term. Of course, there is no better spoiling than winning,” Scheurer said when asked if he was comfortable with the prospect that his candidacy could throw the seat into Republican hands.
