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:
* Tom DeLay may have won his Texas GOP primary two weeks ago, but his Republican rivals are in no mood to come together for the sake of the party. At this point, the three challengers have either said they will not endorse him in the general election or they’re waiting to make up their minds. Michael Fjetland, one of the Republicans to challenge DeLay in the March 7 primary, said flatly, “I cannot endorse any felon.”
* Responding to revelations that she was illegally registered to vote at two different addresses, New York GOP Senate hopeful Kathleen Troia McFarland claimed yesterday that “the realities of family life” prevented her from voting in six of the past 14 general elections. McFarland’s primary opponent, former Yonkers Mayor John Spencer, said the defense is ‘bizarre,” adding, “Most people have families, so I guess we’d have no one voting in this country by her standards.”
* In Utah, former Rep. Merrill Cook (R) announced yesterday that he will take on incumbent Rep. Chris Cannon (R) in a GOP primary. Cook was elected 2nd District congressman in 1996 and served two terms before losing in the 2000 primary election. He said he’s been urged to run by people concerned about the direction of the Republican Party. “A number of people in the 3rd Congressional District approached me,” he said. “These are traditional Republicans who feel the party in some areas has veered off course.”
* Texas Democratic gubernatorial nominee Chris Bell’s campaign suffered a setback yesterday when Tony Sanchez, the Dems’ 2002 gubernatorial candidate, announced that he is breaking party ranks and endorsing independent Comptroller Carole Keeton Strayhorn for governor. Sanchez said Strayhorn has been a friend for more than 20 years.
* In 2008 news, Rep. James Moran (D-Va.) told a C-SPAN audience yesterday that he wants Al Gore to run for president again. Moran said his comments weren’t a formal endorsement, but he noted that Gore won the popular vote in 2000 and could do it again. “I’d like to give him another shot at it,” Moran said.
* And in still more 2008 news, National Journal noted yesterday, “Don’t ignore Ret. Gen. Wes Clark.” The political publication mentioned that Clark will be attending a series of events this weekend in New Hampshire. “Check out his schedule after NH: Ohio, Texas, and North Dakota. And that’s just by April 1,” National Journal said. “That’s a schedule to rival John Edwards’s.”