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:
* In the very-competitive open Senate race in Minnesota, Hennepin County Attorney [tag]Amy Klobuchar[/tag] (D) has enjoyed small-but-consistent leads over Rep. [tag]Mark Kennedy[/tag] (R) for months, but now it appears Klobuchar is hitting her stride. A new poll from the Minneapolis Star Tribune shows Klobuchar ahead by a surprising 19-point margin, 50% to 31%. The poll follows similarly encouraging news last week about Klobuchar leading Kennedy in fundraising.
* Speaking of Minnesota, the Star Tribune poll shows the state’s gubernatorial race far closer that its Senate race. According to the new poll, Gov. [tag]Tim Pawlenty[/tag] (R) leads state Attorney General [tag]Mike Hatch[/tag] (D) by a very narrow margin, 43% to 41%.
* A new Mason-Dixon poll conducted for the Denver Post shows [tag]Bill Ritter[/tag] leading Colorado’s gubernatorial race over Rep. [tag]Bob Beauprez[/tag] (R), 42% to 35%. The seven-point margin is a slight improvement on Ritter’s six-point lead in a February poll from the same firm. The latest Rasmussen poll shows a similar result, with Ritter leading Beauprez, 43% to 38%.
* A new poll from the Baltimore Sun shows Baltimore Mayor [tag]Martin O’Malley[/tag] (D) continuing to lead Maryland’s gubernatorial race over incumbent Gov. [tag]Robert Ehrlich[/tag] (R), 46% to 38%.
* And speaking of Maryland, the same Sun poll shows the Dems’ Senate primary is still too close to call, with Rep. [tag]Ben Cardin[/tag] enjoying a slim 32% to 28% lead over former Rep. [tag]Kweisi Mfume[/tag], though undecideds (36%) beat them both. As with previous polls, however, Cardin seems to fare better against GOP candidate [tag]Michael Steele[/tag], whom Cardin leads 47%to 36% in a hypothetical general-election match-up, while Mfume leads Steele, 42% to 40%.
* In New Jersey, a new Quinnipiac poll shows state Sen. [tag]Tom Kean[/tag] Jr. (R) leading Sen. [tag]Bob Menendez[/tag] (D) in the state’s closely-watched Senate race, but not by much — 40% to 38%. A new Monmouth University/Gannett New Jersey poll, however, shows Menendez ahead, 38% to 37%. (via Teagan Goddard)