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:
* We can just about close the book on Pennsylvania’s gubernatorial race. A new Rasmussen poll shows incumbent Gov. Ed Rendell (D) well ahead of retired football player Lynn Swann (R), 57% to 40%. Both candidates have largely wrapped support from their parties, but Rendell enjoys a big lead among unaffiliated voters, 64% to 35%.
* Considering how uncompetitive the race is, it’s hardly worth watching anymore, but a new Quinnipiac poll shows Sen. Hillary Clinton (D) trouncing Republican challenger John Spencer, 65% to 30%. This is virtually unchanged from a 66% to 31% Clinton lead on October 5.
* In Georgia, the latest Rasmussen poll shows the gubernatorial race to be a largely one-sided affair. Incumbent Gov. Sonny Perdue (R) now leads Lt. Gov. Mark Taylor (D), 58% to 32%. That’s an 11-point improvement for Perdue since the last poll.
* In Wisconsin’s gubernatorial race, which Republicans had hoped to make competitive, Gov. Jim Doyle (D) will apparently cruise to a second term. A new Wisconsin Public Radio poll shows Doyle ahead of Rep. Mark Green (R), 51% to 38%.
* And in both of Arizona’s major statewide races, the incumbent appears to be in pretty good shape in a new Rasmussen poll, though one is much closer than the other. In the gubernatorial race, Gov. Janet Napolitano (D) has a 21-point lead over Republican challenger Len Munsil. 58% to 37%. Even 51% of Republicans view the incumbent favorably. In the Senate race, Sen. Jon Kyl (R) still leads Jim Pederson (D), but his lead has been cut to nine points, 51% to 42%.