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:
* With Chris Cox giving up his seat to serve as chairman of the Securities and Exchange Commission, Orange County Republicans are scrambling to fill the vacancy. Among the candidates vying for the post are state Senate Republican leader Dick Ackerman, state Assembly members Chuck DeVore (R), Todd Spitzer (R) and Mimi Walters (R). Dems aren’t optimistic — the 48th congressional district is a GOP stronghold, with Republicans outnumbering Dems almost 2 to 1.
* Entrepreneur Rutt Bridges jumped into the Colorado’s gubernatorial race yesterday, marking the wealthy Democrat’s first campaign for public office. Bridges endeared himself to many party activists last year when he helped finance the party’s dramatic turn-around victories in 2004. Bridges will face Denver District Attorney Bill Ritter in a Dem primary. Bridges, a 53-year-old political neophyte, made millions developing a software program that analyzes sound reflections from the earth to identify likely oil and gas deposits.
* Arkansas Attorney General Mike Beebe (D) won’t acknowledge publicly that he’s planning to run for governor, but privately, he seems to be admitting it freely. Ed Clifford, president of the Bentonville/Bella Vista Chamber of Commerce, introduced Beebe to fellow Rotarians this week as a gubernatorial candidate who will make his formal announcement June 14.
* In Michigan, Dick DeVos, son of one of Forbes magazine’s 200 richest people and former Amway executive, appears poised to take on Gov. Jennifer Granholm (D) next year. DeVos said at a policy conference this week that “I’m intending to be a candidate.”
* Vermont Lt. Gov. Brian Dubie (R) has been eyeing the state’s open Senate race and took one step closer to the campaign this week by indicating that he’ll attend a Republican seminar for U.S. Senate candidates later this month. If Dubie gets the GOP nod, he’ll have to take on the frontrunner, Rep. Bernie Sanders (I).
* The race to succeed Rep. Henry Hyde (R-Ill.) is getting a little crowded among Republicans. Illinois State Sen. Carole Pankau (R) said Thursday that she is jumping into the race, following similar recent announcements from State Sens. Peter Roskam.
* A month ago, Rep. Jerry Moran (R) said he would not take on Kansas Gov. Kathleen Sebelius (D) next year. Now, Moran is having second thoughts, telling reporters yesterday that he might change his mind about the race. Moran’s hedging comes the same day as three-term secretary of state Ron Thornburgh announced he was dropping out of the gubernatorial race.
* Former Georgia Rep. Max Burns (R) announced this week that he will probably try to recapture his old seat next year, setting up a rematch with the man who beat him — freshman Rep. John Barrow (D). Burns will likely benefit from new congressional-district boundaries, redrawn by Republicans to make re-election far more difficult for incumbent Dems like Barrow.