My new daily feature about campaign-related news items that wouldn’t generate a post of their own, but may be of interest to political observers:
* I’m not the only one singing Harry Reid’s praises; DNC Chairman Howard Dean is reportedly impressed with the Senate Minority Leader’s “recent aggressive style,” leading to a budding friendship between the two.
* The wildcard in the Virginia governor’s race is State Sen. H. Russell Potts Jr., who has served in the legislature for years as a Republican but is running for governor as an independent. This week, Potts hired media consultant Bill Hillsman, who has worked for two of the nation’s best-known independents: Jesse Ventura and Ralph Nader.
* With Rep. Rob Portman (R-Ohio) leaving Congress to become Bush’s new top trade negotiator, the race to replace him is heating up. Hamilton County Commissioner Pat DeWine, the son of Republican Sen. Mike DeWine, is now seen as the front-runner.
* Los Angeles Mayor James Hahn suffered a setback in his re-election efforts yesterday, as Rep. Maxine Waters (D-Calif.) endorsed Hahn’s rival, Councilman Antonio Villaraigosa. Waters endorsed Hahn four years ago.
* Arnold Schwarzenegger’s policy of using public money for fake-news segments is facing a new challenge. The state’s most prominent labor unions have filed suit seeking to stop the governor’s administration from distributing the propaganda.
* And finally, via Kos, we find a Washington state poll from Strategic Vision, a Republican firm, testing possible match-ups for incumbent Sen. Maria Cantwell (D), who’s up for re-election next year. Cantwell enjoys big leads over Rep. Jennifer Dunn (49-39), former Rep. George Nethercutt (50-40), and Washington Republican Party Chairman Chris Vance (52-37). The only candidate ahead of Cantwell in the poll is state Sen. Dino Rossi,” who almost won the state’s gubernatorial race last year, but Rossi has said he has no interest in running for the Senate.