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:
* A new Quinnipiac poll offers Sen. Hillary Clinton (D-N.Y.) some very encouraging news about her re-election prospects. Her approval rating is up to 63%, two-thirds of New Yorkers believe she deserves a second term, and among all of her potential GOP rivals, no one comes close. There is, however, a catch: 60% of statewide voters want Clinton to promise to serve a full second six-year term. So far, that hasn’t happened.
* Despite having said in January he wouldn’t run for governor, Rep. Ted Strickland (D-Ohio) has apparently changed his mind and will reportedly announce a gubernatorial bid early next week. The race will be wide open, with incumbent Gov. Robert Taft (R) leaving office due to term limits. Strickland will likely face Columbus Mayor Michael Coleman in a Dem primary, while Republican candidates include Secretary of State Kenneth Blackwell, Attorney General Jim Petro, and Auditor Betty Montgomery.
* The only Dems disappointed by Strickland’s decision to run for governor are DSCC recruiters. Two-term Republican Sen. Mike DeWine is considered vulnerable next year, and Dem leaders had pinned their hopes on Strickland, who met with Harry Reid about the race in March. Now, Dem attention will likely shift to Rep. Sherrod Brown, who’s ruled out a gubernatorial bid, but may be open to a Senate campaign.
* With Strickland running for governor, of course, a House seat is opening up and the race for positioning in Ohio’s 6th congressional district has already begun. Among the early names is Rep. John Boccieri, a right-leaning Dem, who party leaders have long considered as a viable congressional candidate.
* Since Bernie Sanders preparing a run for the Senate, both parties are scrambling to find top-tier candidates to fill Vermont’s lone House seat. Maj. Gen. Martha Rainville, head of the Vermont National Guard, said yesterday she is seriously considering the race. Though she has not been outwardly partisan in the past, Rainville said should run as a Republican.
* Though Fernando Ferrer mayoral campaign in New York has struggled a bit lately, the campaign got a boost yesterday, received an endorsement from a cross section of Brooklyn politicians yesterday. As the NYT noted, the support from a multiracial group that represents neighborhoods as disparate as Crown Heights, Park Slope and Bensonhurst, was intended to show that Ferrer can appeal to a broad cross section of New Yorkers.