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:
* The one angle to the Senate race in Florida that often gets overlooked is the fact that Rep. Katherine Harris (R) has a few primary opponents. They’re largely unknown, and hardly register in the polls, and Harris has ignored them, but one, attorney Will McBride, has slowly been making progress. Thanks in part to former Harris staffers who joined his campaign, McBride has now raised enough money to begin TV advertising, which will start this weekend. The primary is Sept. 5.
* Rhode Island’s closely-watched Senate race is still very close, at least according to a new WPRI poll, which shows incumbent Sen. Linc Chafee (R) leading former Rhode Island Attorney General Sheldon Whitehouse (D), 43% to 42%. If Chafee loses to Stephen Laffey in a GOP primary, Whitehouse should crush him in November — the same poll shows the Dem winning that match-up, 58% to 26%.
* Connecticut’s other major statewide contest — the gubernatorial race — apparently will be far less interesting than the Senate race. The latest Rasmussen poll shows incumbent Gov. Jodi Rell (R) leading leads Democrat John DeStefano, 61% to 31%. Though some expected DeStefano to get a modest post-primary bounce, Rell’s lead is actually five points more than it was in July.
* Sticking with a New England theme, Maine’s gubernatorial race remains neck-and-neck. The latest Rasmussen poll shows Gov. John Baldacci (D) leading challenger Chandler Woodcock (R) by the narrowest of margins, 43% to 42%.
* Maine’s Senate race, meanwhile, is likely to be far less competitive. The latest Rasmussen poll shows incumbent Sen. Olympia Snowe (R) leading Jean Hay Bright (D), 68% to 20%. The results have been similar in every poll for months.
* And in Kentucky, Gov. Ernie Fletcher (R), who was indicted three months ago in connection with a hiring scandal, struck a deal with the attorney general’s office yesterday in which he’ll admit wrongdoing and promise to reconstitute the state’s Personnel Board. In exchange, the charges against Fletcher will be dropped. Fletcher has promised to seek re-election next year, despite the fact that his approval rating has dropped to just 24%.