Friday’s political round-up

September 8, 2006

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:

* Don’t look now, but Tennessee’s Senate race is becoming a key Democratic pick-up opportunity. In a new Rasmussen poll released this morning, Rep. [tag]Harold Ford[/tag] (D), trailing [tag]Bob Corker[/tag] (R) by 12 points in July, is now only behind by one, 45% to 44%. As Rasmussen noted, “The new numbers show Ford faring better with his base than Corker. The Democrat earns support from 84% of Democrats versus 77% of Republicans who say they’ll support Corker.” (thanks to reader S.T. for the tip)

* Speaking of Tennessee, the Senate race is competitive, but the gubernatorial campaign is not. A new Rasmussen poll shows incumbent Gov. [tag]Phil Bredesen[/tag] (D) crushing Republican State Sen. [tag]Jim Bryson[/tag], 58% to 31%. In all, a third of Republicans in the state say they plan to support their Democratic governor for re-election.

* In Wisconsin, a new Research 2000 poll confirms other recent polling and shows Gov. [tag]Jim Doyle[/tag] (D) with a fairly comfortable lead over Rep. [tag]Mark Green[/tag] (R), 49% to 41%. The most Rasmussen poll showed Doyle ahead by the exact same margin.

* Michigan’s gubernatorial race remains too close to call, with a new Rasmussen poll showing Amway heir [tag]Dick DeVos[/tag] (R) with a narrow lead over Gov. [tag]Jennifer Granholm[/tag] (D), 48% to 46%. Since February, six out of seven Rasmussen polls in Michigan have shown these two candidates within two points of each other.

* Speaking of Michigan, a Rasmussen poll in August showed the race between incumbent Sen. [tag]Debbie Stabenow[/tag] (D) and Oakland County Sheriff [tag]Michael Bouchard[/tag] (R) narrowing, but the latest numbers show Stabenow bouncing back nicely. The incumbent now leads 51% to 43%, after Bouchard had closed to within five points.

Good to see that TN and VA are now in play for the Senate, because per Taegan Goddard and PoliticalWire, we might have trouble in New Jersey: Menendez is under investigation again.

http://politicalwire.com/archives/2006/09/08/feds_probe_menendez_rental_deal.html

This is why I was unhappy when Corzine tapped the guy in the first place. Rumors of scandal and impropriety have dogged Menendez for years, and there were better options (notably former Acting Gov. Codey).

  • In the MI gubernatorial race, the Rasmussen poll is the first in the last few weeks showing DeVos with a lead, and the average seems to give Granholm a slight lead (within the margin of error).

    However, a recent development in the race will likely change these numbers in Granholm’s favor. The MI Democratic Party released an ad this week focused on the job cuts that DeVos made while he was the head of Alticor (Amway) and then the ensuing $200million investment in Alticor’s China operations. The ad points out that DeVos sent MI jobs to China and this is striking a chord with voters.

    http://www.michigandems.com/plans.html

    So DeVos’ response isn’t to challenge the facts, but to have his lawyers attempt to block local TV stations from running the ad. Now he trying another tactic similar to blackmail, according to a WZZM13 report, the station requested an interview with Mr. DeVos this afternoon, his campaign manager said if we were pulling the ad he would be available, however, if we were not, they would not be inclined to change their schedule.

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