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:
* Former Massachusetts Gov. William Weld (R) may already be hitting the campaign trail in his quest to be New York’s governor, but a new Rasmussen poll shows him starting at a huge disadvantage against New York Attorney General Eliot Spitzer (D). According to the poll, Spitzer leads Weld 55% to 20%. Spitzer also leads likely GOP candidate Tom Golisano by a similar margin, 52% to 23%.
* Speaking of Rasmussen polls in New York, the same polling outfit shows Sen. Hillary Clinton leading Westchester County District Attorney Jeanine Pirro (R) 57% to 33%.
* And speaking of Pirro, she may have establishment support, but her primary opponents aren’t cutting her any slack at all. Late last week, Washington County GOP Chairman John Aspland announced his endorsement for lawyer Edward Cox, saying he’s more “electable.” Making matters worse for Pirro, her other primary opponent, former Yonkers Mayor John Spencer, has crafted a TV commercial telling New York Republicans, “She’s not running to beat Hillary Clinton, she running to be Hillary Clinton.” The ad will begin airing this week on cable channels across the state.
* After a number of top-tier Republicans passed on the race, former Kansas House Speaker Robin Jennison (R) said he will run for governor next year. Before he can take on Gov. Kathleen Sebelius (D), however, Jennison will have to face current House Speaker Doug Mays (R) in a GOP primary.
* In a similar situation, Rep. Ernest Istook (R) has expressed interest in running for governor of Oklahoma next year, now that other top-tier Republicans bowed out of consideration. At this point, Istook would be the only well-known GOP candidate willing to take on incumbent Gov. Brad Henry (D). (via Taegan Goddard) Istook is best known for being the leading proponent in Congress for a constitutional amendment to allow state-sponsored prayer in public schools.