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:
* According to Kos, a new poll from the Feldman Group shows Sen. Mike DeWine (R-Ohio) in a lot of trouble in advance of next year’s election. Only 31% of Ohio voters believe DeWine deserves another term (42% want someone else), and in a hypothetical match-up against unannounced candidate Rep. Sherrod Brown (D), DeWine enjoys a very narrow lead (42-36) against a candidate with much less name recognition. With any luck, this will prompt Brown to give the race serious consideration.
* Oklahoma Gov. Brad Henry (D), by virtue of being a “blue” governor in a “red” state, has been viewed as a top GOP target, but Henry’s poll support continues to look pretty strong. A new Tulsa World poll shows Henry with a strong approval rating (72%), and sizable leads over his likely rivals. He leads informercial spokesperson JC Watts 45-34, and Lieutenant Governor Mary Fallin 48-27.
* As part of my ongoing interest in Rep. Randy “Duke” Cunningham’s (R-Calif.) inevitable fall, I’d like to note that School District Trustee Francine Busby has raised more than double the campaign donations she expected to raise in the past few months, with more than 60% of those donations having come since the public learned of Cunningham’s corruption scandals.
* Usually incumbent senators enjoy sizable fundraising advantages, especially the year before the campaign. Not so in Rhode Island. Just three months after announcing his campaign, former state Attorney General Sheldon Whitehouse (D) has about the same amount of money in his campaign coffers as his opponent, Sen. Linc Chafee (R). Whitehouse has raised about $775,000, and will finish the second quarter with nearly $1 million. Similarly, Chafee raised about $400,000 in the last three months, and will report a bit more than $1 million in cash on hand.
* Robert Dornan, a former House member and perennial looney, is considering yet another campaign for Congress. After having represented Orange County for 10 years, Dornan lost bids in 1996, 1998, and 2004. With Christopher Cox leaving to become head of the SEC, Dornan, now 72, sees an opportunity. He is currently trying to decide whether to run in a GOP primary or bolt his party and run as a candidate for the American Independent Party.
* And in 2008 news, Virginia Gov. Mark Warner (D) delivered his first speech at the National Press Club yesterday, calling for a new national discussion about the role of the National Guard, which he said is being asked to perform too many duties, and expressing his disappointment with Bush for failing to shed partisan differences after 9/11. Warner dodged questions about whether he has decided to run for president, but announced the name of a new federal political action committee that could help him pursue that goal — Forward Together, a name an adviser said was taken from a speech by Winston Churchill.