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:
* Though some polls showed Pennsylvania’s Senate race narrowing, a new Rasmussen poll shows state Treasurer [tag]Bob Casey[/tag] (D) expanding his lead over Sen. [tag]Rick Santorum[/tag] (R). The poll now shows Casey ahead, 56% to 33%.
* In Minnesota, Gov. [tag]Tim Pawlenty[/tag] (R). who has been rumored to be considering a 2008 presidential campaign, promised voters yesterday that he would serve a full, four-year term if voters re-elected him in November. As for Dems, one of Pawlenty’s possible rivals, state Sen. [tag]Becky Lourey[/tag] (D), introduced philanthropist, businessman, and former Minnesota Viking player [tag]Tim Baylor[/tag], as her running mate.
* [tag]Bush [/tag]was in Maryland last night for a fundraiser on behalf of Lt. Gov. [tag]Michael Steele [/tag](R), but Steele didn’t show up, choosing instead to appear at a different fundraiser in Nevada. Maryland Gov. [tag]Bob Ehrlich [/tag](R), however, wasn’t worried about being seen with the president, and the two appeared together at a fundraiser that brought in $1 million for the Maryland GOP.
* New York Republicans gathered for their annual state convention yesterday and gave two candidate — former Yonkers Mayor [tag]John Spencer[/tag] and former Reagan aide Kathleen Troia “KT” [tag]McFarland[/tag] — enough support to qualify them for the Sept. 12 primary ballot. Despite her support from the party establishment, McFarland trailed Spencer in convention delegates, 63% to 36%,
* And in Texas, the latest SurveyUSA poll shows Gov. [tag]Rick Perry[/tag] (R) leading a four-way race with 41% support, followed by state Comptroller [tag]Carole Keeton Strayhorn[/tag] (I) at 20%, former Rep. [tag]Chris Bell [/tag](D) at 18%, and entertainer [tag]Kinky Friedman[/tag] (I) at 16%.