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:
* Further proof that Pennsylvania’s Senate is getting much more competitive comes by way of a new Keystone poll (.pdf), which shows [tag]Bob Casey[/tag] (D) leading Sen. [tag]Rick Santorum[/tag] (R), 44% to 39%. GOP ally [tag]Carl Romanelli[/tag] (G) garnered 4% support. The same poll showed the gubernatorial race far less competitive, with Gov. [tag]Ed Rendell[/tag] well ahead of former football player [tag]Lynn Swann[/tag], 53% to 34%.
* As recently as June, an EPIC/MRA poll in Michigan showed Amway heir [tag]Dick DeVos[/tag] (R) leading Gov. [tag]Jennifer Granholm[/tag] (D), 48% percent to 40%. As of today, those numbers are nearly reversed. A new EPIC/MRA poll shows the incumbent back out in the lead, 49% to 42%. The Senate race is looking less competitive, with Sen. Debbie Stabenow (D) leading Mike Bouchard (R), 51% to 38%.
* In Washington, a new Rasmussen poll shows incumbent Sen. [tag]Maria Cantwell[/tag] (D) leading challenger [tag]Mike McGavick[/tag] (R) by six, 46% to 40%. This is about where the race stood in May and June, though Cantwell’s lead was larger in July, following a Cantwell ad blitz.
* In New York, a new Quinnipiac poll shows state Attorney General [tag]Eliot Spitzer[/tag] (D) with a ridiculous 48-point lead over challenger [tag]John Faso[/tag] (R), 65% to 17%. As for the Democratic primary, Spitzer now leads Nassau County Executive [tag]Thomas Suozzi[/tag], 78% to 15%. As Quinnipiac’s lead pollster said, “Ho hum. Attorney General Eliot Spitzer’s bandwagon shows no signs of running out of gas…. Faso is almost anonymous at this point, unknown to 78 percent of the voters.”
* Speaking of New York, the Senate race isn’t going to be much closer. According to a new Marist poll, Sen. [tag]Hillary Clinton[/tag] (D) now leads [tag]John Spencer[/tag] (R), 60% to 35%. As for the Dem primary, Clinton crushes Jonathan Tasini in the poll, 80% to 15%.
* And in a surprising twist in Massachusetts, the latest Suffolk University poll shows businessman [tag]Chris Gabrieli[/tag] (D) taking the lead over [tag]Deval Patrick[/tag] (D) and [tag]Tom Reilly[/tag] (D) in the Dem gubernatorial primary, with 32% support. Patrick is second with 24%, and Reilly is close behind with 20%. (via Taegan Goddard)