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:
* With less than three weeks to go before the Republican gubernatorial primary in New Jersey, a new Quinnipiac poll businessman Doug Forrester leading former Jersey City mayor Bret Schundler, 39% to 33%. The two continued to exchange bitter attacks yesterday, with Schundler calling a press conference to demand Forrester apologize for being a big liar, and Forrester responding by releasing a flier listing Schundler’s “Top 10 Lies.”
* The president heads to Milwaukee today to pitch Social Security privatization, but considering how much Wisconsinites hate his scheme, he has an uphill climb ahead of him. A new Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel poll shows only 28% of adults in the state approve of Bush’s handling of Social Security. A whopping 63% disapprove.
* A new Republican poll shows Washington gubernatorial candidate Dino Rossi with a big lead over incumbent Sen. Maria Cantwell (D-Wash.) in a potential match-up for next year’s election, with Rossi leading 50% to 41%. Rossi, who was in DC yesterday to raise money for his ongoing election challenge, continues to say he’s not interested in the Senate race and is focusing on becoming governor.
* If Gov. George E. Pataki (R) decides not to run for re-election, New York Secretary of State Randy Daniels might. Daniels, a former CBS newsman appointed to the post by Pataki, said yesterday that he’d likely throw his hat into the ring if Pataki does not run. In fact, Daniels has already hired GOP pollster John McLaughlin, a New Yorker who worked on Arnold Schwarzenegger’s campaign last year.
* State Sen. Matt Dunne (D-Vt.), widely considered a rising star by party leaders, has begun raising money for a possible campaign for Vermont’s lone U.S. House seat, which will be vacant next year with Bernie Sanders running for the Senate.
* And in 2008 news, Hillary Clinton is preparing to host a dinner for a group of Iowans at her home in DC. Though the dinner is considered a fundraiser for her Senate campaign, the event is raising eyebrows among those interested in the presidential race.