Tuesday’s political round-up

October 11, 2005

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:

* A poll conducted late last week in Alabama highlights the inherent difficulty in taking on an incumbent governor in a primary. Gov. Bob Riley (R) may have some political troubles, but in a head-to-head match-up against theocrat Roy Moore, Republicans in Alabama seem to prefer Riley, 44% to 25%. There were plenty of undecideds, but it’s not like Moore doesn’t already enjoy high name-recognition.

* Speaking of the Riley-Moore race, Alabama’s congressional delegation is split over which candidate to support. Four of the state’s five Republican House members are backing Riley, while Rep. Robert Aderholt (R) and the state’s two GOP Senators are remaining neutral for the time being.

* New Jersey’s gubernatorial race has tightened, but how much depends on which poll you read. A Star-Ledger/Eagleton-Rutgers poll has Jon Corzine leading Doug Forrester 44% to 37%; a Fairleigh Dickinson/PublicMind poll shows Corzine up 44% to 38%; and a Marist College poll has Corzine up 44% to 43%.

* Much to the dismay of Connecticut Dems, state Attorney General Richard Blumenthal (D) announced today that he will not run for governor, but will instead seek re-election. The decision leaves New Haven Mayor John DeStefano and Stamford Mayor Dannel Malloy as the only announced Dems in the race.

* A new poll from the Wisconsin Policy Research Institute has good news and bad news for Gov. Jim Doyle (D). The good news is Doyle has healthy leads over his most likely Republican challengers. Doyle leads Rep. Mark Green (R) 46% to 33%, and Milwaukee County Executive Scott Walker (R) 50% to 31%. The bad news is 51% of Wisconsin voters believe the state is headed in the wrong direction, the highest that has been in the past 12 years of the poll, which is generally not an encouraging sign for an incumbent governor.

If it weren’t for Madison and Milwaukee, Wisconsin would not be a blue state. The teachers’ union is extremely supportive of Doyle, yet has made moves that make them extremely disliked by nearly everyone in the state; so, voters will vote republican just to oppose the WEA.

  • Discounting cities is pretty silly. Illinois would be a red state if not for Chicago. New York would be a red state were it not fore NYC. Guess what? That’s discounting a boatload of people. There are lots more people in cities, per square mile, than there are in non-cities. That’s what makes them cities.

    As Chris Rock pointed out, looking at the vast swath of red in the middle of the country, “Nobody lives here.” Our voting system already gives more power to the less populated states, no reason to rhetorically discount city voters.

  • Hey, I don’t mean to discount the cities, even rhetorically! I’m a Dem. living in the reddest county in the state–but I just wanted to point out the realities of of Wisconsin. Also, the Republicans have been trying like mad (three times) to pass a tighter voter ID bill and aren’t quiet about its intent–to depress Milwaukee voter turnout.

  • As a Wisconsinite I can understand these numbers. I believe the state is headed the wrong direction. but, the problem is Doyle is nearly as deep in the lobbiest’s pocket as the republicans. However he is certainly the least regressive candidate in the race right now.

  • So who do we want to face in the Alabama governor’s race? On one hand, Moore is so polarizing that he’d turn Dems out in droves–like Katherine Harris in Florida. On the other hand, if the right is still mad at Riley for proposing a tax hike, they just might stay home.

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