Tuesday’s political round-up

November 8, 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:

* It’s Election Day for several parts of the country, and voters will decide more than just Virginia’s and New Jersey’s gubernatorial races, and the New York City mayoral fight. Voters will also be electing mayors today including in Detroit, Boston, Houston, Cleveland, Minneapolis, St. Paul, San Diego, and Pittsburgh, while Bloomberg has a helpful list of the 39 statewide ballot measures to be decided today, including ones in California and Ohio that may have national implications.

* In a rare recruiting victory for Illinois Republicans, Illinois Treasurer Judy Baar Topinka (R) signaled Monday that she will run for governor next year against incumbent Gov. Rod Blagojevich (D). Topinka, who stopped short of a formal announcement, will be the fifth GOP candidate to enter the race, and her Republican rivals are already fighting for position. Some GOP candidates noted yesterday that that Topinka’s pro-choice positions make her too liberal; she has too many ties to former Gov. George Ryan (who is now on trial for corruption); and her Treasurer’s office was “hobbled” by a subpoena seeking payroll records as part of a broader government probe into the misuse of state resources for political work.

* In Ohio, a poll conducted by the Columbus Dispatch shows Sen. Mike DeWine (R-Ohio) struggling significantly in advance of next year’s re-election fight. In a hypothetical match-up against his Dem rivals, DeWine trails Rep. Sherrod Brown by four points (35% to 31%) and is only slightly ahead of Paul Hackett (32% to 30%).

* Rep. Bernie Sanders (I) is looking very strong in advance of next year’s open Senate race. A Research 2000 poll conducted for WCAX had Sanders leading businessman Richard Tarrant (R), the most likely GOP candidate, 64% to 16%.

* Speaking of Vermont, with Sanders moving up to the Senate, the state’s lone House seat is up for grabs. Republicans are rallying behind Maj. Gen. Martha Rainville, adjutant general of the Vermont National Guard, while Dems are backing State Senate President Peter Welch (D). True to form, Vermont’s further-left party, the Progressives, seem anxious to help elect a Republican by running State Rep. David Zuckerman to split the left. Zuckerman got a boost recently when Jerry Greenfield, co-founder of Ben & Jerry’s ice cream, signed on as the exploratory committee’s treasurer.

* The Wall Street Journal and Zogby Interactive have just published their monthly polling data for all of the nation’s upcoming gubernatorial and Senate campaigns. As with previous months, the WSJ is now making the data available to everyone, including non-subscribers.

Have you heard anymore on the status of next years governors race for GA? Thanks.

  • Why dis the Progressives in Vermont? They put Bernie in the Congress, will move him up to Senate.

    The Democrats don’t have a god-given right to declare that their brand of insipid me too-ism has more credibility with independent Vermonters than the kind of third party/independent thinkers and doers that have done so well in showing some spine in facing up to the radical right.

    Just more of the same kind of blinkered political thinking that has Dems quivereing in the background, afraid to challenge Bush and his thugs.

  • Have you heard anymore on the status of next years governors race for GA?

    Yes, but it’s still very early. It looks like Secretary of State Cathy Cox will go up against Lt. Gov. Mark Taylor in a Dem primary (early money is on Cox), but I saw a poll somewhere recently showing Purdue with modest leads over both. If I remember correctly, mid-single digits.

    I think party leaders are looking at this as a race that’s winnable, but Purdue is not considered one of the more vulnerable incumbent governors.

  • Topinka will just get torn apart by her “fellow conservatives” and when the primaries are done, none will have the strength left to run. The GOP will do all the work for the Democrats in this race.

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