My new daily feature about campaign-related news items that wouldn’t generate a post of their own, but may nevertheless be of interest to political observers:
* New Jersey Sen. Jon Corzine’s (D) gubernatorial campaign is off to a good start — a new Quinnipiac University poll shows Corzine with double-digit leads over both of his likely GOP opponents. Corzine leads former Jersey City Mayor Bret Schundler 50-34, and local businessman Doug Forrester 50-33.
* Virginia Lt. Gov. Tim Kaine (D) will formally launch his gubernatorial campaign today, focusing on “homeowner tax relief and a promise to improve the state’s transportation system, promote excellence in education and maintain discipline in the state budget.” He’ll get plenty of party support. His likely GOP opponent is Virginia Attorney General Jerry Kilgore.
* Rep. Bob Beauprez (R-Colo.) seems to be listening to party leaders who’ve been urging him to run for governor. He announced yesterday that he will form an exploratory committee to “kick the tires” on the idea of running. In the same race, University of Denver President Marc Holtzman announced that he too will run for governor as a Republican. As for the Dems, party leaders are have stepping up efforts to recruit Denver Mayor John Hickenlooper for the race.
* The wide-open race to replace Jeb Bush as governor of Florida is about to get a new contestant: Scott Maddox, who up until recently as has been chairman of the Florida Democratic Party. Maddox was a popular mayor of Tallahassee from 1997 to 2003 and has been making noises about the race in recent months.
* Rep. Melissa Bean (D-Ill.), fresh off her exciting victory over former Rep. Phil Crane (R), is rumored to be a top GOP target in 2006. Her prospects improved yesterday, however, when state Sen. Pamela Althoff (R) announced she would not take Bean on next year. Althoff had scheduled a meeting in DC to discuss the race with the National Republican Congressional Committee, but she canceled the trip.
* Sen. Kent Conrad (D-N.D.) is supposed to be a top target (Dem lawmaker, very “Red” state), but up until recently, Republicans were having trouble recruiting a top-tier rival. That may be about to change. North Dakota Gov. John Hoeven (R) apparently has grown “increasingly interested” in the race.
* Rumors that Sen. Craig Thomas (R-Wyo.) might retire seem to be untrue. Thomas announced yesterday that he fully intends to seek a third term next year.
* And in news that seems too silly to be true, there’s actually a group of well-intentioned people in Pennsylvania who have an outside-the-box idea about a Dem candidate to take on Rick “Man on Dog” Santorum next year: MSNBC’s Chris Matthews. Though Matthews has expressed literally no interest in the campaign, this site appears to be serious.