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:
* Rep. Katherine Harris’ campaign manager, Jim Dornan, resigned yesterday, the latest in a series of setbacks for the Florida Republican’s Senate campaign. Dornan said, “My role was to sort of set things up on the campaign, make sure we got the trains running on time, and I just didn’t see myself as a day-to-day manager.” It wasn’t the first major staff shake-up — Michelle Querry, a former finance director for the Florida Republican Party and a fundraiser for Harris, parted ways with the Congresswoman about six months ago, unhappy with the way she had been treated. Pollster Dave Sackett also left the campaign recently.
* A new statewide poll in Wisconsin shows Gov. Jim Doyle (D), who Republicans seem to believe is vulnerable, with a big lead over his most likely GOP rivals. A new Wisconsin Public Radio/St. Norbert College poll shows Doyle leading Rep. Mark Green 45% to 32%, and Milwaukee County Executive Scott Walker (R) 46% to 31%.
* Republicans in New Mexico and DC have had very little success in recruiting a top-tier challenger for Sen. Jeff Bingaman next year, but relative unknowns continue to express interest. Yesterday, Steven Gavi, a Wal-Mart assistant manager, announced his Senate campaign. He’ll face former state Sen. Tom Benavides and Santa Fe City Councilor David Pfeffer in a GOP primary.
* In Texas, Houston lawyer Barbara Ann Radnofsky (D) announced she’s running for the Senate against incumbent Kay Bailey Hutchison (R). In a speech Tuesday at Southern Methodist University in Dallas, Radnofsky challenged Hutchison on veterans issues and said she wants to see the United States return to the value of selfless sacrifice exhibited by World War II veterans.
* Former West Virginia University basketball coach Gale Catlett (R) announced this week that he will not take on Sen. Robert Byrd (D-W. Va.) next year, leaving the GOP with literally no candidate.
* Trailing in the polls, Rhode Island Senate hopeful Matt Brown (D) made a bold move this week, challenging his Dem rivals to a debate on the war in Iraq. Carl Sheeler, a former Marine Corps captain who’s considered something of a maverick, accepted, which will put increased pressure on former state Attorney General Sheldon Whitehouse (D), the frontrunner, to participate.
* And in Michigan, former CIA agent Jim Marcinkowski (D) said yesterday that he’s planning to run against Rep. Mike Rogers (R) next year. Marcinkowski, who was Valerie Plame’s classmate at the CIA, has been an outspoken critic of the leak scandal. This will be Marcinkowski’s first run for Congress, after having served as a deputy city attorney in Royal Oak, Michigan.