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:
* Republicans looking for a top-tier gubernatorial candidate in Louisiana had their eye on Sen. David Vitter (R), but he sent a letter to supporters yesterday taking himself out of consideration for the race. “I’m flattered by the talk,” Vitter wrote. “But I am completely focused on, and challenged and fulfilled by, my work in the U.S. Senate. Even in these pressure-packed times, it is my dream job.” The leading GOP candidate is generally considered Rep. Bobby Jindal (R), who ran a near-miss gubernatorial race in 2003.
* Speaking of Louisiana, Lt. Gov. Mitch Landrieu (D) is expected to announce today that he’s running for mayor of New Orleans. He’ll face incumbent Ray Nagin (D) — and about a dozen more announced candidates — in the April 22 election.
* In Maryland, the latest Rasmussen poll shows Rep. Ben Cardin (D) getting a little breathing room in his Senate race against Lt. Governor Michael Steele (R). Though several recent polls showed the race fairly close, this poll shows Cardin ahead by 14 points, 49% to 35%.
* Rep. Katherine Harris’ (R) Senate campaign in Florida just isn’t gaining traction. A Republican poll conducted by the firm Strategic Vision shows Harris trailing Sen. Bill Nelson (D-Fla.) 49% to 34%. Comparing the numbers to the Strategic Vision poll from December, Harris has lost two points and Nelson has gained one. David E. Johnson, Strategic Vision’s president, said, “The problem with her is she’s going down.”
* Speaking of Harris, the Republican Senate candidate is now using her role in the 2000 presidential election mess as a rallying cry for GOP support. “As Florida’s Secretary of State during the hotly-contested 2000 Presidential election recount, I was thrust into the national spotlight for five grueling weeks,” Harris wrote prospective donors. “To this very day there are angry liberals … who still cannot deal with the fact that their candidate lost. … I am still being blamed for President Bush’s victory.” It’s a risky strategy — her role in the 2000 debacle is what makes her campaign dubious already.
* And in still more news from the Sunshine State, a new Quinnipiac poll shows state Attorney General Charlie Crist (R) establishing himself as the early favorite in Florida’s gubernatorial race. Crist not only leads his primary opponent, state Financial Officer Tom Gallagher (R), 40% to 31%, among primary voters, he also leads his Dem rivals. Crist leads State Sen. Rod Smith (D), 42% to 32%, but Rep. Jim Davis (D), the Dem frontrunner, keeps things close, 40% to 36%.