Wednesday’s political round-up

August 16, 2006

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:

* Pennsylvania Gov. [tag]Ed Rendell[/tag] (D) continues to excel on the campaign trail and a new Quinnipiac poll shows his double-digit lead getting even bigger over former football player [tag]Lynn Swann[/tag] (R). The results show Rendell ahead, 57% to 38%.

* Michigan’s gubernatorial race continues to look very competitive, and for a change, Gov. [tag]Jennifer Granholm[/tag] (D) has reclaimed the lead over Amway heir [tag]Dick DeVos[/tag]’ (R) in two statewide polls. A new Rasmussen poll shows Granholm up, 47% to 46%, after trailing in last months poll by six points. A new Detroit News poll shows Granholm with a slightly larger lead, 50% to 47%.

* Speaking of Michigan, Oakland County Sheriff [tag]Michael Bouchard[/tag] (R) seems to have received a post-primary bump in the polls. A new Rasmussen poll shows incumbent Sen. [tag]Debbie Stabenow[/tag] (D) leading Bouchard, 49% to 44%, though Stabenow had led by double digits in recent months.

* In Alaska, Gov. [tag]Frank Murkowski[/tag] (R) appears to be well on his way to losing a Republican primary, possibly even coming in third. A new Alaska poll (.pdf) shows former Wasilla Mayor [tag]Sarah Palin[/tag] in the lead with 40%, businessman [tag]John Binkley[/tag] second with 29%, and Murkowski trailing with just 17%. (via Taegan Goddard)

* Nevada had a slew of primaries yesterday. In the Senate race, Sen. [tag]John Ensign[/tag] and Democratic challenger [tag]Jack Carter[/tag] had no trouble securing their party’s nomination; in the GOP primary in the 2nd district, Secretary of State [tag]Dean Heller[/tag] “squeaked out a 400-vote victory” over Assemblywoman [tag]Sharron Angle[/tag]; [tag]Tessa Hafen[/tag], former press secretary for Harry Reid, won the Democratic nomination to face Rep. [tag]Jon Porter[/tag] (R) in Nevada’s 3rd district; and in the governor’s race, Rep. [tag]Jim Gibbons[/tag] (R) and state Sen. [tag]Dina Titus[/tag] (D) won their primary races.

I’m not sure who or how it is decided that a particular Congressional race is
“in play.” But seeing this is a time when many safe Republican seats
may be up for grabs, I am wondering what it takes to get some of you folks helping Danny Stover to unseat Rep John Shimkus in the Illinois 19th CD.

The United Auto Workers have announced that they are endorsing Mr. Stover.

Here is a blurb from his website: stoverforcongress.us

“With over thirty years of public service as an educator and in elected office, Stover has fought for balanced budgets and fiscal responsibility while still advancing the cause of our children, the poor and the elderly. As an educator he understands the need to adequately fund our schools, and as a city councilman he has fought the battles to build the roads and maintain the infrastructure without wasting money on pork and pet projects. ”

I live in the IL 19th CD and will be doing all I can to elect Mr. Stover to Congress this November.

  • President Bush will be in Pennsylvania today to fund raise and campaign for Lynn Swann. Bush will visit York, PA and other points in central Pennsylvania.

    James Carville once described Pennsylvania as “Philadelphia and Pittsburgh with Alabama in between.” What did Carville mean by that? He meant the denizens of central Pennsylvania have lots of Bibles and don’t tolerate Black people very well.

    Bush will be pushing mud uphill on his tour of Pennsylvania today.

  • Carville once described Pennsylvania as “Philadelphia and Pittsburgh with Alabama in between.” What did Carville mean by that? He meant the denizens of central Pennsylvania have lots of Bibles and don’t tolerate Black people very well

    I once ran a congressional campaign in York, PA, and I know from personal experience that this is, alas, rather true.

  • Great news from MI, it looks like this will be the start of a climb in Governor Granholm’s numbers. After DeVos has spent $13 million of his own money on ads, he could only get to within the margin of error. However, now that the Granholm ads are up and running the momentum looks to have shifted in her favor. The ads coupled with continued positive news on the jobs front and DeVos announcing a Lt. Governor candidate as extreme as he is, should all help Granholm.

    I liked Bill Clinton’s comments from the rally in MI yesterday, “Your governor’s opponent thinks what Michigan needs is a state version of Bush-Cheney government.” That is exactly what MI doesn’t need.

  • “Your governor’s opponent thinks what Michigan needs is a state version of Bush-Cheney government.” – Bill Clinton

    That is damn cleaver. Good old Bill, making it concise and to the point.

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