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:<\/p>\n
* A new CNN\/Opinion Research poll<\/a> in South Carolina shows Mike Huckabee surging ahead, after trailing for months. According to the numbers, released this morning, Huckabee leads the GOP field with 24%, up from just 3% in July. Fred Thompson was second with 17%, followed by Rudy Giuliani and Mitt Romney, who are each at 16%. John McCain, who was leading in South Carolina over the summer, has dropped to fifth with 13%.<\/p>\n * The same CNN\/Opinion Research poll<\/a> shows Hillary Clinton out in front with 42%, followed by Barack Obama with 34%, and John Edwards with 16%. (No other Dem topped 3%.) Obama has cut Clinton’s lead thanks to increased support from African-American voters, who had been leaning in Clinton’s direction.<\/p>\n * In New Hampshire, a Research 2000 poll conducted for the Concord Monitor shows Obama edging past<\/a> Clinton, 32% to 31%. Edwards is third with 18%. The poll added an interesting detail: Clinton still leads by a fair margin among traditional Dems, but Obama has a slight lead thanks to support from independents.<\/p>\n * The same poll<\/a> on the GOP side shows Mitt Romney holding onto his comfortable lead with 31% support, followed by Rudy Giuliani at 18%, and John McCain at 17%.<\/p>\n * Huckabee hasn’t gotten much love from the Republican establishment, which is why it was slightly unexpected yesterday when insider Ed Rollins announced<\/a> he will serve as the national chairman of Huckabee’s campaign. Huckabee seems pleased, but he may want to reconsider<\/a>. * Apparently, rank-and-file members of the Minutemen are quite unhappy<\/a> about Jim Gilchrist’s support for Mike Huckabee. Yesterday, the organization Gilchrist founded issued a “special message” to members with this headline: “Real Minutemen Do Not Endorse Huckabee.”<\/p>\n * I won’t pretend to fully understand the legal intricacies of Iowa’s caucus rules, but the flap over whether college students who go to school in Iowa can participate on Jan. 3 remains a big deal. According to a report<\/a> from Ben Adler, “Many youth activists are furious with the campaigns of Sens. Hillary Rodham Clinton (D-N.Y.) and Chris Dodd (D-Conn.) for suggesting that college students who did not grow up in Iowa should not caucus there in January — and they are delivering that message both publicly and privately.” (Update<\/i>: The Dodd campaign has a statement<\/a> on this, which reads in part, “We welcome the participation of Iowa students in the process.”)<\/p>\n * On a related note, Obama is reaching out to Iowa youths with what McClatchy describes<\/a> as “an unmatched network throughout Iowa’s high schools. His campaign Web site lists 144 Iowa high schools with Obama student groups. That’s 40 percent of the state’s public high schools, and it translates to thousands of teens who say they’re committed to caucusing for Obama.”<\/p>\n * How bad was the Republicans’ presidential debate in Iowa on Wednesday? So bad that Iowa Republicans are now considering hosting one more forum<\/a> before the caucuses, possibly between Christmas and New Years. “We’d prefer if the Register debate did not leave a bad taste,” said one insider. “Iowa deserves a little better than that.”<\/p>\n * Texas Gov. Rick Perry (R) got a little confused<\/a> yesterday. After describing Giuliani’s types of judicial appointees, Perry said, “The issue becomes very, very clear to me from the standpoint of who I want to support. And it is Mike Huckabee.” Quickly realizing that he’s already endorsed Giuliani, Perry added, “And then it goes to the next level, which is who do we have who is the most electable of our candidates, and I think without a doubt it’s Rudy Giuliani.”<\/p>\n * If you haven’t seen it already, this video<\/a> about Huckabee’s Wayne Dumond controversy is pretty devastating.<\/p>\n * Much to my dismay, former Mississippi Attorney General Mike Moore (D) has decided not to run<\/a> for Trent Lott’s vacant Senate seat.<\/p>\n
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\n* Clinton got a very nice boost in Iowa this morning, when Rep. Leonard Boswell (D-Iowa) announced his support<\/a> for the New York senator. Boswell is the longest-serving Democrat in Iowa’ House delegation.<\/p>\n