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
* Hillary Clinton picked up a very helpful endorsement this morning, earning the support of North Carolina Gov. Michael Easley<\/a>. The two campaigned together in Raleigh, one week before the state’s Democratic primary. Easley is, of course, a superdelegate.<\/p>\n * Speaking of North Carolina, a new Rasmussen poll<\/a> still shows Barack Obama with a double-digit lead, but his margin is shrinking. Earlier this month, Obama led by 23 (56% to 33%), whereas now, with a week to go, Obama leads by 14 (51% to 37%).<\/p>\n * Barack Obama picked up a superdelegate endorsement of his own yesterday, when Sen. Jeff Bingaman<\/a> (D-N.M.) threw his support to Obama. At this point, Obama now leads Clinton on endorsements from their Senate colleagues.<\/p>\n * In still more endorsement news, Obama will also pick up the support today of Rep. Ben Chandler (D) in Kentucky. Eric Kleefeld noted the oddity<\/a>: “Kentucky may well be [Obama’s] single worst state in the Union in both primary and general election polls, and thus it doesn’t seem like he’d be much help to them at the top of the ticket.” Kentuckians head to the polls in three weeks.<\/p>\n * With a week to go before the Indiana primary, SurveyUSA<\/a> has Clinton leading Obama, 52% to 43%. The nine-point margin is down from a 16-point lead Clinton enjoyed in a SUSA poll two weeks ago. * Greg Sargent found an interesting tidbit<\/a> in the same AP\/Ipsos poll: at least for now, Clinton’s faring much<\/i> better among independents. A few weeks ago, this poll showed Clinton and McCain about even among independents; now, it shows her with a 16-point lead (50% to 34%). Is the AP\/Ipsos poll an outlier or part of some new trend?<\/p>\n * Obama appears to enjoy a general-election edge in Wisconsin<\/a>, where Obama leads McCain by four, while McCain leads Clinton by six.<\/p>\n * The Gallup Daily Tracking Poll continues to show a very close race<\/a>, with Obama now leading Clinton by just one, 47% to 46%.<\/p>\n * SEIU is on the air in Ohio with a new ad<\/a> hitting McCain on healthcare.<\/p>\n
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\n* A national AP\/Ipsos poll<\/a> released yesterday showed Clinton leading McCain by nine (50% to 41%) in a general election match-up, while Obama leads McCain by two (46% to 44%).<\/p>\n