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
* Voter-registration numbers in Florida look very good<\/a> for Democrats: “The numbers are ominous for Republicans: Through May, Democratic voter registration in Broward County was up 6.7 percent. Republican registrations grew just 3 percent while independents rose 2.8 percent. Democrats have posted even greater gains statewide, up 106,508 voters from January through May, compared with 16,686 for the Republicans. ‘It’s a huge swing,’ says Marian Johnson, political director for the Florida Chamber of Commerce. ‘I looked at that and said, ‘Wow.'”<\/p>\n * How discouraging is the landscape for Senate Republicans? A spokesperson for the NRSC said<\/a> late last week, “We have no safe seats right now. In a normal election year, we would not be concerned at all. But those are the cards we’re dealt. We’re not taking any states for granted.”<\/p>\n * More intra-party unity news<\/a>: “Karen Dunn, a former aide to Hillary Clinton, is becoming the deputy to Obama’s chief strategist, David Axelrod, a source familiar with the plan said.”<\/p>\n * California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger (R) told ABC News yesterday that he’s willing<\/a> to serve in an Obama administration, possibly as an energy and environment czar. “I’d take his call now, and I’d take his call when he’s president \u2014 any time,” Schwarzenegger said of Obama.<\/p>\n * Obama had an important message on McCain’s education record<\/a> while speaking to the American Federation of Teachers over the weekend: “For someone who’s been in Washington nearly 30 years, he’s got a pretty slim record on education, and when he has taken a stand, it’s been the wrong one.”<\/p>\n * Rasmussen’s daily tracking poll has Obama’s lead down to just one point, 47% to 46%<\/a>. * Americans seem to believe race relations can improve<\/a> under a President Obama: “Barack Obama’s groundbreaking candidacy has raised high expectations among blacks and whites that his election would make race relations in the United States better. A USA TODAY\/Gallup Poll of nearly 2,000 Americans also finds about a third of both groups say the defeat of the first black to win a major party’s presidential nomination would worsen race relations.” <\/p>\n * There were several polls in Missouri last week that showed McCain with a modest lead, but a new Research 2000 poll<\/a> shows Obama leading in Missouri by five, 48% to 43%.<\/p>\n * I refuse to believe Obama is leading McCain in Arizona<\/a>. Not a chance.<\/p>\n * Rasmussen has Obama up by eight in Washington state<\/a>, 48% to 39%.<\/p>\n * There’s been some evidence that Mike Huckabee wants to be McCain’s running mate, but he’s now expressing less interest<\/a>. “I’m not sitting around waiting on the phone to ring and right now \u2014 it would really mess up a lot of things I have going,” he told an Iowa radio station.<\/p>\n * In response to the controversy surrounding Phil Gramm’s “nation of whiners” remarks, the McCain campaign is pretending that Gramm isn’t close to McCain<\/a> anymore.<\/p>\n
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\n* Obama has 15 field offices<\/a> in Iowa. McCain has one.<\/p>\n