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
* After years of Dick Cheney saying he has absolutely foresworn a presidential campaign in 2008, \u00c3\u00bcber-reporter Bob Woodward started quite a flurry of interest yesterday by telling Chris Matthews that Cheney might consider the race after all. Woodward labeled Cheney “a serious dark horse candidate<\/a>.” He added that with “a number of people” going for the GOP nomination, “a guy named George Bush might come out and say ‘What about Dick?'”<\/p>\n * Virginia’s gubernatorial campaign has been growing increasingly intense of late. After a couple of months of advertising exclusively on radio, Lt. Gov. Tim Kaine (D) started running TV ads three weeks ago. Scrambling to catch up, former Attorney General Jerry Kilgore’s (R) first wave of ads<\/a> will hit the airwaves this week.<\/p>\n * Perhaps sensing that Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich (D) is vulnerable next year, former Gov. Jim Edgar (R) sounds like he’s considering a comeback<\/a>. GOP leaders have reportedly approached Edgar about the race and he’s telling them that he hasn’t ruled it out. Edgar was a two-term governor who left office in 1999, though he could have run for a third term. If he does enter the race, Edgar would likely face state Treasurer Judy Baar Topinka (R) in a primary, unless she drops out to clear the way for the former governor.<\/p>\n * Speaking of Illinois, Gov. Blagojevich’s statewide popularity has clearly slipped<\/a>. While Blagojevich has generally enjoyed strong approval ratings for the past two years, a new survey shows more Illinois voters disapproving of the way he’s doing his job than approving. More importantly in a campaign context, only one-third of poll respondents say they want to see Blagojevich win a second term.<\/p>\n * Despite the fact that Rep. Don Sherwood (R-Pa.) has been caught cheating on his wife, and is accused of trying to strangle his mistress<\/a>, Republican leaders have decided to keep Sherwood<\/a> as chairman of a committee to help GOP candidates win re-election in tough races in 2006. (via Political Wire<\/a>)<\/p>\n