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
* According to a new Gallup poll, for the first time, a majority of Americans say they are likely to vote for Hillary Clinton<\/a> if she runs for president in 2008. She remains, however, a person who generates strong opinions on both sides — 29% were “very likely” to vote for Clinton for president if she runs in 2008; 24% were “somewhat likely”; 7% were “not very likely”; and 39% were “not at all likely” to vote for her. Her strong support has risen by 8 percentage points, and her strong opposition has dropped by 5 points since the same question was asked in June 2003.<\/p>\n * Speaking of polls, Arnold Schwarzenegger’s approval rating is down to just 40%<\/a> among all California adults. That’s down 24 points in one year. On the issues, the governor’s support is even less impressive — 40% are pleased with the way the governor is reforming state government, 37% like what he’s doing with taxes and the budget, 31% are happy with his efforts on illegal immigration, 29% approve of his handing of education, and only 28% are convinced Schwarzenegger is doing the right thing when it comes to transportation.<\/p>\n * In the latest sign of Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich’s political troubles, Sen. Dick Durbin (D-Ill.) this week did not discourage<\/a> other Dems from considering primary campaigns against the incumbent chief executive, concluding, “Anyone can run for any office.” Asked whether it’d be bad for state Dems to have a primary fight, Durbin said, “I’m not going to say what’s good or bad for the party. I want to make sure that the voters in Illinois have good candidates to vote for.” Asked if he’ll endorse Blagojevich, Durbin replied: “I’m not making any endorsement today. What I’ve said in the past is I’ve worked with him, I’m looking forward to working with him in the future.”<\/p>\n * Former Pennsylvania Lt. Gov. Bill Scranton (R) told reporters yesterday that he will seek<\/a> the Republican nomination for governor next year. He’ll likely face State Sen. Jeff Piccola and retired football player Lynn Swann in a GOP primary before taking on incumbent Gov. Ed Rendell (D). In a poll taken last month, Rendell led all three by wide margins<\/a>.<\/p>\n * Maryland Republican Party Chairman John Kane said Thursday he expects Lt. Gov. Michael Steele (R) to launch an exploratory committee<\/a> for the state’s open Senate seat. If he does throw his hat into the ring, Steels would be the only top-tier Republican in the race.<\/p>\n * In a classic example of unfortunate timing, Rep. Harold Ford Jr. (D-Tenn.) announced his campaign for Senate on Wednesday, only to have his state senator uncle and six others indicted on federal corruption charges<\/a> on Thursday. Ford, who is not involved with the legal controversy in any way, insisted this would have no impact on his campaign.<\/p>\n