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
* Though several recent polls show Pennsylvania’s gubernatorial race running very close, a new Quinnipiac poll<\/a> shows some distance between Gov. [tag]Ed Rendell[\/tag] (D) and former football player [tag]Lynn Swann[\/tag] (R). According to the poll, released this morning, Rendell is ahead, 47% to 37%. Only 21% of Pennsylvania voters say Swann has the right kind of experience to be governor, down from 26% in February.<\/p>\n * Rep. [tag]Stephanie Herseth[\/tag] (D-S.D.) was, just a few years ago, considered one of the top GOP targets in the House. But after a couple of successful campaigns, Herseth is not only considered a popular lawmaker throughout South Dakota, Republicans won’t even run a candidate against her. The filing deadline was yesterday, and as of late last night, no GOP candidate stepped up. Herseth will instead face a challenge from Libertarian candidate Larry Rudebusch.<\/p>\n [Update<\/em>: Though initial media reports said Herseth would not have a Republican opponent, the South Dakota Republican Party explained today that Bruce Whalen, a county GOP activist, will be on the ballot in November. For reasons that are still unclear, the party acknowledged Whalen’s candidacy the day after<\/a> the filing deadline for candidates.]<\/p>\n * Rep. [tag]Katherine Harris[\/tag] (R-Fla.), trying to revitalize her now-ridiculous Senate campaign, started replacing campaign staffers<\/a> yesterday, after a mass exodus this past weekend. As of now, her new media consultants are Paul Wilson and Steve Grand, and her new campaign manager is Glenn Hodas. In related news, the Miami Herald reported<\/a> today that Harris “quietly deposited $3 million of her own money into her campaign last week, far less than the $10 million she promised on national television.”<\/p>\n * New Jersey’s back-and-forth Senate campaign has produced yet another poll. This time it’s a Rutgers-Eagleton poll<\/a> showing Sen. [tag]Bob Menendez[\/tag] (D) leading State Sen. [tag]Tom Kean[\/tag], Jr. (R), 40% to 35%.<\/p>\n * In Arizona, Gov. [tag]Janet Napolitano[\/tag] (D) continues to cruise towards re-election. In the latest Rasmussen poll<\/a>, Napolitano still enjoys a 20-point lead over her closest challenger, Don Goldwater (R), 54% to 34%.<\/p>\n * Roll Call noted today that Sen. [tag]Herb Kohl[\/tag]’s (D-Wis.) fourth campaign is proving to be his easiest<\/a>. With seven months to go before the election, Kohl still doesn’t have a Republican opponent. “We are kind of in a holding pattern at this point,” Rick Wiley, executive director of the Wisconsin GOP, said of the Republican effort to field a candidate. Rumor has it that state Republicans are trying to recruit businessman Tim Michels, who lost to Russ Feingold two years ago by 12 points.<\/p>\n