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
* In Florida, state Attorney General [tag]Charlie Crist[\/tag] (R) is not only leading comfortably in the Republican gubernatorial primary, he’s also building a big general-election lead. In a new Rasmussen poll<\/a>, Crist now leads Rep. [tag]Jim Davis[\/tag] (D), 49% to 35%. The likely GOP nominee holds a smaller, but still large, lead over state Sen. [tag]Rod Smith[\/tag] (D), 46% to 36%. Crist is viewed favorably by 62%, Davis by 44%, and Smith by 41%.<\/p>\n * With Lt. Gov. [tag]Michael Steele[\/tag] (R) running for the Senate, Maryland Gov. [tag]Bob Ehrlich[\/tag] (R) announced a new running-mate<\/a> yesterday, [tag]Kristen Cox[\/tag], the legally blind head of the state disabilities office. Cox, 36, has lived in Maryland for only six years after having been raised in Utah. As a relative unknown with little political experience, Cox’s views on the issues are still unknown, and Ehrlich campaign officials would not allow reporters access to her yesterday.<\/p>\n * Helping highlight a blue-state\/red-state divide, the president makes appearances in two new ads<\/a> from Democratic Senate candidates — but in very different contexts. In Nebraska, Sen. [tag]Ben Nelson[\/tag] (D) shows [tag]Bush[\/tag] praising him as “a man with whom I can work, a person who’s willing to put partisanship aside to focus on what’s right for America.” At the same time, [tag]Ned Lamont[\/tag] (D) features Bush morphing into Sen. [tag]Joe Lieberman[\/tag] (D) in a new ad in Connecticut.<\/p>\n * In South Carolina, Gov. [tag]Mark Sanford[\/tag] (R) still enjoys a big lead over state Senator [tag]Tommy Moore[\/tag] (D), but the gap has narrowed a bit. In the latest Rasmussen poll<\/a>, Sanford is ahead, 51% to 39%, but a month ago, Moore was trailing by nearly twice as much, 52% to 33%.<\/p>\n