Rep. Stephanie Herseth Sandlin (D-S.D.) holds a 7-percentage-point advantage over her top Republican challenger, Secretary of State Chris Nelson, according to a Rasmussen Reports poll.
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Virginia Republican Gov. Bob McDonnell told WTOP’s Mark Plotkin Tuesday he has “no plans to do anything but be governor of Virginia,” but when pressed didn’t completely rule out accepting a vice presidential nomination in 2012.
“I’ve got my hands so full right now I can’t see beyond putting my heart and soul into serving the people of Virginia. I don’t have any plans for higher office at this point,” McDonnell said. Billionaire Mort Zuckerman would start out trailing badly to Democratic Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand if he moves ahead with a challenge to the Democratic appointee, according to Siena College poll released Monday.
Zuckerman, the New York Daily News publisher who has spoken with the state GOP about a possible run, lags Gillibrand in the poll, 29 percent to 49 percent. Former Gov. George Pataki, who has not signaled a serious interest in the seat, would lead Gillibrand by six points, 47 percent to 41 percent. That's down from a 13-point lead last month. Former House Speaker and potential 2012 presidential candidate Newt Gingrich predicted a conservative comeback in November’s midterm elections, thanks to voter discontent with Democratic leaders, and framed the contest as a “struggle over whether or not we are going to save America.” Addressing a standing room-only crowd at the Conservative Political Action Conference on Saturday, Gingrich called the “secular, socialist machine” that he said now controls the country “antithetical to the survival to America as a prosperous healthy country based on sound principles.” By Jonathan Martin and Jessica Taylor Rep. Ron Paul, the libertarian-leaning Texas Republican who ran a quixotic bid for the Republican presidential nomination in 2008, was the top vote-getter Saturday in the Conservative Political Action Conference’s straw poll, capturing the support of 31 percent of those who participated in the contest. Alaska Republican Gov. Sean Parnell could face several cash-flush opponents as he looks to win a full term.
The Anchorage Daily News reports that Parnell, who assumed office after Sarah Palin's resignation in July, still leads in total fundraising. Former state House Majority Leader Ralph Samuels, who just announced his candidacy in December, raised $178,584 through the end of January. Parnell raised $215,000, but had been fundraising longer than Samuels. Parnell ended with just $125,175, less than Samuels is expected to report. Connecticut Democrat Ned Lamont made his bid for governor official Tuesday, promising to make the state’s struggling economy his top priority.
Lamont, a wealthy businessman, made national headlines when he defeated Sen. Joe Lieberman in the state’s 2006 Democratic primary before losing to Lieberman, who ran as an independent, in the November general election. Lamont alluded to the Democratic momentum he built during the primary, saying he would do the same in this election. Former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush will visit Milwaukee next month to headline a fundraiser for Wisconsin gubernatorial candidate Scott Walker.
Bush plans to appear at a March 8 reception for Walker, the Milwaukee county executive, whom he praised for a "proven record of good management — cutting the debt by 10 percent, the county work force by 20 percent and holding the line on taxes." Indiana Sen. Evan Bayh ruled out running for the White House in 2012 during a television appearance Tuesday, a day after announcing he won't run for reelection to the Senate in 2010.
Asked on MSNBC's "Morning Joe" if there were any chance he'd mount a presidential campaign as a Democrat or third-party candidate, Bayh replied: "None whatsoever." |
Jessica TaylorNon-partisan political analyst Archives
January 2013
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