A new Civitas poll in North Carolina finds Sen. Kay Hagan (D) leading challenger Thom Tillis (R) in the U.S. Senate race, 46% to 41%, when leaners are allocated to each candidate.
Archives for September 2014
Extra Bonus Quote of the Day
“My mistake was that I was speaking in a way that reflected back to the man. If I had been able to see the camera, I would have remembered that I was talking to the whole world, not just the man.”
— Mitt Romney, quoted by the New York Times, recognizing the potential of hidden cameras to wreck a presidential campaign.
Pataki Again Flirts With White House Bid
Former New York Gov. George Pataki (R) “is reportedly considering running for president in 2016, though a former aide says talk of a campaign is premature,” the AP reports.
The New York Post says Pataki “is privately gearing up for a 2016 presidential run, according to sources, and was spotted meeting GOP kingmaker David Koch last week.”
Do We Elect a Governor Who May End Up in Jail?
New York gubernatorial candidate Rob Astorino (R) has one of the strangest and most desperate ads of the year.
Shaheen Leads by Double-Digits in New Hampshire
A new American Research Group poll in New Hampshire finds Sen. Jeanne Shaheen (D) leads challenger Scott Brown (R) in the U.S. Senate race, 53% to 43%.
Ernst Ahead in Iowa
A new Public Policy Polling survey in Iowa finds Joni Ernst (R) slightly ahead of Bruce Braley (D) in the U.S. Senate race, 44% to 42%.
Key finding: “Even though the horse race numbers haven’t changed much, this is the first time we’ve found Ernst with a better net favorability rating than Braley.”
Burke Leads Walker in Wisconsin
A new Gravis Marketing survey in Wisconsin finds Mary Burke (D) leading Gov. Scott Walker (R) in the race for governor by five points, 50% to 45%.
Kassebaum Baker Refused to Cut Ad for Roberts
Sen. Pat Roberts (R-KS) asked former Sen. Nancy Kassebaum Baker (R-KS), his “colleague and friend of more than 30 years,” to tape a TV commercial for him but she refused, the Kansas City Star reports.
Said Kassebaum Baker: “There’s just disappointment around the state. They feel they don’t know him now.”
Cassidy Holds Small Lead in Louisiana
A new Public Policy Polling survey finds Bill Cassidy (R) with a slight lead over Sen. Mary Landrieu (D) in a possible December runoff election, 48% to 45%.
Key finding: “Neither candidate is very popular with voters. 37% of voters have a favorable opinion of Cassidy to 41% with an unfavorable opinion, numbers that while poor are actually slightly improved from a -8 net favorability rating on the previous poll at 28/36. Landrieu’s approval numbers are worse though- 42% give her good marks to 52% who disapprove.”
Citizens of the Green Room
Coming this fall: Citizens of the Green Room: Profiles in Courage and Self-Delusion by Mark Leibovich.
Where is Terri Lynn Land?
NPR reports that Michigan U.S. Senate candidate Terri Lynn Land’s (R) “last public appearance was at a Republican dinner in Macomb County last Tuesday. Since then, nothing.”
Assessing Obamacare
Wonk Wire: Obamacare’s First Anniversary Report Card
Incumbent Governors Fear Wipeout
“As many as a dozen incumbent governors are fighting for their political lives five weeks out from Election Day — a list that includes the chief executives of states as red as Kansas and as blue as Connecticut as well as several top presidential battlegrounds,” Politico reports.
“The unsettled gubernatorial landscape has drawn a fraction of the attention of the seesawing battle for the Senate. Yet the state of play is dramatic in its own right: The fate of big-name Republicans such as Wisconsin’s Scott Walker, Florida’s Rick Scott and Michigan’s Rick Snyder are all on the line, and Democrats such as Colorado’s John Hickenlooper and Illinois’ Pat Quinn are locked in tough reelection races that could go either way.”
Ugly Fight Awaits Obama’s Attorney General Nominee
Byron York: “President Obama has a pretty obvious deadline for nominating a successor to departing Attorney General Eric Holder. If Democrats lose control of the Senate in November, they’ll still run things until newly-elected members arrive in January. So just to be safe, if the president wants guaranteed confirmation of a new attorney general, he’ll need to pick one soon. That way, even if Republicans win the Senate, and even if Obama’s choice is unpopular with the GOP, lame-duck Democrats will still be able to steamroll the opposition and confirm a new Attorney General.”
“But it could be very, very ugly.”
Assessing the Battle for the Senate
Reid Wilson: “Here’s the rough consensus on Democratic seats (the higher the rank, the more likely a seat is to change control): Montana will flip by the widest margin. West Virginia. South Dakota. Louisiana. Arkansas. Alaska. Iowa. Colorado. Michigan. North Carolina. Minnesota. Oregon (Some Democrats say North Carolina should come before Iowa and Colorado). The consensus among Republican seats: Kansas is the most likely to change control. Then Georgia. Then Kentucky.”
“The shorthand takeaway: Alaska is the Republicans’ 51st seat. If Kansas flips, it’s all about Iowa.”
Charlie Cook: “My hunch is that this is not a year when Democrats are likely to get a disproportionate share of the breaks. I’m sticking with the 60 percent chance of a Senate turnover that I’ve held for several months.”
Democrats Spend Big on Ground Game
“With a strong possibility that Democrats could lose control of the Senate in the midterm elections, they are investing heavily in voter turnout efforts,” the New York Times reports.
“In states too close to call like Alaska, Colorado, Iowa and North Carolina, Democrats are making much greater investments in the ground game than Republicans.”
Bonus Quote of the Day
“I was talking to one of my political advisers and I said: ‘If I had to do this again, I’d insist that you literally had a camera on me at all times. I want to be reminded that this is not off the cuff.”
— Mitt Romney, quoted by the New York Times, on running for president.
Is Huckabee Gearing Up for Presidential Bid?
Longtime GOP consultant Ed Rollins told the Washington Post that former Arkansas governor Mike Huckabee could be a formidable presidential candidate.
Said Rollins: “Mike has always thought 2016 would be his cycle. I think he’s getting ready to go. Every sign out there is that he’s thinking hard about it.”
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