Pennsylvania
Sen. Rick Santorum (R-Pa.) has narrowed the gap between himself and his Democratic opponent, state Treasurer Bob Casey, Jr., according to a poll released yesterday by Quinnipiac University.
In a head-to-head match-up, Casey now leads Santorum 47 percent to 40 percent among likely voters, a slip for the Democrat from the 52 percent to 34 percent lead he enjoyed in June.
Despite the lead, 27 percent of likely voters who chose one candidate over the other said they might change their views before Election Day. A slightly higher percentage of Santorum backers said they were not sure: 28 percent, compared to 23 percent of Casey supporters.
Complicating matters further is the nascent candidacy of the Green Party’s Carl Romanelli. With the third-party candidate in the mix, Casey leads Santorum 48 percent to 42 percent, with 5 percent choosing Romanelli.
The Pennsylvania Democratic party is trying to get the Green Party candidate off the ballot, claiming irregularities with his petitions and complaining that Santorum backers have bankrolled his campaign.
Santorum continues to receive poor job approval-disapproval and favorable-unfavorable ratings but has rebounded since June, the poll indicates.
Forty-two percent of those surveyed approve of Santorum’s job performance while 44 percent disapprove, compared with 38 percent and 45 percent, respectively, in June. Thirty percent of voters said they have a favorable opinion of the incumbent, and 33 percent have an unfavorable view, while in June those ratings were 28 percent and 35 percent, respectively.
—Jeffrey Young
Connecticut
The Republican Jewish Coalition (RJC) has launched a print advertising campaign in Jewish newspapers nationwide, aiming to marshal support for Sen. Joseph Lieberman’s (D-Conn.) independent bid in November by playing up his support for Israel.
“The Democratic party has thrown out one of Israel’s best friends,” the RJC ad states, referring to Lieberman’s primary defeat last week at the hands of anti-war Democratic challenger Ned Lamont. “America and Israel are worse off for it.”
The GOP has recently amplified its efforts to cut into Jewish voters’ historic pattern of support for Democratic candidates, particularly since the conflict between Israel and Hezbollah began last month. The RJC issued a release accompanying the ad buy emphasizing a recent Los Angeles Times poll that found greater support for U.S.-Israel alignment among Republicans than among Democrats.
Lamont’s campaign did not return a request for comment by press time on the RJC ad. But Lamont has positioned himself as an ally of Israel in its war with Hezbollah despite his opposition to the Iraq war, which fueled his toppling of Lieberman.
“I believe that when Israel’s security is threatened, the United States must unambiguously stand with our ally,” Lamont said late last month, adding: “Let’s be clear that [President] Bush emphasized Iraq at the expense of an Israeli-Palestinian peace settlement, and we are reaping the consequences.”
—Elana Schor
Nebraska
Sen. Ben Nelson (D-Neb.) will receive a boost today from a Republican colleague: Sen. Saxby Chambliss (R-Ga.), chairman of the Agriculture Committee.
Chambliss will appear with Nelson in Grand Island, Nebraska, to conduct a field hearing that Nelson requested. The appearance could carry some political weight in a state where farming is a major business.
The committee held a hearing yesterday in Oregon and has another scheduled for Thursday in Montana.
One Nelson supporter touted the joint appearance, pointing out that a senior Republican is coming to the Cornhusker State to appear with the Nelson, instead of his Republican opponent Pete Ricketts.
While Chambliss will not meet up with Ricketts, Senate Majority Whip Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) will appear at a fundraising luncheon with the candidate today.
Nelson is counting on the support of Republicans and Republican allies to win re-election in a red state that President Bush carried by 33 points in 2004.
Nelson will get that support later this week when the U.S. Chamber of Commerce travels to Bellevue, Hastings and Lincoln, Nebraska, aboard its mobile voter registration center, the “Vote for Business Bandwagon” bus. The Chamber has endorsed Nelson’s campaign.
As it turns out, Bush has given Nelson the biggest favor for his re-election bid so far by appointing former Nebraska Gov. Mike Johanns (R) as Secretary of Agriculture. Johanns, who was sworn in at the beginning of last year, was expected to give Nelson a stiff challenge for his seat. But that’s not to say Johanns is completely out of the race; he attended a fundraising breakfast with Ricketts yesterday.
—Alexander Bolton
Virginia
Senate Democratic hopeful Jim Webb announced the opening of six new field offices and the hiring of eight new staffers yesterday.
"As our campaign continues to move forward, I'm excited to bring on talented new staff and open new field offices to ensure that our message is heard in every corner of the Commonwealth," Webb said.
Among the new hires are Larry Byrne, a longtime Virginia political consultant, as field director; Jessica Smith, former Iowa state political director for Al Gore, as press secretary; and Michael Brown as African-American outreach coordinator. Brown worked on former Virginia Gov. Doug Wilder's (D) campaign.
The new field offices were opened in Arlington, Richmond, Roanoke, Charlottesville, Norfolk and Lebanon in southwest Virginia. Webb will face incumbent Sen. George Allen (R) in November.
-Josephine Hearn
Florida
Republican House candidate Mark Flanagan on Friday announced his support for a ban on all carry-on luggage in the United States in light of the foiled terrorist plot in Great Britain last week.
The Manatee County businessman and former state representative is using the issue to carve out a niche for himself in the crowded five-candidate primary in the race to replace Rep. Katherine Harris (R-Fla.), who is running for Senate. He said he is the only candidate or elected official to propose such a ban, which already exists in Israel and was temporarily instituted in Britain after last week's events.
Flanagan's proposal would make a ban on carry-on luggage permanent. He said that he has consulted security experts on the issue and that he believes people would accept the idea.
"Historically speaking, Americans have been more than willing to make the sacrifices necessary to win war," Flanagan said. "This policy would require what I would consider a small sacrifice."
Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff has called a complete ban "unlikely."
The race to succeed Harris has seen some very erratic polling.
Flanagan was tied for the lead in a poll released June 22 by Strategic Vision and funded by his campaign. In that poll, he and Vern Buchanan were tied at 23 percent, and Tramm Hudson was fifth with 9 percent.
But in a Tarrance Group poll released by Hudson last week, Hudson now holds a 12-point lead over Buchanan with 35 percent of the vote, while Flanagan is fourth with 8 percent.
The other candidates in the Republican primary are Donna Clarke and Nancy Detert. Jan Schneider and Christine Jennings are vying for the Democratic nod.
-Aaron Blake
Illinois
Jason Roe, chief of staff to Rep. Tom Feeney (R-Fla.) who has run several Republican campaigns, is taking a leave of absence to manage GOP Illinois state Sen. Peter Roskam's campaign for the U.S. House.
Roskam will face Iraq war veteran Tammy Duckworth (D), who is considered a protégé of both Sen. Dick Durbin (D-Ill.) and Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee Chairman Rahm Emanuel (D-Ill.). Both were instrumental in recruiting her to run.
"We've had a local team on the ground. I'm just bringing in a person with a level of experience, now that this is a tier-one race, who's seen what Democrats have done at this level," said Roskam, adding that the change in personnel did not indicate a flagging campaign.
Duckworth released a poll earlier this summer that showed the race in a dead heat. Both candidates have raked in cash (Roskam had $1.3 million in cash on hand at the end of June while Duckworth reported more than $900,000 on hand at that time) and brought in their party's biggest stars to help raise money and campaign. President Bush won 53 percent of the vote in 2004 and 2000.
Roe has worked for Rep. Steve Pearce (R-N.M.) and former Reps. Tom DeLay (R-Texas) and James Rogan (R-Calif.).
-Jonathan E. Kaplan
New York
New York's AFL-CIO endorsed Democrat Kirsten Gillibrand on Monday, giving her a dose of good news in her bid to unseat Rep. John Sweeney (R-N.Y.).
State Democrats crowed about the endorsement because Sweeney had been Gov. George Pataki's (R) labor commissioner and the union had endorsed Sweeney in previous races. But Gillibrand was dealt a setback last week when the Independence Party did not grant her a line on the ballot. Gillibrand and her allies believed they could score an early knockout against Sweeney if they had a spot on the ballot and forced a head-to-head match-up in the primary Sept. 12.
"This is not news to anyone but Gillibrand," said Melissa Carlson, Sweeney's spokeswoman.
- Jonathan E. Kaplan
http://www.hillnews.com/thehill/export/TheHill/News/Campaign/081606_state.html
