From Politics.com

IT'S ELECTION DAY 2007 (... PLUS ILLINOIS PRIMARY FILING CLOSES).KENTUCKY: Every independent poll agrees: former Lieutenant Governor Steve Beshear (D) will smash scandal-tinged Governor Ernie Fletcher (R) by a landslide margin. In a last minute attempt to rally conservatives, Fletcher's campaign sponsored recorded robocalls to voters featuring entertainer Pat Boone. In the message, Boone warned that "as a Christian" he is concerned Beshear will "work for every homosexual cause. Now do you want a Governor who'd like Kentucky to be another San Francisco? Please re-elect Ernie Fletcher." Fletcher's runningmate, Robbie Rudolph, also said this weekend that Kentucky voters must chose between "a couple of San Francisco treats or ... a Governor," reported the Lexington Herald-Leader. Despite the gay-bashing tactic, look for Fletcher to lose by around a 20-point margin. Five other statewide constitutional officer races are also on Tuesday's ballot.MISSISSIPPI. The only question here is whether Governor Haley Barbour (R) will win by a wider victory margin than Beshear's margin in Kentucky. Barbour will cruise to an easy, lopsided win over John Arthur Eaves Jr. (D), in what has largely been a fairly sedate race. Seven other statewide constitutional officer races are also on Tuesday's ballot.OHIO: The special election primary is Tuesday for the CD-5 seat left open by the death of Congressman Paul Gillmor (R). The seat is solidly Republican, so the winner of the GOP primary is heavily favored to win the December 11 general election to fill the remainder of the term. State Representative Bob Latta and State Senator Steve Buehrer are the frontrunners for the GOP nomination. Three other Republicans are also running. Latta is the son of retired Congressman Del Latta, Gillmor's predecessor. Buehrer is strongly backed by the conservative Club for Growth. The Latta-Buehrer race has been so nasty in tone that some GOP insiders fear it could help think tank official Robin Weirauch (D) in the general. In fact, the Ohio Republican Party felt compelled to send a written rebuke to both men: "The direction this campaign is headed will tarnish your reputations and those of your campaign consultants and supporters. But more important than the reputation of any individual, the tenor of the race is poised to harm our party." In response, Latta and Buehrer each said they thought they'd still be able to win next month as the nominee.MAYORAL CONTESTS. Various mayoral races are also on the ballot Tuesday. Among the top races are in San Francisco, Houston, Pittsburgh and Philadelphia. No surprises or upsets are expected in any of those contests.ILLINOIS. Candidate filing closed Tuesday for Illinois' February 5 primary. Congressman Dan Lipinski (D) -- a fairly conservative Democrat -- is facing aggressive challenges from three credible opponents. The GOP primaries for the open CD-11, CD-14 and CD-18 seats are also significant, as Republican incumbents are retiring in all three districts. The CD-11 filings were unusual in that the leading GOP candidates -- New Lenox Mayor Tim Baldermann and former Bush White House aide Jimmy Lee -- could both be fairly described as "second tier" candidates. State Senate Majority Leader Debbie Halvorson is unopposed for the CD-11 Dem nomination. Also, based on the filings, US Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin (D) looks headed to a fairly easy re-election race next November. Click here to see all of the Illinois congressional candidate filings. In other related news, controversial former Georgia Congresswoman Cynthia McKinney -- who has since quit the Democratic Party and moved to California -- was one of four candidates to file for Green Party's Presidential primary.Posted by Ron Gunzburger - 11.06.07 Permalink
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CHANGE OF STRATEGY: IS MURPHY RUNNING RICHARDSON FOR VEEP?New Mexico Governor Bill Richardson (D) should make for an interesting candidate for President because his experience in Congress, diplomacy and as Governor shows real leadership. Sadly, Richardson seems to have recently retooled himself into running hard for a spot on Hillary Clinton's ticket. In the recent debates, when others aggressively attacked Clinton, Richardson praised her and seemingly tried to fend off those candidates who did challenger her. One New York-based Richardson donor complained after a recent Park Avenue fundraiser for Richardson that "Bill is our best candidate, so why doesn't he fight for the nomination instead of acting like a Hillary shill." I also interviewed by phone a long-time New Mexico Democratic consultant. "The way to get on the ticket is to show you can pull votes. You pull votes by fighting for your ideals, not brown-nosing the front runner," he griped. The "Suck up to Hillary" strategy appears to be the brain-child of Richardson media consultant Steve Murphy. Murphy, responsible for Richardson's clever early humorous résumé spots (which almost nobody saw), would like to be picked-up for the Hillary entourage by her consultant Mark Penn once Richardson is either crushed or The VP candidate. Whether it should be attributed to Murphy or others in the Richardson camp, Richardson is not acting these days like a real challenger for the nomination. "Richardson has a great tax-cutting record but he never talks about it when he visits Manchester" said one New Hampshire Democratic activist, who recently switched to backing Joe Biden after the Delaware US Senator visited her home and made her a grilled cheese-and-tomato sandwich. Murphy was the campaign manager who led Dick Gephardt's ill-fated 2004 Iowa strategy centered upon nasty attack ads against Howard Dean that derailed both the Dean and Gephardt campaigns.

From politics.com and cqpolitics:

REID ASKS SENS "PLEASE SHOW UP"; FRED IS PRO-IRAN WAR, KINDA PRO-CHOICE; ME & KY POLLS; MUKASEY LOCKS IT UP; MONDALE FOR HILLARY.US SENATE: Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D) has a request for the four Dem Senators running for President: you need to show up this week for work. "I’m going to leave here and go call [Clinton, Obama, Biden and Dodd] and let them know that they better look at their schedules because these are not votes you can miss," Reid told The Hill. The votes are all related to key fights with the Republicans and Bush Administration on some hot-button federal budget issues.THOMPSON. Former US Senator Fred Thompson (R) said Sunday on Meet the Press that he supports a preemptive war against Iran but opposes a constitutional amendment banning abortion. On Iran, Thompson explained "I don’t see how we can afford to let these people go nuclear." As for abortion, made a state's rights argument against an amendment, saying "I think people ought to be free at state and local levels to make decisions that even Fred Thompson disagrees with." This abortion stance is consistent with Thompson's opposition to a constitutional amendment banning gay marriage. MAINE: The latest independent Critical Insights poll shows US Senator Susan Collins (R) continuing to hold a wide lead over Congressman Tom Allen (D): 54% to 34%. As for the open CD-1 congressional race, the poll found none of the seven announced candidates have a name recognition factor above the paltry 4% mark.CABINET. No votes have yet taken place, but retired federal judge Michael Mukasey now appears on his way to being confirmed as Attorney General. A group of US Senators who appeared to be wavering over Mukasey's inability to declare waterboarding a form of torture -- Dianne Feinstein (D-CA), Chuck Schumer (D-NY), John McCain (R-AZ), Arlen Specter (R-PA) and Lindsey Graham (R-SC) -- all announced they will vote to confirm. The only question now is by how many voted will Mukasey be confirmed?KENTUCKY. A new Rasmussen Reports poll shows former Lieutenant Governor Steve Beshear (D) cruising to a wide victory over Governor Ernie Fletcher (R) in Tuesday's election. The numbers: Beshear - 54%, Fletcher - 39%.SOUTH DAKOTA: Despite some media and blog reports to the contrary, Governor Mike Rounds' (R) press secretary told Rapid City Journal that Rounds did not visit the NRSC headquarters during his DC visit on Friday. Rounds visited the National Academy of Sciences in DC to discuss the state's Deep Underground Science & Engineering Laboratory. His office insists Rounds will stick to his earlier decision and not run against US Senator Tim Johnson (D) next year. Johnson -- who suffered a near-fatal brain hemorrhage in December 2006 -- last month announced his candidacy for re-election.CLINTON. Former Vice President Walter Mondale (D-MN) -- the 1984 nominee for President -- endorsed Hillary Clinton for President at an appearance in Iowa on Sunday. "America is ready for change, and Hillary Clinton has the strength and experience to deliver it," said Mondale. "I cannot tell you how totally honored I am to be here with someone whom I have admired all my adult life," responded Clinton. The most memorable moment in Mondale's disastrous Presidential run was announcing in his nomination acceptance that he planned to raise taxes if elected. Reagan swept 49 states in the general election.

Thompson Collapses Nationally, Leads In SC
Two polls out there to report this morning. First, a new Newsweek poll shows Hillary’s lead over Rudy Giuliani shrinking and Fred Thompson in a complete freefall in the Republican primary.
PRESIDENT - NATIONALHillary (D) 49%Rudy Giuliani (R) 45%
PRESIDENT - NATIONAL - PRIMARIES
Giuliani 30%Thompson 15%McCain 14%Romney 12%Huckabee 7%Paul 3%Hunter 2%Tancredo 0%
Hillary 43%Obama 24%Edwards 12%Kucinich 4%Biden 4%Richardson 3%Dodd 0%
The previous Newsweek poll from a couple months ago had Thompson at 22% and only 8% behind Giuliani. This latest poll was done October 31-November 1 among 1002 registered voters.
Meanwhile, a new poll from Winthrop University and ETV in South Carolina shows Thompson barely ahead in a tight three-way battle while Hillary, surprise, is leading Democrats by double digits.
PRESIDENT - SOUTH CAROLINA - PRIMARIES
Thompson 18%Romney 17%Giuliani 17%McCain 9%Huckabee 5%Paul 2%Tancredo 1%Hunter 1%
Hillary 33%Obama 23%Edwards 10%Biden 2%Kucinich 0%Gravel 0%Richardson0%Dodd 0%
This poll was done October 7-28 among 522 Republican and 534 Democratic likely voters.
On a side note, at the Howard County Republican Club First Friday Happy Hour last night, where you get more of the active volunteers showing up, people were starting to divulge who they are supporting as we get close to being three months out from the Maryland primary election. The overall consensus from what I can gather is there appears to be split among with most people supporting either Fred Thompson or Mitt Romney, with maybe a slight lean towards Romney especially among the elected officials. There were a few supporters of Giuliani there as well, but not nearly as many as I can gather. Bottom line, Thompson and Romney appear to be dominating among Howard County’s most active volunteers who like to drink every first Friday of the month….
Posted by Dave Wissing at 3:05 pmFiled under: Election 2008 - Polls Comments (12)
The 2008 Version Of John Kerry?
After spending two weeks forced to use the eight-year old Gateway desktop computer, I finally got my laptop back yesterday from HP and after spending way too long trying to get everything back to where it was when I had to send it out, I finally got it back up running this morning….
Anyway, not to be one to compliment John Edwards too often, his latest advertisement on his website against Hillary is actually a pretty good one.
A tactic Republicans will be able to use in the General Election when she wins the nomination….
Posted by Dave Wissing at 1:10 pmFiled under: Election 2008 - News Comments (6)
11/2/2007
Open Thread Friday!
I am starting to run out of available clips on You Tube, but I found one I don;t think I have played before.
Of course, this is just a precursor to the next Howard County Republican Club First Friday Happy Hour coming to you live from Downtown Columbia…details at the HCRC website….
Otherwise, enjoy your Friday!
Posted by Dave Wissing at 5:10 amFiled under: General Comments (23)
11/1/2007
Polls From PA and FL
We’ll start in Pennsylvania and a new poll from Scott Rasmussen showing Hillary with double-digit leads over all the Republicans.
PRESIDENT - PENNSYLVANIAHillary (D) 52%Rudy Giuliani (R) 39%
Hillary (D) 48%John McCain (R) 38%
Hillary (D) 52%Fred Thompson (R) 36%
Hillary (R) 54%Mike Huckabee (R) 31%
This poll was done October 24th among 500 likely voters.
Survey USA finally released polls from a state that actually matters in a General Election.
PRESIDENT - FLORIDA
Hillary 49%Giuliani 45%
Hillary 53%Thompson 43%
Hillary 55%Romney 40%
Hillary 55%Huckabee 39%
Hillary 49%McCain 46%
Hillary 54%Paul 36%
This poll is actually newer than previous ones, being done October 24th among 525 registered voters. But McCain still manages to be the strongest Republican, as was being seen in the older Survey USA polls.
Posted by Dave Wissing at 4:49 pmFiled under: Election 2008 - Polls Comments (33)
HoCo: Sigaty Gives Up
Some great news for the local crowd in today’s Columbia Flier on something I haven;t talked about in a while - The Plaza Residences. Mary Kay Sigaty has just about given up trying to pass her height limit and retroactive enforcement zoning amendments because, in her words, she can’t get enough of her fellow councilpeople to support her. From The Columbia Flier.
County Council member Mary Kay Sigaty is shelving her plans to pursue a pair of zoning bills that could have altered the height of a controversial 22-story condominium building that is under construction in downtown Columbia.
Sigaty said she will no longer seek to bring the bills up for a County Council vote, as she had previously planned, effectively ending her effort to use legislation to alter, or potentially halt, the construction of The Plaza Residences.
The Columbia Democrat decided to shelve her proposals after realizing that a majority of the five-member council opposed them, she said Oct. 29.
Now the article never states all the people who supported and who opposed the bills that led her to abandon her campaign promise, but one wonders if there was even a second vote for the bills other than hers. Frankly, I would rather the County Council record their votes on this issue so we know how they stand, but apparently they are too chicken to do so, although based on my interpretation of what is written in the article, only Sigaty can move to take the bills “off the table” to vote on. I would be curious to know whether another councilperson could move to vote on the bills so that we can get a vote and kill these bills once and for all (Greg Fox, are you listening?). But I do agree with Mr. Fox’s quote in the article.
“However both of them need to die is OK with me,” he said.
Technically, according to the article, if Sigaty doesn’t move to hold a vote on the bills on Monday, then the bills are officially “expired”, whatever the heck that means. Therefore, WCI is refusing to comment.
William Rowe, a vice president at WCI, said he is not prepared to comment on Sigaty’s decision until the Nov. 5 deadline for her to revive the bills has passed.
“It hasn’t happened yet,” Rowe said. “I don’t want to be the impetus for anyone changing their mind on a given thing.”
Can’t blame him for that. The next interesting development is what does our County Executive, Ken Ulman, do since he promised during the campaign to stop the construction of tower now that Sigaty’s bills, which he expressed support for, are not going forward. Also, groups like the HCCA and CoFoCoDo, who demanded Sigaty do something and supported her retroactive enforcement bill, are now back to square one in their fight against the tower.
Posted by Dave Wissing at 4:48 pmFiled under: HoCo - Politics, Plaza Tower Comments (3)
Open Thread 11/01/07
Back to the old colors….
Posted by Dave Wissing at 5:08 amFiled under: General Comments (29)
KY: Another Poll Showing Besher Blowout Win
Yet another poll showing what is obvious to everyone at this point, Ernie Fletcher has little chance of remaining Governor beyond his first term. The latest numbers from the Bluegrass Poll.
GOVERNOR - KENTUCKYSteve Beshear (D) 56%Ernie Fletcher (R-Inc) 33%
This poll was done October 26-29 among 710 likely voters.
Posted by Dave Wissing at 5:06 amFiled under: Election 2007 Comments (8)
Polls From Everywhere
New numbers from Quinnipiac University show Rudy Giuliani taking the lead against Hillary while John McCain becomes stronger against the Democrats as well.
PRESIDENT - NATIONAL
Giuliani 45%Hillary 43%
McCain 44%Hillary 44%
Hillary 46%Thompson 41%
Hillary 48%Romney 38%
Obama 43%Giuliani 42%
McCain 43%Obama 43%
Obama 45%Thompson 37%
Obama 46%Romney 36%
Giuliani 44%Edwards 41%
McCain 42%Edwards 42%
Edwards 46%Thompson 36%
Edwards 47%Romney 34%
PRESIDENT - NATIONAL - PRIMARIES
Giuliani 27%Thompson 17%Romney 14%McCain 13%Huckabee 6%Paul 2%Tancredo 1%Hunter 1%
Hillary 47%Obama 21%Edwrds 12%Richardson 3%Kucinich 2%Dodd 1%Biden 1%Gravel 0%
This poll was done October 23-29 among 1636 registered voters, 742 Democrats and 678 Republicans.
Pew Research, however, shows a completely different race between Rudy Giuliani and Hillary.
PRESIDENT - NATIONALHillary 51%Rudy Giuliani 43%
PRESIDENT - NATIONAL - PRIMARIES
Giuliani 31%McCain 18%Thompson 17%Romney 9%Huckabee 8%Paul 3%Tancredo 1%Hunter 0%
Hillary 45%Obama 24%Edwrds 12%Kucinich 4%Richardson 2%Biden 2%Dodd 1%Gravel 0%
This poll was done October 17-23 among 1607 registered voters, 837

Political News from Political.com

ROMNEY "NOT CHRISTIAN"; NEO-NAZIS FOR RON PAUL; ARG POLLS; WARNER CRUISES IN VA.ROMNEY: Bloomberg News Service highlights a real example of the serious problems Mitt Romney will face in the South over his religious beliefs. Here is what Congressman Bob Inglis (R) advised Romney: "I told him, you cannot equate Mormonism with Christianity. You cannot say 'I am a Christian just like you.' If he does that, every Baptist preacher in the South is going to have to go to the pulpit on Sunday and explain the differences." Yet another Evangelical leader -- trying to say something nice about Romney -- also came off as patronizing and offensive towards LDS'ers. Focus on the Family Political Director Tom Minnery noted that Romney "allayed some fears'' about his religion by showing he didn't turn "the Governor's Mansion in Massachusetts into a Mormon temple."AUL. Nothing here directly connects the dots ... but it seems rather curious how excited neo-Nazis, skinheads and white supremacists are in support of Congressman Ron Paul's (R) Presidential candidacy. Stormfront -- the web's leading Neo-Nazi/Skinhead website, run by white supremacist leader Don Black -- displays a "Ron Paul Revolution" banner ads on the footer of each page. Also check out David Duke's WhiteCivilRights.com site, which prominently publishes articles authored by Ron Paul on the homepage -- along with Paul campaign updates and pictures of Paul campaign events. Why no denunciation of these hate groups by Paul? Pretty scary stuff. (Note: Thanks to our blog posters, as I found these links in yesterday's blog thread.)
IOWA. A new American Research Group (ARG) poll shows Hillary Clinton and Mitt Romney holding solid leads in their respective contests. The DEM numbers: Hillary Clinton - 32%, Barack Obama - 22%, John Edwards - 15%, Bill Richardson - 7%, Joe Biden - 5%, Chris Dodd - 2%, and Dennis Kucinich - 1%. The GOP numbers: Mitt Romney - 27%, Mike Huckabee - 19%, Rudy Giuliani - 16%, John McCain - 14%, Fred Thompson - 8%, Tom Tancredo - 2%, Ron Paul - 1%.

NEW HAMPSHIRE. A new ARG poll shows Hillary Clinton and Mitt Romney also holding solid leads in the Granite State. The DEM numbers: Hillary Clinton - 40%, Barack Obama - 22%, John Edwards - 10%, Bill Richardson - 5%, Joe Biden - 4%, and Chris Dodd and Dennis Kucinich tied with 3% each. The GOP numbers: Mitt Romney - 30%, Rudy Giuliani - 23%, John McCain - 17%, Mike Huckabee - 7%, Fred Thompson - 5%, and all others at 1% or less apiece.

SOUTH CAROLINA. ARG also has a new SC primary poll. The DEM numbers: Hillary Clinton - 41%, Barack Obama - 19%, John Edwards - 18%, Joe Biden - 6%, and all others at 1% or less each. The GOP numbers: Mitt Romney - 29%, Rudy Giuliani - 23%, John McCain - 13%, Fred Thompson - 10%, Mike Huckabee - 5%, Ron Paul - 4%, Duncan Hunter - 2%, and all others at 1% or less apiece.

VIRGINIA. A new Rasmussen Reports poll on the US Senate race: Mark Warner (D) - 53%, Jim Gilmore (R) - 37%.
KY: Beshear Reaches 60%
Only one week until the election and Democrat Steve Beshear just gets stronger against Republican Governor Ernie Fletcher in the latest poll from Survey USA.

GOVERNOR - KENTUCKYSteve Beshear (D) 60%Ernie Fletcher (R-Inc) 36%
I’ve said it before, one does have to wonder how Anne Northup would have fared. She might not have won, but I am pretty sure she could have kept it a lot closer than Fletcher is managing….
Posted by Dave Wissing at 8:00 pmFiled under: Election 2007 Comments (14)
A Romney-Hillary Sweep In IA, NH, SC
So says a new set of polls from American Research Group. We’ll start in Iowa where Mitt Romney has surged from a 1% lead in the previous ARG poll to an 8% lead over the also surging Mike Huckabee. Hillary has stretched her lead over Barack Obama.
PRESIDENT - IOWA - CAUCUSES
Romney 27%Huckabee 19%Giuliani 16%McCain 14%Thompson 8%Tancredo 2%Paul 1%Keyes 0%Hunter 0%
Hillary 32%Obama 22%Edwards 15%Richardson 7%Biden 5%Dodd 2%Kucinich 1%Gravel 0%
Moving on to New Hampshire, where Romney continues to surge, Wesley Clark Fred Thompson continues to tumble, and Hillary maintains a solid lead.
PRESIDENT - NEW HAMPSHIRE - PRIMARIES
Romney 30%Giuliani 23%McCain 17%Huckabee 7%Thompson 5%Hunter 1%Paul 1%Tancredo 1%Keyes 0%
Hillary 40%Obama 22%Edwards 10%Richardson 5%Biden 4%Dodd 3%Kucinich 3%Gravel 0%
Finally in South Carolina, Romney has extended his lead to 6% while John Edwards has gained somewhat in the state of his first haircut, but still is stuck in third place behind Hillary.
PRESIDENT - SOUTH CAROLINA - PRIMARIES
Romney 29%Giuliani 23%McCain 13%Thompson 10%Huckabee 5%Paul 4%Hunter 2%Tancredo 1%Keyes 1%
Hillary 41%Obama 19%Edwards 18%Biden 6%Richardson 1%Dodd 1%Kucinich 1%Gravel 0%
All these polls were done October 26-29 among 600 likely voters in each party.
VA: Warner Leads Gilmore By 16%

US SENATE - VIRGINIAMark Warner (D) 53%Jim Gilmore (R) 37%
This poll was done October 24th among 500 likely voters.
On a lighter note, if Arnold Schwarzenegger decided he wanted to toil around in the US Senate, he would give Democrat Barbara Boxer a fight, according to a new Field Poll.
COLBERT. The $35,000 filing fee to compete in the South Carolina Republican Presidential primary was apparently too high for humorist Stephen Colbert's faux campaign. "They priced us out of range," a Colbert spokesperson told CNN. Thus, Colbert has decided he will file this week only for the state's Democratic primary -- because the Dems do not have a filing fee is the candidate files a sufficient number of valid signatures.
CLINTON. After a dismal debate performance Tuesday night, Hillary Clinton got some great news on Wednesday. AFSCME -- one of the nation's largest labor unions -- endorsed her candidacy. "This is no time to take chances. We need someone who knows how to fight and indeed knows how to win," said AFSCME President Gerald McEntee.KENTUCKY. A new WHAS-TV/SurveyUSA poll shows Governor Ernie Fletcher (R) continuing to lose more ground in these final days before next week's election. The numbers: former Lieutenant Governor Steve Beshear (D) - 60%, Fletcher - 36%.
MISSISSIPPI. The Hill reports US Senator Thad Cochran (R) may again be considering retirement. Cochran, 70, has a campaign announcement scheduled for November 6. When asked Tuesday "if he would definitely run for reelection," Cochran told the newspaper: “No, I didn’t say that. I’m preparing to run for reelection, but I haven’t made an official announcement.” While most still expect Cochran to run again next year, pundits are wondering why Cochran would open the door with those kind of remarks. The newspaper further noted "two sources ... close to Cochran ... say the Senator may be leaning towards retirement because he has grown weary of the ongoing partisan battles on Capitol Hill."

KY: Another Poll Showing Besher Blowout Win
Yet another poll showing what is obvious to everyone at this point, Ernie Fletcher has little chance of remaining Governor beyond his first term. The latest numbers from the Bluegrass Poll.
GOVERNOR - KENTUCKYSteve Beshear (D) 56%Ernie Fletcher (R-Inc) 33%
This poll was done October 26-29 among 710 likely voters.
Posted by Dave Wissing at 5:06 amFiled under: Election 2007 Comments (3)
Polls From Everywhere
New numbers from Quinnipiac University show Rudy Giuliani taking the lead against Hillary while John McCain becomes stronger against the Democrats as well.
PRESIDENT - NATIONAL
Giuliani 45%Hillary 43%
McCain 44%Hillary 44%
Hillary 46%Thompson 41%
Hillary 48%Romney 38%
Obama 43%Giuliani 42%
McCain 43%Obama 43%
Obama 45%Thompson 37%
Obama 46%Romney 36%
Giuliani 44%Edwards 41%
McCain 42%Edwards 42%
Edwards 46%Thompson 36%
Edwards 47%Romney 34%
PRESIDENT - NATIONAL - PRIMARIES
Giuliani 27%Thompson 17%Romney 14%McCain 13%Huckabee 6%Paul 2%Tancredo 1%Hunter 1%
Hillary 47%Obama 21%Edwrds 12%Richardson 3%Kucinich 2%Dodd 1%Biden 1%Gravel 0%
This poll was done October 23-29 among 1636 registered voters, 742 Democrats and 678 Republicans.
Pew Research, however, shows a completely different race between Rudy Giuliani and Hillary.
PRESIDENT - NATIONALHillary 51%Rudy Giuliani 43%
PRESIDENT - NATIONAL - PRIMARIES
Giuliani 31%McCain 18%Thompson 17%Romney 9%Huckabee 8%Paul 3%Tancredo 1%Hunter 0%
Hillary 45%Obama 24%Edwrds 12%Kucinich 4%Richardson 2%Biden 2%Dodd 1%Gravel 0%
This poll was done October 17-23 among 1607 registered voters, 837 Democrats, and 648 Republicans. Of course, if you note the disparity between the number of Democrats and Republicans in each poll, the difference in the Hillary-Giuliani match up can be easily explained.
Meanwhile, Democrat John Zogby polled his own party and found Hillary in the lead.
PRESIDENT - NATIONAL - DEM PRIMARYHillary 38%Obama 24%Edwards 12%Richardson 2%Kucinich 2%Biden 2%Dodd <1%Gravel <1%
This poll was done October 24-27 among 527 likely voters.
Finally, and these are almost pointless, but Survey USA keeps pumping out Hillary match up polls and, for some reason, they wasted time polling both New York and Massachusetts.
PRESIDENT - NEW YORK
Hillary 64%Giuliani 30%
Hillary 70%Thompson 26%
Hillary 70%Romney 25%
Hillary 72%Huckabee 21%
Hillary 67%McCain 28%
Hillary 72%Paul 21%
PRESIDENT - MASSACHUSETTS
Hillary 59%Giuliani 36%
Hillary 66%Thompson 28%
Hillary 65%Romney 31%
Hillary 68%Huckabee 24%
Hillary 58%McCain 37%
Hillary 67%Paul 24%
I am just amazed at how far Republicans have sunk in a state like New York. Not that I am expecting them to win the state, but Republicans are actually faring worse in new York than they even do in Massachusetts. Speaking of Massachusetts, despite being Governor of the state, Romney does worse than both Giuliani and McCain in his own home state. Was Romney that bad when he was Governor? As usual, these polls were done October 12-14 among a bunch of registered voters.
10/31/2007
MD: Giuliani Within 5% Of Hillary
Could a Republican actually win my home state of Maryland in 2008. A new poll from Scott Rasmussen puts Rudy Giuliani within 5% of Hillary and John McCain within 7%.
PRESIDENT - MARYLANDHillary (D) 46%Rudy Giuliani (R) 41%
Hillary (D) 47%John McCain (R) 40%
Hillary (D) 49%Fred Thompson (R) 37%
Hillary (D) 52%Mike Huckabee (R) 31%
There is also these approval ratings for Governor O’Malley and the views of the public on O’Malley’s plan to raise the sales tax by 20%.
GOVERNOR O’MALLEY APPROVAL RATINGSGood or Excellent 34%Fair 33%Poor 30%
O’MALLEY’S MASSIVE 20% SALES TAX HIKESupport 27%Oppose 66%
According to the article, even 57% of O’Malley’s own Democrats oppose raising the sales tax by 20%.
This poll was done October 24th among 500 likely voters.

US SENATE 2010 - CALIFORNIAArnold Schwarzenegger (R) 44%Barbara Boxer (D-Inc) 43%

Poll numbers from Survey USA:

PRESIDENT - OREGON
Hillary 50%Giuliani 45%
Hillary 54%Thompson 40%
Hillary 57%Romney 37%
Hillary 56%Huckabee 36%
Hillary 49%McCain 44%
Hillary 56%Paul 33%
PRESIDENT - VIRGINIA
Hillary 47%Giuliani 46%
Hillary 51%Thompson 43%
Hillary 51%Romney 41%
Hillary 52%Huckabee 38%
McCain 52%Hillary 42%
Hillary 54%Paul 35%
PRESIDENT - CALIFORNIA
Hillary 55%Giuliani 39%
Hillary 58%Thompson 34%
Hillary 60%Romney 30%
Hillary 63%Huckabee 27%
Hillary 56%McCain 35%
Hillary 63%Paul 24%

All these polls were done October 12-14 among 522 voters in Oregon, 518 voters in Virginia and 481 voters in California.
Here are some new national numbers from Scott Rasmussen that came out over the weekend as well (Here and here).
PRESIDENT - NATIONALRudy Giuliani (R) 46%Hillary (D) 44%
Rudy Giuliani (R) 45%John Edwards (D) 44%
Hillary (D) 47%Fred Thompson (R) 45%
John Edwards (D) 48%Fred Thompson (R) 39%
The Hillary polls were done October 22-23 and the Edwards’ polls were done October 24-25, both among 800 likely voters.

Some Political news found at Politics1.com:

COLORADO. Congressman Tom Tancredo (R) -- a 2008 Presidential hopeful -- announced Monday he will not see re-election next year. "It's the fact that I really believe I have done all I can do in the House, especially about the issue [immigration] about which I care greatly," Tancredo explained to the Rocky Mountain News. Tancredo also said that if his White House bid fails, he's thinking of running against US Senator Ken Salazar (D) in 2010. No word as to whether Tancredo would also consider continuing his Prez run as a third party candidate under the Constitution Party banner -- but his decision not to seek re-election gives Tancredo the third party option without negative repercussions in a messy House renomination fight. Iraq War veteran and Secretary of State Mike Coffman (R) is quickly laying the groundwork for a likely run, and is viewed as the prohibitive favorite for both the primary and general if he jumps in. Several other Republican office holders are also looking at the race. While Dems will make a run at this open seat, the GOP should be able to hold this seat by a comfortable margin.


IOWA. A new University of Iowa poll shows a close Democratic Presidential contest, but a clear frontrunner for the GOP primary. The DEM numbers: Hillary Clinton - 29%, Barack Obama - 26%, John Edwards - 20%, Bill Richardson - 7%, Joe Biden - 5%, and all others at 1% or less. The GOP numbers: Mitt Romney - 36%, Rudy Giuliani and Mike Huckabee tied at 13% apiece, Fred Thompson - 11%, John McCain - 6%, Tom Tancredo - 2%, and all others at 1% or less. Interestingly, 55% of Democrats and 63% of Republicans said they were somewhat likely or very likely to change their minds about the candidate they were supporting before the January 3 caucuses. One disclaimer: UIowa apparently doesn't screen as tightly for likely caucus goers as do some other leading polls.P2008. Ralph Nader and Cynthia McKinney continue to keep their third party options open for the 2008 Presidential race. Both are taking steps the maximize their options. The latest proof: Nader and McKinney each allowed their names to be placed on the California Presidential primary ballot for both the Green Party and Peace & Freedom Party contests, according to Ballot Access News. Socialist Party nominee Brian Moore will also compete in the PFP primary, as the winner of the PFP primary is guaranteed the party's ballot line on the November ballot in the state. McKinney has also allowed her name to be placed on the Green primary ballot for the Illinois primary. Nader and McKinney have both expressed an interest in the Green nomination, but each also claims to have not yet made any decision on running next year.


NEW HAMPSHIRE. Two significant Presidential endorsements in the Granite State on Monday. US Senator Judd Gregg (R) -- the key prize among NH GOP leaders -- endorsed Mitt Romney. Portsmouth Mayor Steve Marchard (D) -- a favorite of NH progressives -- endorsed Bill Richardson.

Congressman Tancredo will not seek reelection for House Seat

Congressman Tom Tancredo (R) will not run for reelection for his House Seat in Colorado. He is continuing his bid for President though. Basically, what this means really nothing. He has no chance being President and his house will likely stay Republican. However, I would not be surprised he runs for the Senate seat in 2010 held by Senator Ken Salazar a Democrat.

Redskins lost

The New England Patriots whooped the Redskins 52-7. How sad!!!!