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.