Today’s installment of campaign-related news items that won’t necessarily generate a post of their own, but may be of interest to political observers:
* Just a week after Tea Party groups urged Sen. Lamar Alexander (R-Tenn.) to retire, the incumbent has suddenly found himself with a primary challenger: Tennessee state Rep. Joe Carr (R) is getting in the 2014 race.
* In advance of New Jersey’s U.S. Senate special election in October, the new Monmouth University/Asbury Park Press Poll finds Cory Booker (D) with a comfortable lead over Steve Lonegan (R), 54% to 38%.
* In Louisiana, Gov. Bobby Jindal (R) continues to struggle with weak public support — the latest survey from GOP firm Harper Polling found only 35% of Louisianans have a favorable opinion of the governor, and only 20% want Jindal to run for president in 2016.
* In Ohio, Public Policy Polling’s new survey shows Gov. John Kasich’s (R) approval rating dropping to 42%. In a hypothetical match-up against Ed FitzGerald (D), the governor trails by three points, 38% to 35%, though many remain undecided. * As promised, Ken Buck (R) is officially a U.S. Senate candidate in Colorado, hoping to take on Sen. Mark Udall (D) next year. In 2010, Buck’s extremism helped propel Sen. Michael Bennet (D) to victory in an otherwise great year for the GOP. * In Alaska, Sen. Mark Begich (D) is launching a new radio ad campaign, stressing his opposition to the No Child Left Behind Act. “One of my priorities in Washington is dumping No Child Left Behind mandates that don’t work in Alaska, like the yearly progress tests that don’t fit the diversity of Alaska schools or Alaskan kids,” Begich says in the 60-second spot. “I fought for waivers to get Alaska out from under this one-size-fits-all law hurting our children, but we need a permanent fix.”
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