DE Open Senate Seat (D)
Rep. Mike Castle (R-Del.) said Thursday that he’s leaning more toward running for Senate rather than another term in the House, if he decides to run for Congress again in 2010
WI Doyle (D)
Former congressman Mark Neumann said he plans to seek the Republican gubernatorial nomination in 2010.
Neumann confirmed he would run for the job in an interview Thursday with the State Journal.
He would challenge Milwaukee County Executive Scott Walker, who is expected to announce his gubernatorial run next week.
Neumann, 55, of Nashotah, has been out of politics since he narrowly lost a bid in 1998 to unseat Sen. Russ Feingold, D-Middleton. Prior to that he represented southeast Wisconsin for two terms in the U.S. House of Representatives.
CO Ritter (D)
Forty-nine percent disapproved of the way he is doing his job compared to 41 percent who gave him positive marks, with 9 percent undecided. In January, he had a positive favorable-to-unfavorable ration of 47 percent to 40 percent.
As with PPP’s poll on Sen. Michael Bennet, who Ritter appointed to fill the seat of Ken Salazar (Barack Obama’s pick for Interior Secretary), Ritter is not doing well among Hispanic voters who may be unhappy that he did not pick one of them to follow Salazar. His approval rating among Hispanics is 47 percent negative, 46 percent positive.
In match-ups against potential Republican opponents:
- Former Rep. Scott McInnis leads Ritter 48 percent to 41 percent with 11 percent undecided even though 40 percent of voters don’t know enough about him to form an opinion, compared to only 9 percent who don’t know enough about Ritter.
MN Pawlenty (R)
Another Democrat has announced he’s running for governor of Minnesota, and more may queue up to try to succeed Republican Gov. Tim Pawlenty before the 2010 campaign season kicks into high gear.
On Thursday, former state Rep. Matt Entenza announced that he is running.
State Sen. John Marty already has announced his candidacy and six other Democrats have opened fundraising committees: former U.S. Sen. Mark Dayton, state Sen. Tom Bakk, state Rep. Paul Thissen, former state Sen. Steve Kelley, Ramsey County Attorney General Susan Gaertner and perennial candidate Ole Savior.
SC Open Gov Seat (R)
Democratic lawyer and businessman Mullins McLeod jumped in the 2010 South Carolina governor’s race, saying he was confident he can win despite the state’s Republican leanings.
KS Open Seat (D)
Republican Sen. Sam Brownback holds a strong lead in the 2010 race for Kansas Governor, according to a recent poll, but the race to succeed Brownback appears to be too close to call at this early stage.
A SurveyUSA poll conducted April 17-19 found Brownback led his strongest GOP competitor, Kansas Secretary of State Ron Thornburgh, by 47 percent: 64 percent to 17 percent. The remaining 20 percent of respondents were undecided.
KS Open Senate Seat (R)
Two Republican House members, Jerry Moran of the 1st District and Todd Tiahrt of the 4th District, are already competing for Brownback’s spot in the Senate.
The SurveyUSA poll showed that neither lawmaker enters the race with a clear lead. A total of 39 percent of respondents said they would favor Moran in a Republican primary, 35 percent said they would vote for Tiahrt and 26 percent were undecided.
Congressional Updates
IL 14 Foster (D) A familiar name could be on the ballot when voters in the 14th District head to the polls to choose the Republican nominee for Congress.
Ethan Hastert, a lawyer and son of former Speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives J. Dennis Hastert, has confirmed that he is considering a run for Congress.
NJ Holt (D) Republican Mayor Michael Halfacre said he’s formed an exploratory committee to determine if he’ll attempt a run against Democratic U.S. Rep. Rush Holt in the 12th Congressional District next year.
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