| President
Arizona: A new We Ask America poll in Arizona shows Mitt Romney leading the GOP presidential primary with 37%, followed by Rick Santorum at 27%, Newt Gingrich at 15% and Ron Paul at 8%. A CNN poll shows a closer race, Romney 36%, Santorum 32%, Gingrich 18%, Paul 6%, Undecided 6%.
Georgia: A new Insider Advantage poll in Georgia finds Newt Gingrich with a small lead over the GOP presidential field with 26%, followed by Mitt Romney at 24%, Rick Santorum at 23% and Ron Paul at 12%. The Georgia primary is on Super Tuesday March 6.
Michigan: A new Mitchell/Rosetta Stone Poll in Michigan shows Mitt Romney leading Rick Santorum, 32% to 30%, with Newt Gingrich at 9% and Ron Paul at 7%. Another 22% of voters remain undecided. Eight days ago, Santorum had a 9% lead and twelve days before that Romney led by 15% in the same poll. A Rasmussen Reports poll shows Santorum with 38% of the vote to Romney's 34%. Well behind are Texas Rep. Ron Paul with 10% support and former House Speaker Newt Gingrich at 9%.
Paul: Ron Paul is out with a new hard hitting ad running in Michigan and Super Tuesday states in which he attacks Rick Santorum as being a fake fiscal conservative.
Trump: In what seems like a move to bolster Mitt Romney, Donald Trump said Tuesday he would "seriously, seriously" consider jumping into the White House race if Rick Santorum wins the Republican presidential nomination.
Washington: A new Public Policy Polling survey in Washington finds Rick Santorum leads Mitt Romney in the state's upcoming GOP caucuses, 38% to 27%. They are followed by Ron Paul at 15% and Newt Gingrich at 12%. The poll finds that the presence of Gingrich helps Romney. If he were to drop out, 59% of his supporters would go to Santorum and just 13% to Romney. The state's caucuses will be held on March 3.
Senate
Arizona: In a new PPP poll, Rep. Jeff Flake leads both of his Democratic opponents, Richard Carmona and Don Bivens, by identical 11 points margins at 46-35. Carmona has some room for improvement as 23% of Democrats are undecided, compared to only 14% of Republicans. PPP concludes that Flake remains the clear favorite to win.
Indiana: Sen. Dick Lugar defended himself from critics who say that he isn't qualified to run for office because he doesn't live in the state. Lugar pointed out that two attorneys general have affirmed his position that the Indianapolis address on his Indiana driver's license is valid, even though he sold that home in 1977. The Indiana Election Commission is set to meet this week to consider Lugar's residency situation.
Nebraska: In a poll conducted for Jon Bruning endorser Citizens United Political Victory Fund by Wenzel Strategies, Attorney General Jon Bruning was at 48 percent, Don Stenberg 19 percent and State Sen. Deb Fischer at 10 percent. Twenty percent remain undecided. An internal survey last month paid for by the Stenberg backing Senate Conservatives Fund revealed a much different result, showing Stenberg within just 6 points of Bruning.
Texas: Ted Cruz is narrowing the gap with frontrunner Lt. Gov. David Dewhurst according to a new Texas Tribune poll. Dewhurst led with 38 percent, followed by Cruz at 27 percent and former ESPN analyst Craig James and former Dallas Mayor Tom Leppert each with 7 percent.
House
CA-21: Fresno City Councilman Blong Xiong is entering the race for the open 21st District. Another Democrat, John Hernandez of the Central California Hispanic Chamber of Commerce, recently announced he is running for the 21st District seat as well. Republicans like their candidate here, Assemblyman David Valadao.
IL-16: Freshman Rep. Adam Kinzinger and Rep. Don Manzullo, who has served in Congress since 1993, released dueling TV ads this week that go after one another on the issue of spending. The primary is on March 20. Kinzinger outraised Manzullo by $116,000 during the fourth quarter and also had more money in the bank at the end of the period.
NJ-5: Former New York Giants linebacker and Hall of Famer Harry Carson will not challenge Rep. Scott Garrett next year because he could not commit the time. Democrats are left without a top tier candidate to take on Garrett.
NM-1: With the filing deadline passing last week, no big name Republican came forward for the open Albuquerque based 1st District. Republicans do not view the seat as a top pickup opportunity this year. For the Democrats, former Albuquerque Mayor Marty Chavez, state Sen. Eric Griego and Bernalillo County Commissioner Michelle Lujan Grisham are running for the seat.
PA-18 The campaign of Rep. Tim Murphy released a poll conducted by Public Opinion Strategies which shows him leading former Senate staffer Evan Feinberg with 74 percent to Feinberg's 12 percent. The poll's release came one day after Sen. Tom Coburn endorsed Feinberg, a former Coburn staffer, and labeled Murphy an "Arlen Specter Republican."
Governor
Wisconsin: A poll of 599 likely voters done for a pro recall group, the Cops for Justice Fund, finds three Democrats leading Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker in head to head matchups. The American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees endorsed Dane County Executive Kathleen Falk for the recall race against Walker this week. Petitions to recall Walker still have yet to be certified.
Redistricting
Minnesota: A Minnesota court released a least change congressional map for the state which kept lines largely intact. Rep. Michele Bachmann's home was moved into CD 4, but she announced she would run for reelection in her current 6th District seat. Rep. John Kline's 2nd District was made about two points more Democratic, but he remains safe. Rep. Eric Paulsen's 3rd District moved about a point and a half toward the Republicans. The 8th District of Rep. Chip Cravaack stayed the same politically, and will be a heavily contested seat next year.
New Mexico: Retired State District Judge James Hall released two preliminary proposals for comment by parties in the House redistricting case. He plans to make a final decision by Feb. 27. Hall adopted a redistricting plan in January, but the state Supreme Court overturned that Feb. 10, telling Hall to come up with a new plan that was less biased toward Republicans, kept more communities intact, and shored up Hispanic influence in a Clovis area district.
Wisconsin: A federal judge hearing the dispute over Wisconsin's legislative redistricting maps has asked the two sides to meet and determine whether the Legislature can come up with a plan that will address the two key issues in the redistricting suit, the disenfranchisement of minority voters and the 300,000 residents who will go six years between voting for a state senator. If the Legislature does try, they would have four weeks to finalize a new map. If not, the trial will resume. |
