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Tuesday's Campaign Round-Up, 9.16.14

Today's installment of campaign-related news items from across the country.
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:
 
* We talked earlier about Kansas' U.S. Senate race, but let's not overlook Kansas' gubernatorial contest. The new PPP survey shows state Rep. Paul Davis (D) leading incumbent Gov. Sam Brownback (R), 42% to 38%, which is roughly in line with other recent statewide polls.
 
* As Rachel noted on last night's show, the gubernatorial race in Maine is among the nation's most interesting, featuring another three-way contest. PPP found Rep. Mike Michaud (D) leading incumbent Gov. Paul LePage (R), 43% to 42%, while Independent Eliot Cutler is third with 11%. Cutler has vowed not to quit, though if he did, Michaud's lead would grow and LePage's defeat would be far more likely.
 
* Polling in Alaska is tricky, but a new Harstad Strategic Research poll shows incumbent Sen. Mark Begich (D) with a five-point lead over Dan Sullivan (R), 45% to 40%.
 
* In New Mexico, a poll last week showed Gov. Susana Martinez (R) with a modest lead over Dave King (D) in her re-election bid, though the latest Albuquerque Journal shows the incumbent cruising to a second term, leading the Democrat by 18 points.
 
* In keeping with the recent pattern, the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee outraised the National Republican Senatorial Committee in August, $7.7 million to $6.1 million. Overall, the DSCC has outraised its Republican counterparts this cycle by roughly $29 million.
 
* In Minnesota, Sen. Al Franken (D) continues to look like a pretty safe bet for re-election, with the latest Minneapolis Star-Tribune poll showing him up by 13 points over his Republican challenger, Mike McFadden.
 
* On a related note, that same poll out of Minnesota found incumbent Gov. Mark Dayton (D) with a 12-point advantage over his Republican challenger, Jeff Johnson.
 
* And bad news for fans of former Sen. Evan Bayh (D): the conservative Democrat announced he won't run for governor of Indiana in 2016. Bayh was a two-term governor of the state in the 1990s.