Governor races

Several major newspapers in Minnesota have backed the independent candidate over both the Democrat and the Republican in the gubernatorial race.

The Independence Party's Tom Horner got the backing of Minneapolis Star Tribune and several other major papers on Sunday.

"He possesses not only the understanding and communication skills that governing requires, but, unlike either DFLer [Democratic-Farmer-Labor Party] Mark Dayton or Republican Tom Emmer, he also has the temperament to bridge the partisan divide that has long stymied the search for lasting solutions to chronic problems, both in Minnesota and the nation," the Star Tribune’s editorial board wrote in its endorsement Sunday.

Horner also got the backing over the weekend of the Fargo Forum, the Duluth News Tribune and the Bemidji Pioneer.

A recent Rasmussen survey of 750 likely Minnesota voters showed Dayton with a narrow lead —40 percent to 38 percent lead — over Emmer. Horner took just 15 percent in that survey.

President Obama wraps up his Western swing on Saturday in Minneapolis with a rally for Dayton. Democrats view Minnesota as one of a handful of states where the party could pick up the governorship.

Major newspapers have backed third-party candidates in other states recently, but with little impact. The Newark Star-Ledger, New Jersey's largest newspaper, endorsed former-EPA Regional Administrator Chris Daggett (I) in the 2009 governor's race. Daggett went on to finish third behind Republican Chris Christie and Gov. Jon Corzine (D) with some 5 percent of the vote.

New York Attorney General Andrew Cuomo (D) is pulling away from his Republican challenger, Buffalo-area businessman Carl Paladino, in the race to become the state's next governor, according to a new poll. 

A New York Times survey released Sunday showed Cuomo leading Paladino 59-24 percent among likely voters, one of the largest leads the Democrat has held over the Republican during the widely watched general-election campaign. 

After Paladino upset former Rep. Rick Lazio in the GOP primary, many thought that Cuomo would have an easier path to victory. But several polls released in the days and weeks following Paladino's victory showed him within striking distance of Cuomo, the son of former Gov. Mario Cuomo (a Quinnipiac University survey released Sept. 22 showed him trailing Cuomo by only six). 

But since then, Paladino's campaign has been marked by missteps made by the fiery candidate, which have drawn national attention to the race.

He got into tussle with a reporter at a campaign event, telling him, "I'll take you out." Paladino, who received the backing of Tea Party activists, also found himself in hot water over a controversial remark he made about homosexuals during a speech to Orthodox Jewish rabbis, for which he later apologized. That comment came as he was facing questions about a child he fathered out of wedlock.

Fifty-nine percent of registered voters said Paladino does not have the right personality or temperament to be governor, compared to 73 percent who say Cuomo does.

The Times poll showed that New Yorkers are deeply dissatisfied with the condition of their state's government and economy, but have not taken to Paladino's message of government reform. 

Forty-one percent of the larger sample of registered voters have a favorable view of Cuomo, and 63 percent approve of his job performance as attorney general, despite their general attitude against the state government. Those numbers contrast with the 43 percent who view Paladino unfavorably.

Seventy-nine percent of New Yorkers polled say the state's economy is fairly or very bad, but 27 percent of registered voters said that the the economy would likely get better under Cuomo, compared to 29 percent who said it would get worse under Paladino. 

Still, more voters believe that the economy will remain the same under both potential governors (53 percent for Cuomo, 41 percent for Paladino). 

The registered voters surveyed by the Times who also voted for president in 2008 largely supported then-Sen. Barack Obama (D-Ill.) over Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.), 58 percent to 26. 

The Times polled 1,143 New Yorkers, including 943 registered voters between Oct. 10-15. The margin of error is three percentage points for both groups.

Obama also addressed AIDS protesters at the rally by saying that Republicans would cut funding to fight HIV.

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Arizona Gov. Jan Brewer (R) denied rumors that she is ill Thursday after critics accused her of hiding a health issue they say could threaten her ability, if elected, to serve a full term.

"I am just perfectly fine," she told Fox's Greta Van Susteren in an interview. "But it has gotten to the point where we're talking about irrelevant ridiculous things in this campaign, and that is unfortunate."

Her denial hasn't satisfied local blogs, which wondered following her infamous 16-second pause during a debate with Democratic challenger Terry Goddard whether it was the sign of a health problem.

Former Arizona Senate candidate John Dougherty (D), an investigative reporter, has fueled further speculation with a post to his Facebook page claiming sources have told him Brewer, 66, recently had a biopsy for thyroid cancer.

He pointed to a TV appearance Brewer made in early October in which she wore a bandage consistent with the procedure, and said Friday that the campaign had not returned requests for comment.

Brewer, meanwhile, has consistently denied rumors that she is ill, saying they are politically-motivated.

"There have been recent outlandish and completely unsubstantiated reports on liberal internet blogs and Twitter citing anonymous sources questioning my health," she said in a statement Tuesday. "Before committing to seek election, I had a complete checkup with my doctors and confirmed there is nothing to prevent me from holding office for four more years."

Her campaign manager, Chuck Coughlin, later pushed back against the rumor by referencing speculation in the early 1990s that Goddard, who is married and has a child, is gay.

"In no way is anyone suggesting that there is a problem with being gay, but it has a common lack of relevance to this race for Governor as the unfounded rumors being perpetuated by Goddard and his democrat operatives," he wrote on his firm's website. 

A day later, Coughlin wrote again, apologizing for the post.

"Our posting of 20 year old rumors, on a blog — no less, was meant to be an example of the extreme nature of such speculation. Pointing out this ridiculousness should in no way insinuate or imply anything further," he said.

A poll released Monday has Brewer three points ahead of Goddard — a substantial decline since the summer, when her lead was consistently above 19 points.

She has an 11-point lead among likely voters, the results show.

There was a reason the Republican Governors Association delayed the release of its fundraising numbers — they were still counting the checks.

The committee announced Thursday it had raised a whopping $31 million in the third quarter. To put that in context, the Democratic Governors Association announced last week it raised $10 million in the same period.

Both committees are tasked with helping their party's nominees in gubernatorial contests. The RGA is headed by Mississippi Gov. Haley Barbour (R), a former lobbyist noted for his fundraising prowess. The DGA is headed by first-term Delaware Gov. Jack Markell.

The RGA has now raised more than $59 million this cycle and ended September with $31.5 million cash on hand. Its Democratic counterpart has $13 million cash on hand.

The Republicans have set a goal of controlling 30 governorships after Election Day. To do that, the RGA will have to win 24 of the 37 gubernatorial elections taking place this year. Democrats control 19 of the governors' mansions up for grabs.

In an impromptu conversation with a follower on Twitter on Thursday, California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger (R) commented that the term "whore" — used by a member of Jerry Brown's campaign about Republican opponent Meg Whitman — was "unacceptable."

Brown's gubernatorial campaign drew criticism last week after an audio recording surfaced in which a Brown staffer called Whitman a "whore" for allegedly saying she wouldn't cut police pensions in order to gain union support.

The recording was made unintentionally after Brown, who was leaving a message with the Los Angeles Police Protective League, thought he had hung up the phone.

"That I have been warned if I crack down on pensions ... that they'll go to Whitman, and that's where they'll go because they know Whitman will give 'em, will cut them a deal, but I won't," Brown said.

Brown continues with "What about saying ... " and what could be another voice jumps in with "she's a whore?"

"It wasn't Jerry [who made the remark]," Brown campaign spokesman Sterling Clifford said the following day.

Schwarzenegger, who has not endorsed Whitman in the race, addressed the issue Wednesday via Twitter.

"What do you personally think about the "WHORE" comment made by Jerry Brown's campaign?" tweeted user @Val.

"That word is unacceptable," Schwarzenegger responded.

A few tweets before, he had praised a Riverside Press-Enterprise article and a California GOP press release for calling out Republicans and Democrats, respectively, who have bent to unions and blocked pension reform in California. 

"Anyone, Rep or Dem, who catered to unions by trying to block public employee pension reform should explain why they're fit to be re-elected," he said.

Later, responding to user @jashsf, who asked his opinion about "eMeg selling her vote to the police union," he said, "It's appalling when anyone sells out."

Recent polls show Whitman trailing Brown by up to 7 points.

One day after he defended a controversial remark he made about homosexuals, New York GOP gubernatorial nominee Carl Paladino apologized for the comment.

Paladino said over the weekend in a speech to a group of Orthodox Jews that he does not want children "to be brainwashed into thinking that homosexuality is an equally valid or successful option. It isn't." On Tuesday evening, he apologized for the comment and said he "could have chosen better words."

"Yesterday I was handed a script. I redacted some contents that were unacceptable. I did also say some things for which I should have chosen better words. I said other things that the press misinterpreted and misstated," Paladino said in a Facebook note. "I sincerely apologize for any comment that may have offended the Gay and Lesbian Community or their family members. Any reference to branding an entire community based on a small representation of them is wrong."

Paladino has found himself in hot water several times on the campaign trail. He got into a scuffle with a reporter after accusing Cuomo of having an extramarital affair during his 13-year marriage to Kerry Kennedy and faced questions about fathering a child out of wedlock.

The fiery candidate, who faces Democrat Andrew Cuomo, on Monday pushed back against criticism over his speech, saying he is not homophobic and his words had been distorted by Cuomo and the media. 

The Buffalo-area businessman reiterated he is not anti-gay and said he would reach out to leaders in the gay and lesbian community "to educate me on how to better represent my support for the rights of all citizens."

"If elected as your governor I will stand and fight for all gay New Yorkers rights," he added. "I ask you for forgiveness on my poorly chosen words and the publication by others not involved with our campaign of unredacted script that did not reflect my oral statement or match my personal feelings."

Most polls show Paladino trailing Cuomo, the state's attorney general, by double-digits.

Expenditures by independent groups seeking to influence California's gubernatorial election broke records this cycle, according to the state's Fair Political Practices Commission. 

As of Oct. 11, a total of $20 million had been spent by more than 30 groups in support of Democrat Jerry Brown.

Republican Meg Whitman, meanwhile, saw only two groups spend a total of $1.3 million in her support. 

The three top independent contributors to Brown's campaign are the union-backed California Working Families for Jerry Brown, Concerned Educators for Jerry Brown, and Working Californians to Support Jerry Brown.

The last independent-expenditure record was set in 2006 when groups spent a total of $20 million on the race between Republican Arnold Schwarzenegger and Democrat Phil Angelides.

The state also holds the country's personal spending record because of this election — Whitman has spent a total of $119 million on the race, beating New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg, who spent $109 million on his 2009 reelection campaign.

Former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani (R) blasted longtime Orange County Rep. Loretta Sanchez (D-Calif.) on Monday for remarking in late September that "the Vietnamese" were trying to take her seat.

"The Vietnamese and the Republicans are, with an intensity, trying to take this seat from which we have done so much for our community — to take this seat and give it to this Van Tran, who is very anti-immigrant and very anti-Hispanic," Sanchez had commented in an interview with Univision.

Giuliani on Monday called the statement "highly offensive." 

"It was an attempt to divide, to make it an ethnic conflict," he said.

The one-time presidential candidate appeared on behalf of Sanchez's challenger, state assemblyman Van Tran, at an event in the Little Saigon district of Westminster, in Orange County.

Republican senatorial candidate Carly Fiorina also attended the event, prompting Giuliani to criticize her opponent, Sen. Barbara Boxer (D-Calif.).

"I mean, it is time for a change. Gosh almighty, hasn't it been long enough that she [Boxer] has been doing ruinous things for the state of California and the United States of America?"

Giuliani also campaigned for Republican gubernatorial candidate Meg Whitman in Los Angeles on Sunday.

New York's GOP candidate for governor blames his opponent and the media for the firestorm over his remarks.

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