Campaign update: Ayotte and Norton off to solid starts

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Above: The NRA goes to bat for Bob McDonnell in Virginia’s governor’s race by pitting him against … Michael Bloomberg?



And the Democratic Governor’s Association is quick on the draw after former Iowa Gov. Terry Branstad (R) announces he has filed as a candidate for his old office, tying him to other GOP candidates with lengthy political resumes.

Former New Hampshire Attorney General Kelly Ayotte’s (R) first quarter as a political candidate shows decent fundraising, with Ayotte bringing in $613,000. That’s far more than Rep. Paul Hodes’s (D-N.H.) $260,000 first quarter, but less than his $725,000 third quarter.

Another recent GOP Senate recruit, former Colorado Lt. Gov. Jane Norton, raised $500,000 in just more than two weeks at the end of the quarter – a very strong pace for a low-profile former statewide official.

Houston Mayor Bill White’s (D) Senate campaign reports he raised $400,000 in the last week of the third quarter alone. No word yet on his total for the entire quarter.

28-year-old businessman Armando Gutierrez (R) looks like he will run against Rep. Alan Grayson (D-Fla.) regardless of former state Sen. Dan Webster’s (R) plans.

Bill Clinton will raise money for Maryland Gov. Martin O’Malley (D).

A decent quarter for Rep. Eric Massa’s (D-N.Y.) challenger, Tom Reed. The Corning mayor raised about $130,000.

Sens. Charles Schumer (D-N.Y.) and Kirsten Gillibrand (D-N.Y.) side-step on whether they will support Gov. David Paterson’s (D) reelection bid.

Missouri Secretary of State Robin Carnahan (D) leads Rep. Roy Blunt (R-Mo.) in a Democratic poll in the state’s Senate race, 48-45.

The Wall Street Journal looks at an “unlikely” repeat of 1994 for the GOP.

The Kansas City Star lists no Democratic prospects for Kansas’s open Senate race, and the party hasn’t found its gubernatorial candidate either.