It’s no secret that I am no fan of Senator Joe Biden running for President. However, I can also do without Johnny Reid Edwards so this quote got me going this morning.

Hat tip to our friends at Politicalwire:

“I don’t think John Edwards knows what the heck he is talking about.”

-Senator Joe Biden, quoted by the New York Observer.

Democratic Senate candidate Sheldon Whitehouse is leading his opponent Lincoln Chafee (R-RI) 45% to 40% in a new American Research Group poll.

Political Wire analysis:

Key findings: Whitehouse gains a slight edge because 72% of Democrats say they would vote for Whitehouse. Although 69% of likely voters have a favorable opinion of Chafee, compared to 51% for Whitehouse, over 80% of those saying they have a favorable opinion of Whitehouse say they would vote for Whitehouse, compared to 56% for Chafee. Democrats who like both candidates say they would vote for Whitehouse.

Also, a Rasmussen Reports poll released on September 18, 2006 shows Whitehouse leading Chafee by 8%.

As the DoubleSpeak minivan barrels up the coast, you should expect to hear from Sheldon Whitehouse on our show soon!

Greg Giroux from Congressional Quarterly wrote up a great primary day primer on Political Wire. I’m running around like a mad-man today, so in the interest of time, I tip my hat to the good people over at Political Wire and encourage everyone to check out their great analysis. DoubleSpeak will have election night coverage later this evening and into tomorrow morning. Stay tuned.

Primary Preview

Most of the remaining November matchups for governor, senator and U.S. House will be set Tuesday, when nine states will hold primary elections: Arizona, Delaware, Maryland, Minnesota, New Hampshire, New York, Rhode Island, Vermont and Wisconsin.

The marquee matchup is the Republican Senate primary in Rhode Island, where Sen. Lincoln Chafee, who frequently bucks GOP leaders, faces a stiff challenge from Cranston mayor Steve Laffey, who is more conservative. The National Republican Senatorial Committee is backing Chafee on the grounds that he is the only Republican who could possibly prevail this year in Rhode Island, which usually votes Democratic. Democrat Sheldon Whitehouse, a former Rhode Island Attorney General, is expected to easily win his party’s primary.

The other major Senate primary Tuesday is in Maryland, where Democrats have a large field of candidates in the race to succeed retiring five-term Democrat Paul S. Sarbanes. Rep. Ben Cardin and former Rep. Kweisi Mfume are the best-known Democrats, while Republicans are behind Lt. Gov. Michael Steele. In the contest for governor, Republican incumbent Bob Ehrlich and Democrat Martin O’Malley, the mayor of Baltimore, are unopposed in the primaries. In Cardin’s Democratic-leaning 3rd District, the crowded Democratic field includes state Sen. Paula Hollinger, former Baltimore health commissioner Peter Beilenson and lawyer John Sarbanes, who is the retiring senator’s son. In the 4th District, which is anchored in inner suburbs of Washington, D.C., Democratic Rep. Albert Wynn faces a primary challenge from lawyer Donna Edwards.

Read the rest here…

From Political Wire:

In Wisconsin’s gubernatorial race, the latest Research 2000 Wisconsin Poll shows Gov. Jim Doyle (D) beating Rep. Mark Green (R-WI), 49% to 41%.

Mark Green is just too extreme to be Governor.