Non-presidential news: Beshear one month away from taking away Kentucky governship

Plenty non-presidential news today. Here is something for every taste: A story each about house, senate and governor races!

• Democrat still favored in Kentucky

One month to go before Election Day, and Steve Beshear is still beating Ernie Fletcher convincingly -- albeit by a narrowing margin. SurveyUSA's fifth poll of the race pits Beshear at 56% and Fletcher at 40%. SurveyUSA notes that Fletcher has inched closer in every poll: "Fletcher trailed by 28 points in May, trailed by 23 points in July, trailed by 21 points in August, trailed by 19 points in September, and trails by 16 points today. The gap is closing, but is it closing fast enough?"

Let's face it, there is very little time left, and Fletcher is too far behind to make a come-back bid possible. MyDD even notes that this is the first public poll done of this race in which Fletcher reaches 40%! Not the best place to be as an incumbent... Kentucky remains the most governorship most likely to switch over in 2007/2008 (ranked first in my latest governor rankings).

Over in the state's Senate race, SurveyUSA finds that Mitch McConnell's approval rating has fallen to all-time-low of 45%. Very dangerous place to be for an incumbent -- will Democrats be able to truly complete in the state? Attorney General Stumbo is considering the race -- and other Democrats could jump in once the governor's race is settled.

• Pearce still pondering in New Mexico

Steve Pearce was supposed to make his intentions known in the New Mexico Senate race yesterday, but he is still pondering his next move, apparently trying to see whether this is the right time for him to jump to a statewide race. Meanwhile, Heather Wilson is putting the pieces together as quickly as she can in an attempt to keep Pearce out of the race: If Wilson and Pearce both give up their House seats to run for Senate, one of them will be out of a job for sure before the general election even starts!

The biggest surprise is definitely that Dennis Hastert will headline a fundraiser for Wilson. Why would Hastert, a staunch conservative, not wait for Pearce to make his decision known, and why this hasty endorsement of Wilson, who has often bucked the Republican leadership in the House and is known as a more moderate figure than Pearce? At this point, Democrats might as well wish Pearce jumps in the race. It is still unclear whether Pearce or Wilson would be stronger statewide, and at least Democrats would have a shot at yet another open House seat!

• Ten House Democrats vote to repeal estate tax

Republicans failed to pass a bill repealing the estate tax today by a 212-196 margin (here is the roll call). Ten Democrats voted to repeal it, while no Republican crossed-over. The ten Democrats are: Altmire (PA-04), Barrow (GA-12), Ellsworth (IN-08), Giffords (AZ-08), Kagen, (WI-08), McNerney (CA-11), Mahoney (FL-16), Matheson (UT-02), Lampson (TX-22), and Space (OH-18). Eight of them are freshmen, and all of them represent red-leaning districts (though AZ-08 and PA-04 are certainly not that Republican at all).

They are all expected to face very tough tests in 2008 -- and they are apparently trying to avoid attacks from Republicans in their districts on an issue that is very important to the Republican base. At the same time, one has to wonder why be a Democrat if you don't believe in something like th estate tax. Melissa Bean, a second-term vulnerable Democrat from red territory, did not vote.