The political action committee of San Francisco for Democracy – a grassroots progressive group “inspired by the leadership of Howard Dean” – released its slate of endorsements yesterday for November’s election. The group endorsed Democrats for every congressional, legislative and statewide office – with the exception of the lieutenant governor’s office, for which San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom is the Democratic nominee.

The group’s website indicates the 60 percent threshold for endorsement wasn’t reached for that race during an Aug. 17 endorsement meeting. I couldn’t immediately reach the group’s president or communication director this afternoon, and my query to Newsom’s campaign wasn’t immediately returned. The campaign of Republican incumbent Lt. Gov. Abel Maldonado chose not to comment.

Two polls last month – one commissioned by Maldonado’s campaign, the other independent – showed Newsom and Maldonado in a statistical dead heat.

UPDATE @ 12:47 P.M. FRIDAY: First, I was mistaken in calling San Francisco for Democracy an “SF Dem group” – it’s a nonpartisan progressive club, president Tim Durning said in a voicemail he left for me this morning. Durning went on to explain that Green candidate Jimi Castillo and Peace & Freedom candidate C.T. Weber got enough support from members of the club that Gavin Newsom didn’t have enough left to break the 60 percent threshold required for an endorsement; Republican Abel Maldonado was “a nonfactor in the race,” he said.

Incumbent Lt. Gov. Abel Maldonado, the former state Senator from Santa Maria appointed and confirmed to the job earlier this year, today reported raising almost $127,000 and spending less than $12,000 from May 23 through June 30, leaving him with almost $90,600 cash on hand at mid-year.

That puts him well behind Democratic nominee for lieutenant governor Gavin Newsom, currently San Francisco’s mayor, who reported raising more than $345,600 and spending almost $452,800 from May 23 through June 30, leaving him with almost $495,000 cash on hand at mid-year.

Maldonado had been peddling some good news for his campaign earlier today – a Hill Research Associates poll that showed him neck and neck with Newsom, despite Newsom’s superior name recognition. The poll of 602 likely voters who were interviewed July 10-12 put Maldonado at 42 percent and Newsom at 41 percent, with a four-percentage-point margin of error.

The campaign’s news release said this poll – which I couldn’t find on Maldonado’s website to check the phrasing and framing, so I’ll take with a grain of salt until someone sends me a copy as I’ve asked – found Maldonado has strong cross-over appeal, pulling 23 percent of likely Democratic voters and holding a 2.5-to-1 favorability ration among Democrats. Newsom, the release claimed, is less likely to pull Republican votes due to his polarizing stances on same-sex marriage and so on.

OK, we’re gonna get pretty far down in the weeds on this one, but hey, we’re all political junkies, right?

Chelene Nighingale, 43, a conservative anti-illegal-immigration activist and former nonprofit executive and small business owner from Palmdale, was asked by national Constitution Party leaders to run in California as an American Independent Party candidate for governor. Also seeking that nomination was AIP Chairman Markham Robinson, 66, a financial-planning software company owner from Vacaville.

With many vote-by-mail ballots yet to be counted, results as of Wednesday afternoon show Nightingale beat Robinson, 58.2 percent to 41.8 percent.

This is interesting – I hope? – because of the schism that this party has seen in recent years. The split happened in 2008 as one faction recognized Jim King of Montebello as AIP chairman and the other recognized Ed Noonan of Yuba City; the factions disagreed on foreign-policy issues and on the influence of national Constitution Party founder Howard Phillips on the state party.

King’s faction chose to remain affilated with the Constitution Party, but the Secretary of State’s office didn’t recognize it and so its candidates didn’t appear on California’s ballots; Noonan’s faction pulled out of the Constitution Party and joined a new national party – America’s Independent Party – founded by perennial candidate Alan Keyes, who went on 2008’s ballot as the AIP’s presidential candidate. Robinson later succeeded Noonan as the state AIP chair.

So if a Constitution Party-backed candidate just beat the sitting AIP chairman for the AIP’s gubernatorial nomination, it seems fair to say the battle for this party’s soul continues. In fact, King won the AIP’s nomination for lieutenant governor unopposed.

However, Noonan – also the founder of the “California Mormon Battalion,” who posted an anti-major-party article Monday entitled “Are you the devil’s prostitute?” – did vanquish the Constitution Party-supported Don Grundmann – a San Leandro chiropractor and herbalist bent on eliminating the Federal Reserve, the IRS and gay rights – and Al Salehi of Beverly Hills this week for the AIP’s nomination for U.S. Senate: Noonan with 39.4 percent, Grundmann with 33.9 percent and Salehi with 26.7 percent.

Perhaps the fighting is so fierce because the stakes are so small – the AIP as of May 24 had 397,136 registered voters statewide, 2.34 percent of California’s registered electorate. That does make it the largest of the state’s “third parties,” well ahead of the Greens and Libertarians, though some believe the AIP’s ranks are perpetually inflated by voters who want to be “independent” and accidentally register under the American Independent Party rather than signing up for decline-to-state status.

At any rate, however, the AIP seems unlikely to win any state or federal races anytime soon. But it sure is interesting to watch…

When I’m having a good day, or sometimes when I’m down, I sometimes give myself a gift on the limited budget available to me as a reporter: a 99-cent splurge on new iTunes song for my iPod. And so as the primary election winners strut and the losers lick their wounds, here are a few suggestions for songs they might want to add to their playlists:

Meg Whitman, the billionaire former eBay CEO who spent $71.1 million out of her own pocket to buy the Republican gubernatorial nomination: “Money” by Pink Floyd, or “Killer Queen” by Queen

Steve Poizner, buried under Whitman’s $71.1 million and a 37-percentage-point deficit in the election results: “Wipeout” by the Surfaris

Chris Kelly, who spent $12 million out of pocket to lose the Democratic primary for Attorney General to San Francisco District Attorney Kamala Harris by 17 percentage points; PG&E President and CEO Peter Darbee, whose company spent $46.4 million on the unsuccessful Proposition 16; and Mercury Insurance Group President and CEO Gabriel Tirador, whose company spent $15.9 million on the unsuccessful Proposition 17: “Can’t Buy Me Love,” by the Beatles

Carly Fiorina, who as the GOP nominee for U.S. Senate has had the last laugh after people snickered at her “demon sheep” ad attacking rival Tom Campbell: “Sheep” by Pink Floyd

Abel Maldonado, the appointed incumbent who – despite winning the GOP’s nomination to try to keep the lieutenant governor’s office – knows his party wants him and needs him but there ain’t no way it’s ever gonna love him: “Two Out of Three Ain’t Bad,” by Meat Loaf

Gavin Newsom, the San Francisco mayor who won the Democratic nomination for lieutenant governor but might have his own words from 2008 on same-sex marriage come back to haunt him in November’s general election: “Like It Or Not,” by Madonna

Steve Cooley, the Los Angeles District Attorney who broke from California tradition by being a moderate capable of winning a Republican primary: “Middle of the Road,” by the Pretenders

Tom Torlakson, the Antioch Assemblyman who placed second and so will go to a November runoff – at which time he’s likely to pick up a lot of the Democratic votes that went yesterday to third-place finisher Gloria Romero, along with stronger Democratic turnout overall – against former school district superintendent Larry Aceves for state Superintendent of Public Instruction: “Time Is On My Side,” by the Rolling Stones

Mike Villines, the Clovis Assemblyman and former Assembly Republican Leader widely berated within the GOP for OKing a budget deal with tax hikes last year, who now is eight-tenths of a percentage point – 11,204 votes – behind political unknown Brian FitzGerald, an Insurance Department attorney from Napa who raised no money, in the GOP primary for Insurance Commissioner: “Living on the Edge” by Aerosmith

Brian FitzGerald, who might want to ask himself, “Well, how did I get here?” : “Once in a Lifetime,” by the Talking Heads

Los Angeles City Councilwoman Janice Hahn, the scion of a political dynasty in her city, had seemed to have the Democratic nomination for lieutenant governor wrapped up by early this year, standing well ahead of state Sen. Dean Florez, D-Shafter, in the polls. That is, until San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom jumped into the race, only months after having scoffed at the idea of doing so.

At this hour, with about a quarter of the state’s precincts having reported in, Newsom leads Hahn by almost 23 percentage points, and Hahn just issued this statement:

The last several months of campaigning for Lieutenant Governor have been an amazing experience. I have traveled up and down the state and met so many new people and heard so many great ideas. And I learned that all of us really want the same thing – a better California.

I was so humbled by all the support I received. And I really enjoyed using this experience to educate people about the role of the Lieutenant Governor in California. Together, we focused on how the Lieutenant Governor can really transform our state. We can make higher education affordable and accessible to every young person. We can continue to protect the environment, but also focus on creating new jobs and getting every Californian back to work.

At the end of this hard fought campaign, I think we have made a difference – thanks to you.

I want to congratulate Gavin Newsom on running a good, clean campaign. He has done some groundbreaking work as mayor of San Francisco and I know that he will bring that experience to Sacramento to shake things up. I will be supporting him in November, and I hope that you will join me.

November is pivotal for Democrats. We must work together to elect Barbara Boxer, Jerry Brown, Gavin Newsom and the entire Democratic ticket. This is our year. Let’s make California great again.

With a week to go before the election, the Democratic primary for lieutenant governor has San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom asserting a lead and Los Angeles City Councilwoman Janice Hahn taking to the airwaves.

Newsom’s campaign issued a statement today saying its pollster, Tulchin Research, has found Newsom holds a 17-point lead over Hahn – 46 percent to 29 percent, with 21 percent still undecided. The phone survey of 600 likely Democratic primary voters was conducted May 20-24 and has a four-percentage-point margin of error.

From the report prepared by pollsters Ben Tulchin and Julie Lein:

Since entering the race for Lieutenant Governor in March, Gavin Newsom has consistently led Janice Hahn by double-digits. With Election Day approaching, Hahn has been unable to close the gap with the Mayor. Even more encouraging for the San Francisco Mayor and troubling for his opponents is that Newsom leads by a wider margin among voters who have already cast their ballots as he garners a solid majority (53%) support compared to only 30% for Hahn.

Given Newsom’s consistently strong poll results among Democratic primary voters, his wide lead among voters who have already cast their ballots, superior name recognition and fundraising, the San Francisco Mayor is poised to win the party nomination for Lieutenant Governor.

Remember, that’s according to a pollster on the Newsom campaign’s payroll. However, the question asked apparently wasn’t leading or otherwise biased in Newsom’s favor: “In thinking about the Democratic Primary Election for Lieutenant Governor, if the election were held today and the candidates were San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom and Los Angeles City Councilwoman Janice Hahn [the names’ order are randomly flipped], for whom would you vote?”

Meanwhile, Hahn announced today that she’s launching her first television ad:

Michael Trujillo, Hahn’s campaign manager, didn’t immediately return an e-mail and a voice-mail inquiring as to the ad buy’s dollar size and geographic scope.

UPDATE @ 3:56 P.M. TUESDAY: Newsom’s campaign just announced it’s going on the air, too:

No word yet on how much they’re spending on the ad buy, or where it’s airing.

In the Democratic primary for Lieutenant Governor, San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom far outpaced Los Angeles City Councilwoman Janice Hahn in fundraising during this period from March 18 to May 22. Newsom raised $792,311 and spent $453,291, finishing the period with $770,776 cash on hand; Hahn raised $336,331 and spent $316,670, finishing the period with $315,430 cash on hand.

Mike Trujillo, Hahn’s campaign adviser, called me tonight to note that the two candidates are more evenly matched if you look at contributions since their campaigns began – it looks to me as if Newsom’s at about $1.06 million to Hahn’s $898,000, by that measure – and that about $200,000 of Newsom’s cash on hand is earmarked for November’s general election, while all but $9,000 of Hahn’s stash can be spent in the next 10 days.

In the GOP primary for Lieutenant Governor, appointed incumbent and former state Sen. Abel Maldonado smoked his more conservative rival, state Sen. Sam Aanestad, R-Grass Valley. Maldonado raised $318,898 during this period and spent $121,872, leaving him with $139,060 cash on hand; Aanestad raised $44,470 during this period and spent $44,441, leaving him with $43,297 cash on hand.

In the Republican primary for Attorney General, Los Angeles District Attorney Steve Cooley trumped the fundraising during this period, with $916,066 in contributions compared to $295,302 for former Chapman University Law School Dean John Eastman – including the $25,000 he loaned his own campaign – and $150,294 for state Sen. Tom Harman, R-Huntington Beach. Cooley finished with the most cash on hand, too: $222,280 compared to Eastman’s $158,444 and Harman’s $112,644.

In the Democratic primary for Attorney General, former Facebook Chief Privacy Officer Chris Kelly rules the campaign cash roost only because he put $5.6 million into his own campaign during this period (atop the $4 million he’d put in earlier). His new investment accounted for all but $79,679 of his contributions in this period and he spent $8,953,697, leaving him with cash on hand of $102,984.

San Francisco District Attorney Kamala Harris raised $810,884 during this period and spent $1,546,812, finishing with $636,471 cash on hand; former Los Angeles City Attorney Rocky Delgadillo raised $268,995 and spent $1,251,446, finishing with $149,762 cash on hand; Assemblyman Ted Lieu, D-Torrance, raised $239,162 and spent $671,100, finishing with $577,002 cash on hand; and Assemblyman Pedro Nava, D-Santa Barbara, raised $17,532 and spent $86,956, finishing with $24,534 cash on hand. Assembly Majority Leader Alberto Torrico, D-Newark, had $1,029,186 cash on hand as of March 17, the close of the last reporting period, but hasn’t yet filed this period’s report as of this time; Emeryville attorney Mike Schmier didn’t raise enough to require a report.

UPDATE @ 10:33 A.M. FRIDAY: Torrico raised $180,371.79 in this period, spent $676,560.78 and finished with $522,334.73 cash on hand.

UPDATE @ 9:30 A.M. TUESDAY 6/1: Sorry, my bad: Schmier says he has raised $12,450 to date and has $3,166.88 cash on hand remaining.

Thought the San Francisco crime lab scandal would be an issue only in the state Attorney General’s race, where San Francisco District Attorney Kamala Harris is taking heat on it from former Facebook chief privacy officer Chris Kelly? Think again!

The state Senate this afternoon voted 25-7 to confirm Gov. Arnold Schwarznegger’s nomination of state Sen. Abel Maldonado, R-Santa Maria, as lieutenant governor; the governor will swear him into office tomorrow.

As I’d said Friday on KQED Channel 9’s “This Week in Northern California,” don’t mistake this for an instance of politics being put aside. Democrats supported Maldonado only because they want him out of the Senate so they can try to win his 15th State Senate District seat, and only now because confirming him earlier wouldn’t have allowed the SD-15 special election to be consolidated with November’s general election, when Democrats believe heavier turnout will give them an advantage.

That’s what California Republican Party Chairman Ron Nehring alluded to in his statement today:

“On behalf of the California Republican Party, let me be the first to congratulate State Senator Abel Maldonado on his successful confirmation as Lieutenant Governor today. It’s gratifying that after five months, Sacramento Democrats could finally muster up the votes needed for a decision that should have taken them 10 minutes to confirm a clearly qualified candidate appointed by the Governor within his constitutional authority.

“Considering the legislature’s deadline for passing a state budget is less than 60 days from now, the California Republican Party hopes that Speaker Perez, Speaker Pro Tem Steinberg and the Democrat caucus are ready to stop wasting more time calculating what’s best for their party and start taking responsibility for finding fiscal solutions that don’t put more of a burden on California taxpayers.”

But five of the seven votes against confirmation today were from Republicans. The seven were:

(UPDATE @ 6:06 P.M.: It occurs to me that, for context’s sake, I should note that of the four Republicans besides Aanestad who opposed Maldonado’s confirmation, three might’ve had electoral motivations as well. Denham is running against Richard Pombo for the GOP nomination in the 19th Congressional District; Harman is running against Steve Cooley and John Eastman for the GOP nomination for Attorney General; and Runner is running against Barbara Alby, George Nakanishi and Edward Streichman in the GOP primary for the state Board of Equalization’s District 2 seat. Each would want to outflank his primary rivals on the right and so, one presumes, would be quick to criticize Maldonado’s past willingness to vote for tax hikes.)

Also, neither Dave Cogdill, R-Modesto (who preceded current Senate Republican Leader Dennis Hollingsworth, R-Murrieta, in that leadership role) nor Bob Dutton, R-Rancho Cucamonga (who will succeed Hollingsworth in that role) cast votes today, though they were reportedly present. So, not an awe-inspiring show of GOP support, all told.

Last week’s Assembly vote, in the final reckoning, was 53-21. The only East Bay Assembly member voting in favor of confirmation was Joan Buchanan, D-Alamo. Voting against confirmation were Mary Hayashi, D-Castro Valley; Nancy Skinner, D-Berkeley; Sandre Swanson, D-Alameda; Tom Torlakson, D-Antioch; and Alberto Torrico, D-Newark. The only Assembly Republican to vote against Maldonado’s confirmation was Chuck DeVore, R-Irvine, who is currently a GOP U.S. Senate primary candidate.

Maldonado issued a statement today:

“I am humbled and honored to serve the people of California as their 47th Lieutenant Governor.

“I’ve spent my career focused on what’s best for the people of this state – not political bosses or special interests – and I vow to continue my commitment to California’s people in this role.

“As your Lieutenant Governor I will work hand and hand with the Governor as his promoter-in-chief of California to create and retain jobs while partnering with the education community to plan for our future workforce needs.

“I will continue my work as a reformer while keeping an eye on government waste to ensure elected representatives are not abusing the trust of the people who put them in office.

“The California dream is alive and well and it’s time for Sacramento to re-earn the trust of the people – I will be the people’s voice in the Capitol.”

Replied Aanestad:

“Today, the Governor and his politicians chose their Lt. Governor. This June, however, Republican voters will have their say.

“Voters can either choose Abel Maldonado, who broke his promise to the voters by making a deal in exchange for his vote for the largest tax hike in California history; or they can choose Sam Aanestad, who is endorsed by the Howard Jarvis Taxpayers Association and Congressman Tom McClintock because he has kept his promise to not raise taxes.

“The choice is up to the people, not the politicians.”

I was on KQED Channel 9’s “This Week in Northern California” last night to talk about the politics behind state Sen. Abel Maldonado’s confirmation as lieutenant governor, as well as the latest poll numbers in a few hot primary contests. The panel also featured the Chronicle’s Rachel Gordon on the San Francisco crime lab scandal, and the Monterey Herald’s Julia Reynolds on this week’s big gang sweep in Salinas.