Election 2008 Shorts

• The Intelligencer of Wheeling profiles the three Democratic candidates for secretary of state.

• The Associated Press talks to Sheirl Fletcher, the Democratic primary challenger to U.S. Sen. Jay Rockefeller.

• The Herald-Dispatch of Huntington and The Intelligencer are among those following up on AP's earlier analysis of the latest voter registration figures and initial early voting tallies.

• The Register-Herald of Beckley seeks local partisan reaction to a Democratic National Committee ad targeting presumptive GOP presidential nominee John McCain. FactCheck.org, meanwhile, has faulted the Iraq-related TV spot for lacking context.

• The Charleston Gazette hears from a former U.S. intelligence officer who plans to tell local audiences this evening and Thursday that "President Bush and his administration have no intention of leaving Iraq and are preparing to attack Iran in the next few months."