Summer has ended, the days are shorter, the weather is cooler — and pumpkins are being gathered for Halloween. Along with fresh corn and peaches, your columnists have been harvesting the current crop of political rumors:

The coming war in the 2010 U.S. Senate race. Rumors abound among political insiders that the contest between incumbent Sen. Bob Bennett and Attorney General Mark Shurtleff is sure to increase in animosity before year's end. Many prospective GOP delegates remain uncommitted in this race. Although they may have serious questions with Bennett, they still haven't found solace with Shurtleff or the other challengers. Thus, this race is evolving from a beauty pageant of who is the most appealing to delegates to a "lesser of evils" choice. In this environment, to force movement from delegates, Bennett and Shurtleff will have to disparage the other. Expect a nasty holiday season for these two.

How to block the ethics initiative. Now that the initiative proposed by Utahns for Ethical Government has been approved for a petition drive, the forces of opposition are coalescing. It is difficult to frame a message that attacks ethics reform. Thus, opponents will focus their efforts on the structure of the initiative and its origins. The official sponsors of the initiative are likely to get extra attention from detractors as to motivation and their future agendas.

The "official sponsors" include an impressive list of Utahns: former University of Utah President Chase Peterson, former state Sen. Karl Snow, former Rep. Jordan Tanner, former House of Representatives clerk Carol Peterson, BYU professor Ned Hill, University of Utah professor Dixie Huefner, along with activists and former representatives David Irvine and Kim Birmingham. By making the initiative personal to these individuals and detailing any political baggage they may have, opponents hope the argument will be about these sponsors and not their cause.

Opponents will also attack the specifics of the lengthy and detailed initiative. Increasing numbers of legislators are saying they simply will not serve in the Legislature if the initiative passes because the provisions are too onerous and it makes it too easy for political opponents to attack their integrity and generate enormous negative publicity even if complaints are completely bogus.