Today’s installment of campaign-related news items that won’t necessarily generate a post of their own, but may be of interest to political observers:
* As part of his extremely early ad campaign, Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) has released his statewide television spot yesterday, presenting himself as some kind of a victim of “far-left special interests.”
* Also note, McConnell has been trying to use Sen. Rand Paul’s (R-Ky.) recent 13-hour filibuster to raise money for himself.
* Virginia Attorney General Ken Cuccinelli does not intend to raise taxes if elected governor this year, but the far-right Republican nominee announced yesterday that he will not sign Grover Norquist’s anti-tax pledge.
* In New Jersey, a new Fairleigh Dickinson University PublicMind survey shows Newark Mayor Cory Booker as the clear frontrunner in the Democratic Senate race, enjoying 50% support. Reps. Rush Holt and Frank Pallone are also eyeing the race, but the poll showed them in single digits.
* Former Rep. Bob Barr (R-Ga.), who left Congress in 2003 and ran for president in 2008 as the Libertarian Party candidate, is eyeing a comeback. With Rep. Phil Gingrey (R-Ga.) likely to run for the Senate, Barr hopes to replace him in the House. He will presumably run as a Republican. * In Massachusetts’s U.S. Senate special election, Rep. Ed Markey continues to pick up endorsements from prominent progressive organizations, including support from Planned Parenthood yesterday and the Service Employees International Union (SEIU) today. His primary against Rep. Stephen Lynch, a more conservative Democrat, is next month. * And in Virginia, Democratic gubernatorial hopeful Terry McAuliffe picked up endorsements yesterday from three Republican former state lawmakers. It’s a reminder that there are some elements of the Virginia GOP who are far from comfortable with Cuccinelli.
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