TUESDAY’S CAMPAIGN ROUND-UP….Today’s installment of campaign-related news items that wouldn’t generate a post of their own, but may be of interest to political observers.
* Norm Coleman’s lawsuit got off to a bad start yesterday in Minnesota: “It’s not a good day when the court throws out your evidence and tells your legal team to submit it all over again.”
* The race for the chairmanship of the Republican National Committee is getting increasingly ugly. Some anonymous activists sent around a parodied USA Today cover, mocking the reactions if South Carolina GOP chair Katon Dawson wins the contest. One grammatically-challenged headline read, “RNC Chooses White’s Only Chairman.” Dawson rival Michael Steele, meanwhile, is under attack from the religious right.
* As expected, Florida state senator Dan Gelber (D) announced yesterday that he will run for the U.S. Senate in 2010. He’s the second Democrat to enter the open-seat contest, following Rep. Kendrick Meek.
* Despite pressure from his Republican colleagues to retire, Kentucky Sen. Jim Bunning (R) said yesterday that he intends to run for re-election. In the same conversation, Bunning had no idea that Lt. Gov. Dan Mongiardo (D) had already announced his campaign against him, saying, “I’ve been very busy.”
* Former President Bill Clinton hosted a fundraiser last week for Terry McAuliffe’s gubernatorial campaign in Virginia.
* Colorado Attorney General John Suthers (R) was widely expected to be a leading candidate for the Senate in 2010, but he announced yesterday that he’s not running. Former Rep. Scott McInnis (R) will also skip the race, though he’s likely to run for governor.
* Kirsten Gillibrand will be sworn in as New York’s junior senator in about a half-hour. She has already begun campaigning for her 2010 race.
