TUESDAY’S CAMPAIGN ROUND-UP…. Today’s installment of campaign-related news items that wouldn’t necessarily generate a post of their own, but may be of interest to political observers:
* A new Quinnipiac University poll shows New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie’s (R) approval rating down to 46%. The results saddened D.C. political reporters, who can’t understand why the public won’t like who they tell them to like.
* New census data will shift a total of 12 U.S. House seats in the next decade. Texas was the big winner of population shifts, and will get four new seats, while Florida also fared well, adding two seats. Arizona, Nevada, Georgia, South Carolina, Utah, and the state of Washington will each gain one. Ohio and New York were the big losers, with each state losing two seats. Illinois, New Jersey, Iowa, Michigan, Pennsylvania, Louisiana, Missouri, and Massachusetts will lose one each.
* The field of Connecticut Democrats anxious to run for the Senate in 2012, regardless of whether Sen. Joe Lieberman’s (I-Conn.) seeks re-election, continues to grow. Rep. Chris Murphy (D-Conn.) indicated yesterday that he’s interested.
* It’s pretty early, but Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) already knows what he’ll do in 2014: “I’m not planning on running — I am running.”
* Sen. Evan Bayh (D-Ind.), who’s missing some important votes this week in order to travel Indiana for a ego-driven “farewell tour,” said yesterday he won’t return to politics in the short term, but is keeping his “options open” for the long term.
* Former Sen. Roland Burris (D-Ill.), who flirted with the idea of running in Chicago’s mayoral election, announced yesterday he’s skipping the race.
* Sen. Jon Tester (D) will seek re-election in Montana in 2012, but he’ll do so after pissing off a whole lot of liberal supporters, who are livid over his vote on the DREAM Act.
