MONDAY’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:
* Former Sen. George Allen (R) of Virginia, who lost his re-election bid in 2006, will launch his comeback bid today. The seat is currently held by Sen. Jim Webb (D), who narrowly defeated Allen, but who has not yet said whether he’ll seek re-election.
* On a related note, the conventional wisdom holds that Allen’s “macaca” moment doomed his chances, but there’s more to it than that.
* The fight to choose the leadership of the New Hampshire Republican Party proved to be pretty interesting. State party leaders rallied behind Juliana Bergeron, but activists ignored the GOP establishment and instead backed Jack Kimball, a relative newcomer with ties to the right-wing Tea Party.
* Similarly, Republicans in the state of Washington rebuffed the party’s wishes and chose far-right radio talk-show host Kirby Wilbur as the new chairman of the state Republican Party, and in Arizona, party activists rejected the choice of Sens. John McCain and Jon Kyl, and instead elected tea party favorite Tom Morrissey to head the state GOP.
* The DCCC has chosen its goal/motto for the next two years: the “Drive for 25.” With a net gain of 25 House seats in 2012, Democrats would re-take the House majority.
* Rep. John Larson (D-Conn.), the Democratic caucus chairman, announced over the weekend that he will not run for the Senate next year. It should be a crowded primary anyway — Rep. Chris Murphy and former Connecticut Secretary of State Susan Bysiewicz are already in, while Rep. Joe Courtney and Ted Kennedy Jr. appear interested.
* Jesse Kelly, the right-wing Republican who lost to Rep. Gabrielle Giffords (D) in Arizona a few months ago, appears eager — perhaps a little too eager — to run again. Soon after the assassination attempt, Kelly began making phone calls about a special election and the process of filing a potential vacancy.
* And in New Hampshire, Mitt Romney easily won a largely-meaningless 2012 presidential straw poll conducted by the state Republican Party over the weekend. Participation was fairly modest — only 300 or so party activists took part — but Romney won 35%, followed by Ron Paul with 11%, and Tim Pawlenty with 8%.
