WEDNESDAY’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:
* DNC Chairman and former Gov. Tim Kaine is open to running for the U.S. Senate in Virginia, and will reportedly discuss this with President Obama directly this week. The seat is current held by Sen. Jim Webb (D-Va.), who’s retiring. For his part, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) has privately urged Kaine to run for the seat.
* Several congressional Dems will host a D.C. fundraiser for Rep. Gabrielle Giffords (D-Ariz.) on March 15, intended to boost her re-election coffers in advance of the 2012 cycle.
* Edward M. Kennedy Jr. had expressed some interest in Connecticut’s open U.S. Senate race next year, but has decided not to run.
* The special election in California’s 36th congressional district got a little more crowded yesterday when California Secretary of State Debra Bowen (D) launched her campaign.
* Scandal-plagued Sen. John Ensign (R) is seeking re-election in Nevada, but National Republican Senatorial Committee Chairman John Cornyn (R-Texas) doesn’t seem happy about it, and is making no effort to support the incumbent.
* Speaking of Nevada, Rep. Shelley Berkley (D-Nev.) said yesterday she’s “seriously looking” at running in next year’s Senate race, and would likely be competitive against Ensign.
* A number of credible Louisiana Democrats have decided not to run for governor this year, apparently believing that incumbent Gov. Bobby Jindal (R) is too strong a favorite to win a second term.
* In Tennessee, a new survey from Public Policy Polling shows Sen. Bob Corker (R) looking like a safe bet for re-election, unless former Gov. Phil Bredesen (D) runs. In that hypothetical match-up, Bredesen leads Corker, 46% to 41%.
* Reality-show star Donald Trump continues to flirt with a presidential campaign, and this week changed his voter registration to the GOP. Asked about Trump having been pro-choice, but not anymore, an aide told National Journal, “People change their positions all the time, the way they change their wives.”
