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:
* According to a new Public Policy Polling survey, if Wisconsin voters could do the 2010 election over again, they’d elect Tom Barrett (D) over Gov. Scott Walker (R), 52% to 45%.
* Perhaps realizing that Walker is struggling, the Republican Governors Association has launched a new television ad in Wisconsin, trying to rally support for him and his union-busting efforts. The spot follows a similar commercial launched last week by the Koch-financed Americans for Prosperity. Neither ad mentions collective-bargaining rights, the issue at the heart of the dispute.
* Karl Rove intends to raise $120 million through his secretive American Crossroads operation, all of which will go towards destroying Democrats in the 2012 cycle.
* Nebraska Treasurer Don Stenberg (R) will kick off his Senate campaign today, and will compete in a GOP primary against state Attorney General Jon Bruning. Stenberg is a three-time failed Senate candidate, coming up short in 1996, 2000, and 2006.
* On Laura Ingraham’s right-wing radio show yesterday, the host, the Weekly Standard‘s Bill Kristol, and Sen. Lindsay Graham (R-S.C.) all expressed impatience over the lack of announced Republican presidential candidates.
* A new EPIC/MRA poll in Michigan shows incumbent Sen. Debbie Stabenow (D) just barely edging former Rep. Pete Hoekstra (R) in a hypothetical match-up, 44% to 42%. Hoekstra ran a failed gubernatorial bid in the state last year.
* And the GOP’s 2012 presidential nominating calendar may yet face another problem, with Minnesota scheduling state caucuses on February 7, one day after Iowa’s caucuses. Between this and Florida, the integrity of the existing calendar is clearly at risk.
