Today’s installment of campaign-related news items that won’t necessarily generate a post of their own, but may be of interest to political observers:
* In the new Washington Post/ABC News poll, Mitt Romney leads the Republican presidential field with 26% support. Sarah Palin is second with 18%, followed by Michele Bachmann with 12%. No other candidate is in double digits. (Pawlenty is tied for ninth with 2%.) If Palin is excluded, Romney leads Bachmann, 30% to 16%.
* In the same poll, President Obama leads all of the Republican candidates in hypothetical general-election match-ups, though Romney is the most competitive.
* Michele Bachmann sought to put the migraine issue to rest yesterday, releasing a letter from a physician on her general good health and the medication she takes for headaches. The letter was from the attending physician of Congress, not her personal physician.
* Tim Pawlenty is having so much trouble, his campaign, which expected to do very well in Iowa, is now hoping to finish “better than sixth or seventh” in the Ames Straw Poll.
* On a related note, Public Policy Polling announced that they will no longer include Pawlenty in general-election polls against President Obama. (thanks to reader F.B.)
* Americans United for Change and SEIU are launching new ads this week, targeting four House Republicans for debt-ceiling recklessness. The targets are Wisconsin’s Sean Duffy, Michigan’s Dave Camp, Minnesota’s Chip Cravaack, and New York’s Richard Hanna.
* Rick Santorum is literally moving his wife and their seven home-schooled children to Iowa, hoping to give his failing presidential campaign a boost. Chris Dodd tried a similar move in 2007, and it didn’t turn out well.
* In Ohio, a new Quinnipiac poll shows President Obama leading all of his GOP challengers, in margins ranging from four points (vs. Romney) to 16 points (vs. Palin).
* The same poll shows Sen. Sherrod Brown (D-Ohio) with sizable leads over his top Republican opponents.
* In New Hampshire, home to two likely U.S. House rematch campaigns, Public Policy Polling found both Republicans ahead, but Rep. Charlie Bass (R) is in a much tougher spot than Rep. Frank Guinta (R).
* And in Maine, one of Sen. Olympia Snowe’s (R) primary challengers is still running around arguing that President Obama only claims to be a Christian, but may be a secret Muslim. At this point, it just seems so 2009.
