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:
* As the next round of Wisconsin recall races draw closer, right-wing money is flooding into the state, including a $1.5 million investment from the Club for Growth.
* At this point, it appears the question isn’t whether Texas Gov. Rick Perry (R) will launch a presidential campaign, but when he’ll announce. Politico reports today, “This week alone, Perry is meeting in the Texas capital with a group of elected officials from Arkansas, then with another later in the week from Tennessee and Georgia. He’s also hosting a group of national donors. Next week, he’s set to sit down with a different set of bundlers.”
* Flush with secret cash and facing legal deadlines, Karl Rove’s attack operation is launching another round of dishonest ads targeting Democrats in Florida, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, and Ohio.
* Republican presidential hopeful Jon Huntsman has been struggling to catch on with GOP voters, but the former Obama administration official still hopes to thrive in New Hampshire. Huntsman’s staff in the Granite State is now up to 21 people, nearly triple the size of any other Republican candidate’s staff, including Mitt Romney’s.
* With Mike Huckabee not running for president, his top aides are in high demand among GOP candidates. Yesterday, the former executive director of HuckPAC joined Rick Santorum’s team as a top advisor.
* In Michigan, with former Rep. Pete Hoekstra (R) kicking off his U.S. Senate campaign, his primary opponent, John McCulloch, will drop out and endorse Hoekstra.
* In New Jersey, the latest survey from Public Policy Polling shows Gov. Chris Christie (R) would lose badly in his own state against President Obama, 56% to 39%. Christie, it’s worth noting, has said repeatedly that he will not be a 2012 candidate.
* And in Wisconsin, if Democrats can force Gov. Scott Walker (R) into a recall race, would former Rep. Dave Obey take him on? Obey’s cagey responses to questions suggest he’s probably interested.
