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 a move that’s likely to shake up the presidential nominating calendar considerably, Florida appears likely to move its presidential primary to Jan. 31, 2012. As CNN explained, “If that happens, it would almost certainly force the traditional early states of Iowa, New Hampshire, South Carolina and Nevada to leapfrog Florida and move their primaries and caucuses into early- to mid-January.”
* In Ohio, a new Quinnipiac poll shows President Obama’s approval rating slipping to the low 40s, but in hypothetical general election match-ups, Obama leads Mitt Romney by two points, and Rick Perry by three points.
* In Pennsylvania, it’s a very similar story. Quinnipiac found the president’s support down to just 43% in the Keystone State, but Pennsylvania voters still give Obama the edge over Romney by two points, and over Perry by six points.
* Speaking of Pennsylvania, by a 12-point margin, voters in the state oppose the Republican scheme to break up Pennsylvania’s electoral votes. In Congress, of the 12 Republican House members from the state, 11 are against the plan as well.
* And in still more Pennsylvania news, Republicans in the state narrowly prefer Romney in the GOP nominating contest. The former Massachusetts governor as 18% support in the new Quinnipiac poll. Perry is a close second with 16%, followed by Rick Santorum with 12%. (Pennsylvania is Santorum’s home state.)
* If campaign donations are any indication, Wall Street absolutely loves Mitt Romney — the former governor has already $2.3 million from the financial sector.
* Michele Bachmann’s flailing campaign has decided that Iowa is a “must-win” contest for the right-wing Minnesotan. She will largely ignore the New Hampshire primary.
* Jon Huntsman’s flailing campaign, meanwhile, is doing the opposite, explaining that the former governor will “focus singularly on New Hampshire.”
* And in Montana, a new attack ad from the National Republican Senatorial Committee has mysteriously added fingers to Sen. Jon Tester’s (D) hand.
