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:
* Michele Bachmann’s presidential campaign has about six staffers in New Hampshire. This morning, they quit en masse, unsatisfied with the campaign’s direction.
* In Iowa, some recent polls show Herman Cain leading the GOP presidential pack, despite the fact that he’s shown no real interest in campaigning there. Yesterday, however, Cain hired Steve Grubbs, an experienced campaign operative and the former chairman of the Republican Party of Iowa, to oversee the campaign’s in-state efforts.
* On a related note, Mitt Romney has generally avoided Iowa, figuring he’d lose there, but with both Bachmann and Rick Perry struggling, the former governor is prepared to take the first caucus state seriously again.
* In a bit of a surprise, the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee outraised the National Republican Congressional Committee last month by a wide margin. The DCCC raised $6.64 million in September, compared to the NRCC’s $3.8 million. With Republicans in the House majority, the opposite was expected.
* Will Nevada move its presidential caucuses back to Feb. 4, conceding the conflict to New Hampshire? Gov. Brian Sandoval (R) is on board with the change.
* Tired of the constant stream of Republican debates? Too bad — Fox News announced two more yesterday, one in Iowa on Dec. 15 and the other in South Carolina on Jan. 16.
* The Perry campaign put together a hard-hitting new ad, accusing Romney of “misleading” the public.
* In Hawaii, Public Policy Polling found Rep. Mazie Hirono (D) leading former Gov. Linda Lingle (R) by just six points in next year’s open Senate race, 48% to 42%.
* Secretary of State Hillary Clinton will apparently not seek national office again, telling NBC this week she won’t run in 2016.
