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:
* A new Bloomberg News poll in Iowa shows a very competitive GOP presidential race, with four candidates within three points of one another. Herman Cain is out in front with 20%, followed Ron Paul at 19%, Mitt Romney in third with 18%, and Newt Gingrich right behind him with 17%.
* In Wisconsin, the campaign to recall Gov. Scott Walker (R) began in earnest this morning. The Republican governor is concerned enough about the effort that he’s begun airing television ads, including one during last night’s Green Bay Packers game.
* A Super PAC created by Jon Huntsman’s (R) allies has launched an ad buy in New Hampshire, where the former Utah governor sees a primary contest that will make or break his presidential campaign.
* In Massachusetts, Democratic Senate candidate Elizabeth Warren has launched her first television ad, helping introduce herself to voters.
* As part of an apparent attempt to manage expectations, Mitt Romney’s presidential campaign keeps making more of an effort in Iowa, only to back off soon after to make it seem like he doesn’t care about the caucuses. In the latest example, the former governor said yesterday he’ll skip Iowa Gov. Terry Brandstad’s (R) big birthday fundraiser and a major gather of social conservatives over the weekend.
* In the state of New York, a new Siena poll shows Romney with a 17-point lead over his competitors in the race for the Republican nomination. In a hypothetical match-up against President Obama, the president leads Romney by 25 points.
* As the Gingrich campaign begins to generate some momentum, far-right voters in Iowa begin to receive fliers attacking the disgraced former House Speaker’s scandalous personal life.
* And in Missouri, Republican businessman Dave Spence had said he’d wait to launch a gubernatorial campaign until Lt. Gov. Peter Kinder (R) made a formal decision, but Spence changed his mind and is moving forward regardless of Kinder’s intentions.
