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 national USA Today/Gallup poll shows Newt Gingrich leading the Republican presidential race with 22% support, followed closely by Mitt Romney at 21%. Herman Cain is third with 16%, and no other candidate is in double digits.
* A national Reuters/Ipsos poll released over the weekend also shows Gingrich leading Romney at the national level, 24% to 22%.
* Romney continues to solidify his support from the GOP establishment in New Hampshire, with Sen. Kelly Ayotte (R) throwing her support to the former governor at an event yesterday. Former Gov. John Sununu and former Sen. Judd Gregg have already endorsed Romney.
* On a related note, Rep. Charlie Bass (R-N.H.), despite having distanced himself from the “corporations are people” line, is also poised to formally announce his support for Romney today.
* Despite President Obama having rescued the American automotive industry, he trails Romney in Michigan. A new EPIC-MRA shows Romney with a five-point lead over Obama in a hypothetical match-up, 46% to 41%. Romney’s father, it’s worth noting, was governor of Michigan.
* Speaking of the Wolverine State, the same poll shows Sen. Debbie Stabenow (D) leading former Rep. Pete Hoekstra (R), 48% to 42%.
* The National Republican Congressional Committee outraised its Democratic counterpart in October, but not by much: $4.56 million to $4.18 million.
* Speaking of fundraising, in a bit of a surprise, President Obama’s re-election campaign is doing better with small-dollar donors than all of his Republican rivals, and even better than the 2008 Obama campaign.
* And in Missouri, left with dwindling chances, Lt. Gov. Peter Kinder (R) announced he’s skipping next year’s gubernatorial race. He’ll instead support businessman and first-time candidate Dave Spence (R).
