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Thursday’s political round-up

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My new daily feature about campaign-related news items that wouldn’t generate a post of their own, but may nevertheless be of interest to political observers:

* Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney (R) may be laying the groundwork for a presidential run in 2008, but he may want to consider spending more time at home. A new KRC/Communications Research poll shows Romney’s job-performance rating dropping to 46%. Perhaps more importantly, if Romney seeks re-election next year, he may be in for a tough fight — in a hypothetical match-up against state Attorney General Thomas Reilly, Romney trails badly, 49.1% to 39.6%.

* Rep. J.D. Hayworth (R-Ariz.) has been widely considered the leading Republican candidate to challenge Democratic Gov. Janet Napolitano next year, but yesterday Hayworth announced he’ll skip the race and run for his House seat again. Possible other GOP candidates include ex-Gov. Fife Symington and former Maricopa County Attorney Rick Romley, though the party is still looking for stronger options.

* In Minnesota, former Sen. Rod Grams (R) is none too pleased that the party is rallying behind Rep. Mark Kennedy (R) as the GOP favorite in next year’s open Senate race. Grams, trying to mount a career comeback, doesn’t think the establishment should be playing favorites yet. The latest injustice, in Grams’ eyes, was Minnesota Gov. Tim Pawlenty’s (R) endorsement of Kennedy. Grams compared state Republican Party Chairman Ron Eibensteiner to King George III and accused the party of partaking in “third world” politicking.

* Wisconsin Sen. Herb Kohl (D) has been rumored to be near the top of the GOP’s list of vulnerable incumbents, but yet, no one seems to want to run against him. Many state Republicans had their hopes set on former Health and Human Services Secretary (and former Wisconsin governor) Tommy Thompson, but their hopes seem to have been dashed with Thompson’s decision to take on multiple DC lobbying jobs this week.

* Dem Strategists Steve Jarding and Dave “Mudcat” Saunders are publishing a book on how Dems can start to appeal to Red-state voters. Jarding describes the book as a bare-knuckled “blueprint for how Democrats can win again in the South and the heartland.” USA Today noted that chapters will “instruct candidates on how to handle issues such as God, guns, gays, national security and the Confederate flag.”