Today’s installment of campaign-related news items that wouldn’t generate a post of their own, but may be of interest to political observers:
* Baltimore Mayor Martin O’Malley (D) formally began his campaign for governor yesterday, pledging in an address to hundreds of supporters gathered in a city park “to get Maryland moving again.” O’Malley did not mention Gov. Robert Ehrlich (R) by name, but he offered a litany of criticism of what is happening in the state that was clearly aimed at the Republican incumbent. O’Malley will face Montgomery County Executive Doug Duncan in a Dem primary.
* Ending months of speculation, D.C. Mayor Anthony Williams will announce to supporters today that after seven years in office he will not seek a third term.
* Former senator and governor Lowell Weicker is apparently considering an independent run against Sen. Joe Lieberman (D) in Connecticut next year. Weicker, perhaps the most liberal Republican to hold elected office in recent memory, left the GOP in 1990 en route to a successful independent gubernatorial campaign. Lieberman beat Weicker in 1988.
* In Washington state, GOP leaders were thrilled when they successfully recruited Safeco CEO Mike McGavick to run against Sen. Maria Cantwell (D-Wash.) next year. There have been, however, a few bumps in the road. McGavick has not fully cut ties to his insurance company, has not yet begun campaigning full time, and the delays are prompting some Republicans to consider a primary. Among them are Diane Tebelius, the state’s Republican National committeewoman, and former Seattle TV journalist Susan Hutchison.
* As part of a drive to help Dems take back the Senate next year, Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) has begun an online initiative called GiveEmHellHarry.com. (Full disclosure: the project has taken out an add on this site.) In addition to web advertising, the site will be advertised on billboards in New Mexico, Arizona and Montana, helping underscore the party’s goals of improving Dem performance out West.