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:
* In just a few minutes, Sen. Trent Lott (R-Miss.) will formally announce whether he will seek re-election this year or retire from the Senate. Though Lott has been coy for weeks, he reportedly told several top donors last night that he will seek another term. (The next question is whether Lott will run to replace Bill Frist in January 2007.)
* According to a new poll from Fairleigh Dickinson University, Senator-Designate Bob Menendez (D-N.J.) starts off the year at a disadvantage against State Sen. Tom Kean Jr. (R-N.J.) when looking ahead to November’s Senate election. According to the poll, Kean leads Menendez, 36% to 25%, with 37% undecided. A month ago, a Quinnipiac poll showed Menendez ahead 44% to 38%.
* Speaking of Menendez, there’s been an ongoing concern that he’ll be an incumbent Dem facing several primary challengers before facing Kean in November. Reports from New Jersey, however, indicate that Reps. Frank Pallone, Rush Holt, and Rob Andrews will not run this year, giving Menendez a clear field.
* In Wyoming, Dale Groutage, a retired military weapons engineer, will announce tomorrow that he’s going to take on Sen. Craig Thomas (R) this November. Groutage, who spent 34 years designing missile systems and submarines for the U.S. Navy, is scheduled to make a formal announcement tomorrow in Casper.
* Speaking from Liberia, First lady Laura Bush said yesterday that she does not believe Republicans are mired in a “culture of corruption,” and added that she would be “glad to campaign for Republicans who ask me to campaign for them or do fundraisers for them” this year. Most polls suggest Laura Bush is the most popular person in the White House.