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:
* While the House race in Florida’s 13th remains unresolved, Rep. [tag]Katherine Harris[/tag] (R), who gave up the seat to run for the Senate, has a plan. Roll Call reported today that if Christine Jennings (D) defeats Vern Buchanan (R), as she should, Harris would like to mount a comeback bid in ’08. “She’s sitting at home plotting her future and secretly hoping (praying?) that Vern’s election is overturned so that she can run again in ’08,” one former Harris campaign official said.
* Dem support in the suburbs is back. USA Today reported, “Democrats made large gains in suburbia in this month’s elections, pushing Republican turf to the outer edges of major population centers in a trend that could signal trouble for the GOP…. Democrats carried nearly 60% of the U.S. House vote in inner suburbs in the nation’s 50 largest metropolitan areas, up from about 53% in 2002.”
* Georgia has become one of the most reliably Republican states in the country, but Dems are nevertheless eyeing Sen. [tag]Saxby Chambliss[/tag] (R-Ga.) as a possible target in 2008. DeKalb County CEO Vernon Jones (D), who served eight years in the state legislature has hinted he is considering the race, as is Rep. Jim Marshall (D), who narrowly won re-election earlier this month. Rumor has it that former Sen. Max Cleland, whom Chambliss defeated in 2002, has been approached about considering a rematch.
* Former Virginia Gov. [tag]Jim Gilmore[/tag] (R) is exploring how he might re-enter politics, including a possible presidential run. Bob Novak reported that “Gilmore might be looking to fill the mainstream conservative vacuum created when fellow Virginian George Allen’s defeat for re-election to the Senate ended his presidential ambitions.” Gilmore may also run for Senate if Sen. John Warner (R) retires, or possibly seek another term as governor in 2009.
* The Des Moines Register reported over the weekend that Sen. [tag]Barack Obama[/tag] (D-Ill.) has “sought the advice of top campaign workers in Iowa and has established a seedling support network in this state as he prepares to decide whether to seek the 2008 presidential nomination.” Shortly after the midterm elections, Obama called John Norris, the Des Moines Democrat who ran Sen. John Kerry’s successful Iowa operation in 2004. “He basically called to talk about the lay of the land in Iowa,” Norris said, who described Obama’s inquiries as “earnest” and reflecting genuine uncertainty about his future.