Monday’s political round-up

As I mentioned in an item on Friday, I’m introducing a new feature about campaign-related news items that wouldn’t generate a post of their own, but may nevertheless be of interest to political observers.

* Betty Castor, who lost a tough Senate race to Mel Martinez five months ago, announced Friday she won’t run for governor next year. Up until recently, she was largely considered the frontrunner. She’s the second top-tier candidate to withdraw from the race, following Lawton Chiles Jr.’s departure.

* Starting tomorrow, you’ll be able to check out DemsTV.com, started by two party consultants. As the Washington Post described it, DemsTV.com will be online political talk show that will “showcase the party’s message, lambaste Republicans and, they hope, open a new front in the ongoing media wars.”

* Los Angeles Mayor James Hahn (D) has overseen a healthy local economy and a falling crime rate, but he’s still in for a tough election tomorrow against two other Dems, Bob Hertzberg and Antonio Villaraigosa, both former speakers of the State Assembly. The two top vote-getters in Tuesday’s nonpartisan primary will meet in a runoff election in mid-May.

* Pennsylvania State Treasurer Robert P. Casey Jr. made it official Friday, announcing that he will challenge Rick “Man on Dog” Santorum in next year’s Senate race.

* Edward Kennedy believes John Kerry will run for president in 2008.

* Hillary Clinton is doing a surprisingly good job winning over her Republican colleagues from New York, which may have something to do with the fact that no one seems willing to run against her.

* Just a week after Howard Dean rallied Dems in Kansas, John Edwards hit the stump in Topeka on Friday and received a warm reception from a state that’s not used to getting this much attention from national Dems.

* And, finally, Bill Frist continues to spend a disproportionate amount of his time in New Hampshire.