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:<\/p>\n
* Rudy Giuliani is claiming endorsements in New Hampshire that he didn’t earn<\/a>. Oops.<\/p>\n * The LA Times reported<\/a> over the weekend, “President Bush’s unpopularity and a string of political setbacks have created a toxic climate for the Republican Party, making it harder to raise money and recruit candidates for its drive to retake control of Congress.” The Republicans’ fundraising advantage has dwindled and the GOP’s campaign committees are finding that many of their top recruiting targets aren’t interested in running in a cycle in which the Republican “brand” is in sharp decline. It’s also not helping with incumbents who are mulling retirement.<\/p>\n * On a related note, private polls conducted for the House Dems of the 50 most competitive congressional districts suggest the party, at this early stage, believes it can add another 9 to 11 seats<\/a> to its House majority.<\/p>\n * Bob Novak noted that former Sen. Fred Thompson (R-Tenn.) has “won straw polls<\/a> at the Oklahoma Republican convention, the Pennsylvania Leadership Conference, the California Republican Assembly and Georgia’s 9th Congressional District party convention,” all without actually announcing his candidacy.<\/p>\n * The WaPo had a fascinating profile<\/a> over the weekend on John Arthur Eaves, running for governor in Mississippi as a pro-life, pro-school prayer evangelical Democrat. The Post put it this way: “[A]n Eaves victory would also be a shot across the bow to the Democrats’ liberal base, raising the question of how far the party is willing to go in jettisoning its support for abortion rights, gay rights and a high wall of separation between church and state for a chance at electoral success. Eaves’s campaign asks: Just how big should the Democrats’ tent be?”<\/p>\n * Dems in Texas believe Sen. John Cornyn (R) may be vulnerable next year, but haven’t identified a top-tier challenger. Rep. Nick Lampson (D), who just won Tom DeLay’s old seat last year, is mulling a bid<\/a>. “He has been getting a lot of calls from lots of friends and supporters around the state asking him to look into it,” said Mike Lykes, who just traded in his job as Lampson’s chief of staff to become his campaign finance director.<\/p>\n