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
* Former Rhode Island Attorney General Sheldon Whitehouse made it official<\/a> yesterday, announcing his campaign against Sen. Lincoln Chafee (R). Whitehouse cited the need for another Dem in the Senate to “fight back” against the Republican political juggernaut.<\/p>\n * Virginia Sen. George Allen (R) sent out a fundraising letter this week, warning supporters he may be running against Gov. Mark Warner (D). The letter mentioned Warner four times<\/a>, leading to questions as to whether Allen is a) worried about re-election; b) trying to bait Warner into the race with ’08 in mind; or c) just needed a fundraising hook.<\/p>\n * Speaking of Virginia, Lt. Gov. Tim Kaine (D) has challenged state Attorney General Jerry Kilgore (R) to a series of debates<\/a> before this year’s election.<\/p>\n * Fresh off his endorsement of Chuck Schumer, and his apparent support for Hillary Clinton, New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg (R) has opened the door<\/a> to endorsing state Attorney General Eliot Spitzer (D) for governor.<\/p>\n * Speaking of New York, Ed Cox, former President Richard Nixon’s son-in-law, has been calling around the state, telling people he’s “the guy”<\/a> to take on Hillary Clinton next year.<\/p>\n * Sen. Frank Lautenberg (D-N.J.), one of my personal favorites, has not yet announced his plans for 2008, but his staff has registered four domain names<\/a> he could use for his campaign site, just in case. In 2008, the youthful Lautenberg will be 84 years old.<\/p>\n