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
* Confirming earlier reports, saxophone player Steven Greenfield told the AP over the weekend that he will challenge<\/a> Sen. Hillary Clinton in a Dem primary next year. Greenfield has been a member of the Green Party, but switched his affiliation last month in order to launch a campaign against Clinton. This will be Greenfield’s second attempt at Congress — he took on Democratic U.S. Rep. Maurice Hinchey (D) in 2002, but received fewer than 3,000 votes.<\/p>\n * On the Hill, Rep. John Boehner (R-Ohio) is subtly letting his colleagues know that he will run<\/a> for House Majority Leader in January. If charges are still pending against DeLay, Boehner’s rise would effectively mark the end of DeLay’s role in the GOP leadership. Bob Novak also hears that Rep. Tom Reynolds (R-N.Y.) is considering a campaign to be majority whip, running with Boehner as a ticket.<\/p>\n * Though polls show strong support for the idea of acting New Jersey Gov. Richard J. Codey (D) taking over Gov.-elect Jon Corzine’s U.S. Senate seat, Codey announced last week that he doesn’t want the job<\/a>. He said becoming a U.S. senator would disrupt life for both him and his family.<\/p>\n * In Georgia, Republicans believe Rep. Jim Marshall (D) may be vulnerable next year, but a new poll suggests otherwise<\/a>. Hoping to pick off a Dem incumbent in a competitive district, Republicans recruited former Rep. Mac Collins (R), who ran unsuccessfully for the Senate last year, to take on Marshall. A district-wide poll conduced by Mercer University for WMAZ-TV in Macon, shows Marshall with a big lead, 57% to 23%. Though 57% of district voters backed Bush last year, the same poll found just 35% of respondents approving of the president’s job performance now.<\/p>\n * Wisconsin Republicans have had considerable trouble recruiting a candidate to take on Sen. Herb Kohl (D) next year, with every top-tier possibility turning the party down. Now, a candidate has finally stepped forward<\/a> — lawyer Robert Gerald Lorge said he’ll take on the incumbent senator. It will be Lorge’s third attempt at public office, after coming in fourth in a GOP primary to take on Sen. Russ Feingold (D) in 2004, and after losing a race for Wisconsin secretary of state in 2002.<\/p>\n