Today's installment of campaign-related news items that won't necessarily generate a post of their own, but may be of interest to political observers:
* Hillary Clinton will reportedly kick off her presidential campaign over the weekend. In preparation for the announcement, Clinton's chief of staff, John Podesta, hosted a dinner last night for a whole bunch of political reporters who'll be covering the candidate.
* In one of those polls that seems hard to believe, Quinnipiac shows Clinton effectively tied with the top Republican presidential candidates in Colorado and Iowa, including narrow deficits against Rand Paul. The same poll showed Clinton with more comfortable advantage in Virginia.
* Sen. Rand Paul (R-S.C.) was in South Carolina yesterday, but as Rachel noted on the show last night, he was not at all eager to talk about the police shooting that killed Walter Scott.
* One of Rand Paul's lawyers has contacted television stations that have run an attack ad against the Kentucky Republican, launched by a dark-money group called the Foundation for a Secure and Prosperous America. Team Paul wants the ad off the air, calling it "false and misleading."
* Though several 2016 presidential candidates are now formally launching their national bids, former Sen. Rick Santorum (R-Pa.) this week officially launched an exploratory committee for his likely campaign.
* Though former Rep. Joe Sestak (D) clearly wants a rematch in Pennsylvania next year against incumbent Sen. Pat Toomey (R), Democratic leaders seem skeptical about his chances and have begun reaching out to possible primary rivals.
* Sen. Mike Lee (R) seemed like a safe bet for re-election in Utah next year, but a new statewide poll shows him with a modest lead in a hypothetical race against former Rep. Jim Matheson (D), 48% to 42%. It's not yet clear whether Matheson intends to run.
* And former Reps. Pete Gallego of Texas and Brad Schneider of Illinois both announced this week that they'll try to return to Congress, running for the seats they lost in 2014.