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Friday's Campaign Round-Up, 8.8.14

Today's installment of campaign-related news items from across the country.
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:
 
* With Sen. John Walsh (D-Mont.) dropping his re-election bid and former Gov. Brian Schweitzer (D) rejecting overtures, who will Montana Dems run against Rep. Steve Daines (R) in this year's Senate race? Igor Bobic considers the possibilities.
 
* In Alaska, Sen. Mark Begich (D) is eager to tell voters about how well he gets along with -- and even votes with -- Sen. Lisa Murkowski (R). Yesterday, the Alaska Republican demanded that he stop.
 
* Hawaii is supposed to hold some important primaries tomorrow, including contests for an incumbent governor and U.S. senator, but a pair of hurricanes appears likely to affect voter turnout.
 
* In a very effective new ad, Wisconsin gubernatorial hopeful Mary Murke (D) is reminding voters that Gov. Scott Walker (R) vowed to create 250,000 new jobs in his first term, but failed to keep his promise.
 
* On a related note, the Republican Governors Association, which hoped Walker wouldn't need any help in his re-election bid, plans to invest at least $2.3 million in the Wisconsin race this year.
 
* In Mississippi, the state Republican Party rebuffed Chris McDaniel's latest challenge, and said he'd have to take his case to the courts.
 
* In Virginia's U.S. Senate race, a new poll from the Hampton University Center for Public Policy shows Sen. Mark Warner (D) leading Ed Gillespie (R) by 25 points with Libertarian Robert Sarvis in the mix. In a head-to-head match-up, Warner's lead is 23 points.
 
* In New Jersey, the latest Quinnipiac poll shows Sen. Cory Booker (D) with a surprisingly modest 10-point lead over Jeff Bell (R), 47% to 37%.
 
* And in Arkansas' U.S. Senate race, television personality Donald Trump threw his support yesterday to far-right Rep. Tom Cotton (R), touting his background as a Rhodes Scholar. In reality, Tom Cotton was not a Rhodes Scholar. Maybe Trump meant to endorse someone else.