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:
* Sen. Rand Paul (R) will kick off his presidential campaign tomorrow in Kentucky. The official campaign slogan will reportedly be, "Defeat the Washington machine. Unleash the American dream." There's also a video preview available.
* There's a reason Democrats are optimistic about the U.S. Senate race in Ohio next year: a new Quinnipiac poll shows former Gov. Ted Strickland (D) leading incumbent Sen. Rob Portman (R) by nine, 48% to 39%.
* The same poll offered better news for Republicans in Pennsylvania, where Quinnipiac shows incumbent Sen. Pat Toomey (R) leading former Rep. Joe Sestak (D) by double digits, 48% to 35%. If Sestak is the Democratic nominee, this would be a rematch of the 2010 race.
* Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.), a likely 2016 presidential candidate, told CBS yesterday about the Iran agreement, "The best deal comes with a new president. Hillary Clinton would do better. I think everybody on our side except maybe Rand Paul could do better" (thanks to reader D.R. for the tip).
* There are several interesting elections tomorrow worth watching, including Chicago voters choosing their next mayor, Ferguson residents possibly adding to the diversity of its city council, and Wisconsin helping set the direction of its state Supreme Court.
* In the race to replace Michael Grimm in New York's11th congressional district, Democrats appear to have largely given up on winning the seat, giving District Attorney Dan Donovan the inside track in the May 5 special election.
* And in Tennessee, Rep. Scott DesJarlais' (R-Tenn.) career barely survived a primary challenge last year, in the wake of scandals surrounding the congressman's messy personal life, and as of last week, he already has another primary challenger lined up for next year.