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:
* In Virginia, Democratic gubernatorial hopeful Terry McAuliffe is keeping his focus on Republican Ken Cuccinelli's role in the scandal involving Star Scientific and CEO Jonnie Williams. This new ad, released today, focuses on the gifts Cuccinelli has not yet returned.
* In a reminder about how silly politics can be, Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) felt compelled to release his birth certificate yesterday. Cruz was born in Calgary, Alberta, to an American mother, which immediately made Cruz an American citizen.
* In Texas, state Attorney General Greg Abbott (R), who's also running for governor, thanked a supporter yesterday on Twitter who referred to state Sen. Wendy Davis (D) as an "idiot" and "retard Barbie." Soon after, Abbott backpedaled on his appreciation from his backer.
* Rep. Michael Michaud (D) formally kicked off his gubernatorial campaign in Maine late last week. The race for his seat in the state's 2nd congressional district is expected to be competitive. Three Democrats and one Republican are already in the race.
* In New Jersey, Gov. Chris Christie (R) will endorse his party's U.S. Senate candidate, Steve Lonegan at a public event this week at the Hunterdon County GOP headquarters in Flemington, New Jersey. Christie and Lonegan were rivals for their party's 2009 gubernatorial nomination.
* And the National Republican Congressional Committee bought airtime last week to run attack ads targeting Reps. Mike McIntyre (D-N.C.) and Collin Peterson (D-Minn.) this week. The ads will run this week, though it was not immediately clear what the content of the spots will cover.