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 Iowa's U.S. Senate race, the latest USA Today/Suffolk poll shows Joni Ernst (R) with a four-point lead over Bruce Braley (R), 47% to 43%. Most recent polling shows the race a little closer than this.
* In Colorado's U.S. Senate race, a new Quinnipiac poll shows Rep. Cory Gardner (R) leading Sen. Mark Udall (D) by six, 47% to 41%. Most recent polling shows this race closer, too.
* In Wisconsin's gubernatorial race, the new Marquette University Law School poll shows a tie contest, with Gov. Scott Walker (R) and Mary Burke (D) each at 47% support. In the last survey from the same pollster, Walker was up by five points.
* Speaking of tied gubernatorial races, a new Tampa Bay Times poll shows the race in Florida also tied, with Gov. Rick Scott (R) and former Gov. Charlie Crist (D) each getting 40%.
* In Maine, a Critical Insights poll shows Gov. Paul LePage (R) leading Rep. Mike Michaud (D), 39% to 36%. Eliot Cutler (I) is third with 21%. Since July, there have been 16 publicly available statewide polls in Maine, and only two have shown Cutler topping 20% support -- both were conducted by Critical Insights, and both showed the independent in third place with just 21%.
* Did the DSCC walk away from Kentucky's U.S. Senate because Alison Lundergan Grimes has plenty of cash? It's possible -- Mitch McConnell's (R) challenger raised $4.9 million in the third quarter, making Grimes one of the year's most prolific fundraisers among challengers.
* Speaking of Grimes, the Kentucky Democrat is facing strong criticism from the left after running an attack ad against "amnesty" for undocumented immigrants.
* In Virginia, former Sen. John Warner (R) has filmed a new TV ad in support of Sen. Mark Warner (D), no relation. It's the first time the Republican, now 87, has ever endorsed a Democrat for any office.
* And in Massachusetts' gubernatorial race, Martha Coakley's (D) team this week found exactly what they were looking for: Charlie Baker (R), in a tuxedo, receiving an "Outsourcing Excellence Award."