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 only about three months remaining in Virginia's gubernatorial race, PPP shows Terry McAuliffe (D) with a four-point lead over state Attorney General Ken Cuccinelli (R), 41% to 37%. Libertarian candidate Robert Sarvis had 7% support in the poll.
* On a related note, Public Policy Polling also found Virginians increasingly unhappy with scandal-plagued Gov. Bob McDonnell (R), whose approval rating has dropped to just 36%. That said, only 35% of Virginians believe he should resign at this point.
* A couple of years ago, Illinois Democrats were confident that state Attorney General Lisa Madigan (D) would run for the U.S. Senate, before she dashed their hopes and skipped the race. This year, state Dems were equally excited about the prospect of Madigan running for governor, and once more she passed, announcing yesterday she'll seek re-election to the A.G.'s office.
* In New Jersey, a new Monmouth University Poll shows Newark Mayor Cory Booker as the prohibitive favorite to win the Democratic nomination in the state's U.S. Senate special election primary.
* Former Rep. Ed Markey (D-Mass.) formally resigned his House seat yesterday and was sworn in this morning as the junior U.S. senator from the state of Massachusetts.
* On a related note, Massachusetts election officials have scheduled a Dec. 10 special election to fill Markey's U.S. House vacancy. State Sen. Katherine Clark (D) has already declared her candidacy, but will probably face a primary campaign on Oct. 15. Democrats are heavily favored to hold onto the seat.
* And Texas Gov. Rick Perry (R) has announced a trip to Israel in the fall, apparently as part of his efforts to lay the groundwork for a national campaign in 2016.