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Wednesday's campaign round-up

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:* The

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:

* The congressional special election in South Carolina's 1st district took a confrontational turn yesterday when Teddy Turner (R) launched a harsh new ad mocking former Gov. Mark Sanford (R).

* Progress KY, a largely unknown liberal super PAC, launched a racially-charged attack against Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) and his wife yesterday, leading to condemnations from leading Democrats, including Ashley Judd. The group apologized several hours later.

* In Wisconsin, former Sen. Russ Feingold (D) has seen his stature rise quite a bit in the wake of his 2010 defeat. In a hypothetical race against Gov. Scott Walker (R), Feingold leads by two, 49% to 47%, in the latest Public Policy Polling survey. In a 2016 rematch against Sen. Ron Johnson (R), Feingold is up by 10, 52% to 42%.

* In Kansas, Gov. Sam Brownback (R) appears to be struggling with his constituents, with a new PPP poll showing the governor with an approval rating of just 37%.

* In Georgia, there's likely to be a crowded Republican primary in the open U.S. Senate race, but a new statewide poll shows there's no real favorite -- no GOP candidate cracks 20% support.

* It may seem hard to even imagine, but the chairman of the Tea Party of Florida is talking publicly about recruiting a "dependable" conservative to challenge Gov. Rick Scott (R) in 2014.

* DCCC chair Steve Israel says Democrats fully expect to run on gun control and the minimum wage in the midterm cycle.

* And in South Carolina, a new super PAC called the "West Main Street Values Fund" now exists, apparently to help re-elect Sen. Lindsey Graham (R).