Today's installment of campaign-related news items from across the country.
* In South Carolina, a new CNN poll shows Hillary Clinton continuing to lead Bernie Sanders by a healthy margin, 56% to 38%.
* In Nevada, however, which is much tougher to poll, a CNN poll found the two nearly tied, with Clinton leading Sanders by the slimmest of margins, 48% to 47%.
* Public Policy Polling released a massive report this morning on early-March Democratic primaries, showing Clinton enjoying double-digit leads in Alabama, Arkansas, Georgia, Louisiana, Michigan, Mississippi, Tennessee, Texas, and Virginia. PPP found Sanders ahead, meanwhile, in Massachusetts by 7 points and in his home state of Vermont by a whopping 76 points. The two are nearly tied in Oklahoma, where Clinton leads Sanders, 46% to 44%.
* Though the Sanders campaign was heavily outspending the Clinton campaign in Nevada, the latest ad-spending numbers now suggest the two have roughly reached parity in the Silver State. Note, the Democratic Nevada caucuses are this Saturday.
* Marco Rubio continues to pick up backing from Republican mega-donors, with Texas oil investor L.E. Simmons signing on as a Rubio backer this week.
* Far-right Republican congressmen, meanwhile, continue to rally behind Ted Cruz's presidential campaign, with Rep. Tim Huelskamp of Kansas announcing his support for Cruz yesterday.
* As Rachel noted on the show last night, California state Attorney General Kamala Harris (D) has been rumored to be a possible Supreme Court nominee, but Harris, a U.S. Senate candidate, announced yesterday, "I'm not putting my name in for consideration. I do not wish to be considered."
* Some projections for this week's Republican primary in South Carolina show Marco Rubio on track to finish second. The Rubio campaign wants reporters to believe a third-place finish would be a victory, and a second-place finish would be a triumph, even though it'd be perfectly in line with expectations.
* And in Connecticut, CNBC's Larry Kudlow considered running for the U.S. Senate as a Republican, but yesterday, the host announced he won't be a candidate.