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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

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:

* How concerned are Republicans about actor Ashley Judd running for the U.S. Senate? Karl Rove's operation, American Crossroads, this morning rolled out an attack video, and said it will spend $10,000 to promote the video through "digital advertising."

* Florida Gov. Rick Scott (R) realizes he's widely hated, but to keep his job next year, the far-right incumbent is prepared to spend $100 million in 2014 "on a battleship-sized political operation aimed at overcoming the Republican's deep personal unpopularity." Scott spent $73 million to get elected in 2010.

* Sen. Max Baucus (D) now has his first Republican challenger, with former Montana state Sen. Corey Stapleton (R) kicking off his campaign this morning.

* Sen. Lindsey Graham (R) has been deeply concerned about a primary challenge in South Carolina next year, and state Sen. Lee Bright (R) is now "seriously looking at the race."

* Rep. Bruce Braley (D) is widely expected to be the leading Democrat in Iowa's U.S. Senate race, but we shouldn't expect a formal announcement from the congressman until the summer.

* With Richard Cordray still hoping to be confirmed as the head of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, Ohio Democrats are still looking for a top-tier candidate to challenge Gov. John Kasich (R) next year. Cuyahoga County Executive Ed FitzGerald is reportedly eyeing the race, as is former Rep. Betty Sutton.

* In Arkansas, Sen. Mark Pryor (D) will not be able to run unopposed the way he did in 2008. State Lt. Gov. Mark Darr (R) is prepared to launch a campaign against the incumbent.

* And in Massachusetts, Republicans may have finally found a candidate to run in the Senate special election: state Rep. Daniel B. Winslow, "a lawyer with a flair for the dramatic," who formed an exploratory committee yesterday.