Today's installment of campaign-related news items from across the country.
* Though Secretary of State Mike Pompeo has ruled out a U.S. Senate campaign on multiple occasions, Donald Trump told Fox News this morning that the Kansas Republican would run in his home state if he feared a Democratic victory in the race.
* The California Supreme Court ruled unanimously against a recently approved state law requiring presidential candidates to submit their tax returns as a condition for appearing on the ballot. This is, of course, the outcome Trump, who insists on keeping his tax returns secret, wanted to see.
* Though his status is getting a little confusing, former Mayor Michael Bloomberg yesterday filed the FEC paperwork to run as a Democratic candidate for president. Bloomberg's aides, however, soon after said he has not yet decided on whether to launch a campaign.
* Speaking of 11th-hour entrants, former Gov. Deval Patrick's Democratic presidential campaign is reportedly looking past Iowa and New Hampshire, and instead focusing on South Carolina's Feb. 29 primary as the contest that could make him a serious contender.
* On a related note, Patrick was scheduled to speak at Morehouse College in Georgia this week, but the event was canceled when only two people showed up.
* Former President Barack Obama continues to occasionally make public comments about the 2020 race, and at a California event yesterday, he urged Democrats not to impose "purity tests" during the primary.
* In news that some RNC donors theoretically may not care for, the Republican National Committee, headed into a challenging election cycle, apparently spent nearly $95,000 to help make Donald Trump Jr.'s book a bestseller.
* And NBC News this week ran an interesting report on research pointing to the role "cyborg" bots played in spreading misinformation online during this year's gubernatorial races in Louisiana and Kentucky