* The competition among Democrats to succeed Rep. Henry Waxman's (D-Calif.) will be fierce, with some notable figures already expressing interest. Among them is lawyer and women's rights activist Sandra Fluke, who said she's "strongly considering running."
* A fascinating project: "Campaigns for secretary of state, often relegated to the back burner of American politics, are drawing increasing attention from Democratic and Republican groups that hope to influence how elections are overseen in a number of presidential battleground states. Democratic strategists who have advised the presidential campaigns of Barack Obama and Bill Clinton were launching a political action committee called iVote on Thursday, vowing to back Democrats running for secretary of state in Iowa, Colorado, Nevada and Ohio."
* With so many of her top lieutenants retiring, any chance House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) might step down at the end of this term? "I'm running. I've already started the paperwork process," she said yesterday. "My work is not finished."
* The co-chair of Rep. Jack Kingston's (R) U.S. Senate campaign in Georgia is apparently annoyed by Atlanta residents complaining about the state and local governments' response to the crippling snow storm. Phil Wilheit, Jr. specifically wrote on Facebook that he's "sick of the whining. The 'men' in Atlanta need to drink less cosmotinis and forget about ever getting another pedicure."
* The field of Republican candidates hoping to take on Sen. Kay Hagan (D-N.C.) shrunk from seven to six yesterday. Conservative radio host Bill Flynn (R) dropped out.
* It's unclear just how serious a primary challenge Sen. Thad Cochran (R) is facing in Mississippi, but the incumbent will now have a super PAC helping him fend off Chris McDaniel. The group, called Mississippi Conservatives, just bought three weeks of statewide airtime for a new attack ad.
* And in Arkansas, conservatives launched an odd attack on Sen. Mark Pryor (D) this week, using year-old comments, sending them to a local television station, and pretending they came from this week. The local station fell for it.