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:
* In a sign of the times, Sen. Lamar Alexander (R-Tenn.) is launching his first re-election television ad this week, more than 15 months before voters head to the polls. Alexander's ad co-stars Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.).
* In an unexpected turn of events, former New York Gov. Eliot Spitzer (D), five years after resigning amid a prostitution scandal, is launching a comeback. Spitzer will run for comptroller in New York City in 2014.
* In New Jersey, the family of the late Sen. Frank Lautenberg (D-N.J.) has thrown its support to Rep. Frank Pallone (D) over Newark Mayor Cory Booker (D) in the upcoming Senate special election Democratic primary. In a statement, the late senator's family said that Pallone "knows that gimmicks and celebrity status won't get you very far in the real battles that Democrats face in the future."
* In Kentucky, Secretary of State Alison Lundergan Grimes (D) is putting together an impressive campaign team for her Senate bid against Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R). Among the high-profile members of her team: Mark Mellman of the Mellman Group, who'll oversee Grimes' polling, and Mark Putnam of the Putnam Group, who'll handle media advertising.
* On a related note, the National Republican Senatorial Committee registered GrimesForSenate.org as an attack website, hoping the public will assume it's the official campaign site, while the candidate herself registered AlisonForKy.com.
* And Kansas Gov. Sam Brownback (R) thinks he knows why Mitt Romney lost in 2012: the Republican nominee, Brownback argues, focused too much on the economy, when voters wanted to hear more about the culture war.