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Thursday's Campaign Round-Up, 2.19.15

Today's installment of campaign-related news items from across the country.
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:
 
* Sen. Marco Rubio (R-Fla.) has missed "a greater percentage of votes over the course of his career" than any other member of the Senate. Senators who launch presidential campaigns routinely miss a lot of votes, and the public is generally pretty understanding about candidates' poor attendance records. But Rubio keeps missing votes before launching a national bid, which means his bad record is about to get even worse.
 
* Jeb Bush was in Chicago yesterday, ostensibly to deliver a speech on foreign policy, but while he was there, the Republican raised $4.2 million for his presidential campaign in just two events.
 
* Speaking of money in politics, Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) will headline a "luncheon and policy discussion" at the Capitol Hill club right after Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's March 3 speech to Congress. Sheldon Adelson has signed on as a co-chair for the fundraiser.
 
* Vice President Biden was in South Carolina yesterday with Transportation Secretary Anthony Foxx as part of a "Grow America" tour on infrastructure needs. He said he'll decide about a 2016 presidential race by "the end of the summer."
 
* Missouri Democrats were eager to recruit a competitive candidate to take on Sen. Roy Blunt (R) next year, and they appear to have landed their top choice: Missouri Secretary of State Jason Kander (D) announced this morning he's running for the Senate. Kander is also a former state House member and a U.S. Army veteran who served in Afghanistan.
 
* Why do Republicans in New Hampshire and D.C. seem awfully concerned about Sen. Kelly Ayotte's (R) re-election bid next year? Perhaps because Gov. Maggie Hassan (D) has an approval/disapproval rating of 55%/25%.
 
* A New York judge yesterday told Gov. Andrew Cuomo (D) to move faster in scheduling a special election to fill the vacancy left by former Rep. Michael Grimm's (R) resignation.
 
* And former Rep. Joe Walsh (R), who served one term before being rejected by voters, is now "very seriously" considering a primary campaign against Sen. Mark Kirk (R) in Illinois next year. Walsh, known for his overly provocative rhetoric, said this week that Kirk, who had a stroke a couple of years ago, "has to show voters he is physically 'capable' to keep doing the job."