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Thursday'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 observers:* The

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:

* The National Republican Congressional Committee is reportedly wrapping up a new website, to be unveiled this weekend, that emulates BuzzFeed. "BuzzFeed's eating everyone's lunch," said NRCC spokesman Gerrit Lansing. "They're making people want to read and be cognizant of politics in a different way." I have a hunch this won't end well.

* Speaking of the NRCC, the campaign committee, hoping no one remembers how unpopular Paul Ryan's budget plan is, is spending $40,000 to attack six House Democrats for doing what 10 House Republicans did: opposing the far-right budget blueprint.

* The fact that Mark Sanford's fiancee and former mistress joined him on stage after his GOP primary win appears to have caused a stir in the South Carolina congressional special election.

* In California, Rep. Mike Honda (D) is poised to face a serious primary challenge next year from Ro Khanna, widely seen as a rising star in Democratic politics. Khanna has already hired some top members of President Obama's campaign team, including Jeremy Bird, Obama's 2012 field director, who will serve as Khanna's general campaign consultant.

* New legislation pending in North Carolina intends to impose a tax penalty on parents whose children register to vote at their college address. The idea, apparently, is to suppress the college vote, which tends to benefit Democrats, at least in recent years. Laura has more on this story here.

* In West Virginia, fundraising for Rep. Shelley Moore Capito's (R) U.S. Senate campaign is off to a strong start -- she brought in $915,000 in her first full quarter as a statewide candidate. Democrats have not yet recruited a top-tier candidate, but if Rep. Nick Rahall (D) runs, and he's reportedly interested, he'll start at a considerable financial disadvantage.

* In Wisconsin, where Gov. Scott Walker (R) has talked about eliminating the same-day voter registration system that works so well, Milwaukee voters overwhelmingly approved an advisory referendum this week, demanding the status quo be left alone.

* And in 2016 news, Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.) has agreed to be the keynote speaker at the New Hampshire Republican Party's Liberty Dinner in May, while former Sen. Rick Santorum (R-Pa.) says he's "certainly leaving the door open" for another race.