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:
* A new Bloomberg News poll shows President Obama's approval rating rebounding to 48%. A new NBC/WSJ poll shows Obama's approval rating sinking to 41%. Who's right? I have no idea, but let this be a reminder about the value of averaging large amounts of data.
* In North Carolina, PPP shows the Republicans' U.S. Senate primary becoming even more competitive. State House Speaker Thom Tillis (R) appears to have lost his edge and is now tied with Tea Partier Greg Brannon. In hypothetical match-ups, Sen. Kay Hagan (D) leads both of them by two points.
* Speaking of North Carolina, the state Democratic Party, just six months before Election Day, is apparently in severe financial distress. WRAL reports this week that Dems may be forced to move from its "iconic Raleigh headquarters, the Goodwin House, due to anemic fundraising."
* In Florida, a missing donation to Florida Gov. Rick Scott's (R) re-election campaign is raising eyebrows: "Florida Crystals, a major sugar producer that's privately owned by the Fanjul family, donated $500,000 to Scott's Let's Get to Work organization, the political group established to help boost the governor's re-election campaign. According to the Associated Press though, state financial records no longer show that contribution."
* In related news, the governor's campaign is launching its first statewide, TV ad buy this week, investing $2.2 million in a positive ad.
* And every cycle, it seems one state or another will try to challenge Iowa and New Hampshire for first-in-the-nation status. This time, it's Utah making a play -- the state House approved a bill this week to hold an official, online primary a week before any other state.