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 surprise announcement, former White House Chief of Staff Bill Daley (D) abruptly ended his gubernatorial campaign in Illinois yesterday, saying he was unprepared for the “enormity” of the race. Daley added that he still believes incumbent Gov. Pat Quinn (D), whom Daley was challenging in a primary, “will not be the next governor.”
* Two new statewide polls in New Jersey show incumbent Gov. Chris Christie (R) with big leads over Barbara Buono (D) with just seven weeks remaining until Election Day.
* West Virginia Secretary of State Natalie Tennant (D) made it official this morning, kicking off her U.S. Senate campaign, to the delight of the DSCC which recruited her for the race. She’ll likely face Rep. Shelley Moore Capito (R) in 2014.
* In Iowa, far-right activist Bob Vander Plaats, CEO of The Family Leader, conceded this week that he’d “consider looking at” the upcoming U.S. Senate race in the state.
* In Wyoming, Sen. Mike Enzi (R) is now mocking his primary opponent, Liz Cheney, for opposing a military strike in Syria after years as a neocon hawk. “I try to stay a bit more consistent than that,” the Republican senator said yesterday.
* Sen. Marco Rubio (R-Fla.) appeared in Virginia yesterday to stand alongside gubernatorial candidate Ken Cuccinelli at a Richmond fundraiser. Rubio praised the far-right state attorney general’s work trying to destroy the Affordable Care Act.
* And in Montana, former Gov. Marc Racicot (R) confirmed yesterday what was widely assumed: he will not run for the U.S. Senate next year. The announcement clears the way for Rep. Steve Daines (R), who is generally considered the favorite.
Steve Benen is a producer for "The Rachel Maddow Show," the editor of MaddowBlog and an MS NOW political contributor. He's also the bestselling author of "Ministry of Truth: Democracy, Reality, and the Republicans' War on the Recent Past."