Today's installment of campaign-related news items that wouldn't necessarily generate a post of their own, but may be of interest to political observers:
* As expected, Minnesota's Republican gubernatorial hopeful, Tom Emmer, conceded the race yesterday to Gov.-elect Mark Dayton (D). Left with no other options, Emmer told supporters , "Minnesotans made their choice, by however thin a margin, and we respect that choice."
* The Republican National Committee's debt problems are even worse than originally thought, with a "self-initiated internal review process" finding an additional $4 million in unreported debt.
* New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg (I) gave a speech yesterday that fueled speculation about a possible presidential campaign, but he soon after told CBS News' Katie Couric, "I'm not going to run for president, period. End of story."
* In Michigan, Sen. Debbie Stabenow (D) has some ground to make up in advance of her re-election campaign in 2012. A new survey from Public Policy Polling shows the senator with a 41% approval rating.
* President Obama, however, appears to be in better shape in Michigan. PPP found the president with a 50% approval rating in the state, and with leads ranging 4 points (over Romney) to 21 points (over Palin) in hypothetical 2012 match-ups.
* Sticking with the Midwest, a new PPP survey also shows the president looking relatively strong in Minnesota, with leads ranging from five points (over Romney) to 18 points (over Palin). Most notably, Obama also has a comfortable lead over Tim Pawlenty, Minnesota's two-term governor, in his own state.
* And in Massachusetts, PPP also shows the president in good shape, including a nine-point lead over the state's former governor, Mitt Romney (R), who trails Obama in a 2012 match-up 52% to 43%.
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