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:
* With two weeks remaining in New Jersey's U.S. Senate special election, Cory Booker (D) is incorporating the government shutdown into his campaign message.
* On a related note, several recent polls have suggested Booker's lead over his far-right opponent, Republican Steve Lonegan, has slipped, and the latest Monmouth University Polling Institute survey shows the Newark mayor up by 13 points, 53% to 40%.
* In Virginia's gubernatorial race, a Democratic ad tracker says Ken Cuccinelli (R) has cut his statewide ad buys for this week in half. If that's true, it suggests the Republican candidate is struggling with fundraising as more people expect him to lose.
* In Florida, Public Policy Polling shows former Gov. Charlie Crist, probably running as a Democrat, leading incumbent Gov. Rick Scott (R) in the 2014 race, 50% to 38%.
* The Democratic National Committee is reportedly burdened with severe 2012 debts, but the Republicans' shutdown has offered the DNC a much-needed infusion of cash -- the party raised nearly $850,000 from 30,000 donors in the 24-hour period leading into the shutdown.
* Former Sen. Scott Brown (R-Mass.) is outraged that Sen. Jeanne Shaheen (D-N.H.) is fundraising off his possible Senate campaign in New Hampshire, arguing it's "shameful" to make appeals based on someone who isn't actually a candidate. In 2010, Brown raised money from his supporters claiming Rachel Maddow might run against him. (He was, at the time, lying.)
* And NBC has also canceled its plans for a Hillary Clinton miniseries, suggesting the network will now be eligible to host 2016 debates for Republican presidential candidates.
