Tuesday's campaign round-up

By Steve Benen

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Tue Jun 12, 2012 12:00 PM EDT

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:

• It's election day in Arizona's 8th congressional district, home to a special election to fill Gabrielle Giffords' former seat. For Republicans, the race is about blaming President Obama; for Democrats, the race is about the GOP's opposition to Medicare and Social Security.

• President Obama's re-election campaign released a new ad this morning, once again highlighting Mitt Romney's failures as the one-term governor of Massachusetts. The spot will air in Colorado, Florida, Iowa, North Carolina, New Hampshire, Nevada, Ohio, Pennsylvania, and Virginia.

• Obama is also launching a series of events in Michigan, intended to remind voters in the state about his rescue of the American auto industry.

• In Pennsylvania, a new Quinnipiac poll in Pennsylvania shows Obama leading Romney by six points, 46% to 40%.

• In Arizona's Republican U.S. Senate primary, Rep. Jeff Flake falsely accused his opponent, Wil Cardon, of failing to file income taxes. The Flake campaign has since walked back the claim.

• In Hawaii's U.S. Senate race, for Gov. Linda Lingle (R) is not only launching television ads, her campaign has also taken over a digital cable channel that will focus exclusively on her Senate bid.

• And in Nevada, where party operations can be critical to success, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid is putting his Democratic operation to work in support of Rep. Shelley Berkley's Senate campaign.