Announcements and Openings

Three weeks (!) till caucus night and bunch of mentions worth mentioning:

The Newt will be in the People's Republic tomorrow with a 2:5 stop on the medical campus.

The famIly leader continues its Gypsy Rose-like tease, announcing that they'll decide -- not announce the endorsement, just decide -- by next Monday. My read between Craig Robinson's lines: BVP really, really wants to go with Newt to block Mitt, but his base won't stand for the two divorces and is holding out in equal measure for Santorum or Bachmann.

The first GOP candidate opens a Johnson County HQ: Ron Paul. (Fair warning: the TV clip will auto-play). What good an Johnson County HQ does with three weeks, including finals and the holidays, does, I'm not sure.

Looking ahead and moving down the ballot:

Wayne County supervisor Amy Sinclair in Senate District 14. That's the seat where deposed leader Paul McKinley is retiring. A narrow GOP registration edge. Wayne County is a small piece of the district, so I won't be surprised if other Republicans get in.

Also in the Iowa Senate, attorney Dorothy O'Brien joins fellow Democrat Rita Hart in the open Senate 49 race. The predecessor of this seat saw a four-way 2010 primary. All things being equal, the Democrat would be favored over Republican Andrew Naeve, but Naeve made it extremely close against Tod Bowman (holding over to the north) in `10.

And here in the People's Republic, four of five courthouse incumbents are on record as running for re-election.