“Remember all politics is local. Talk about local issues, talk about your identification with the district, don’t get tied to the Obama administration.”

— Former Rep. Martin Frost (D-TX), quoted by ABC News, giving advice to Democrats running in 2014.

Hillary Clinton “is rushing to finish a memoir of her time as secretary of state, something friends see as an urgent mission to frame a key part of her legacy as she readies for a possible presidential campaign,” the Washington Post reports.

“But her Republican critics are racing to define Clinton’s record first — preparing a massive opposition-research effort designed to challenge her recounting of events and undermine the book’s credibility.”

“The war over Clinton’s tenure as the nation’s top diplomat will play out in coming months as a proxy skirmish for a potential 2016 campaign. For Clinton, the political imperative is clear: to lay claim to key accomplishments in foreign policy and short-circuit persistent attacks on her judgment from the right.”

A new Siena poll in New York finds Gov. Andrew Cuomo (D) remains popular, with two-thirds saying they viewed him favorably and a solid majority — 57% — said they were ready to re-elect him.

“Mr. Cuomo also had a much better reputation among voters than two of his possible Republican opponents. The poll found that Rob Astorino, the Westchester County executive, is largely unknown by state voters and would be handily defeated in a head-to-head matchup with Mr. Cuomo. And Donald Trump, the real estate developer and reality television star, is very well known — but largely disliked; the poll found 57% had an unfavorable impression of him. Mr. Cuomo would best Mr. Trump with 70% of the vote, the poll said.”

Rep. James Lankford (R-OK) “has decided to run for the seat being vacated by Sen. Tom Coburn (R-OK) and may announce his intentions as early as Monday,” the Oklahoman reports.

Dallas Morning News: “Wendy Davis has made her personal story of struggle and success a centerpiece of her campaign to become the first Democrat elected governor of Texas in almost a quarter-century. While her state Senate filibuster last year captured national attention, it is her biography — a divorced teenage mother living in a trailer who earned her way to Harvard and political achievement — that her team is using to attract voters and boost fundraising.”

“The basic elements of the narrative are true, but the full story of Davis’ life is more complicated, as often happens when public figures aim to define themselves. In the shorthand version that has developed, some facts have been blurred.”

The Washington Examiner reviews the new documentary “Mitt” and concludes from a behind-the-scenes look that Mitt Romney never really thought he would win the 2012 presidential race.

“A candidate who did not believe he could beat the president in debate, who always felt second-best to his father, who believed the country was moving away from him, and who didn’t even feel at home in his own party. The Romney campaign faced many uphill battles in the 2012 campaign. ‘Mitt’ shows us that some of the most intense were in the candidate’s mind.”

“Oh, no, no, no. No, no, no, no, no. No, no, no. People are always gracious and say, ‘Oh, you should run again.’ I’m not running again.”

— Mitt Romney, in an interview with the New York Times.

Dan Balz: “A recent conversation with a veteran of GOP presidential campaigns raised this question: Which, if any, of the recent battleground states are likely to become more Republican by 2016? The consensus: very few.”

“That reality highlights one problem Republicans face as they seek to regain the White House after six years under President Obama. Lots of factors affect elections: the quality of the candidates, the state of the economy, the effectiveness of the campaigns. But in a country whose demographics continue to change, Republicans will begin this campaign with one significant disadvantage.”