In case you were wondering, Lloyd Grove confirms Newark Mayor Cory Booker (D), who has kept out of the spotlight for the last several months, is indeed running for U.S. Senate.

“He told me he has been interviewing potential campaign managers and other senior staffers in recent days and that he plans to raise $10 million by next January in hopes of discouraging other prospective candidates–such as Rep. Frank Pallone of the Jersey Shore and State Assembly Speaker Sheila Oliver–from opposing him in the Democratic primary.”

“In the dark arts of political campaigns known as oppo research, the most basic tools of the trade include campaign finance reports, arrest records, lawsuits, old newspaper clips,” the Daily Beast reports.

“In Virginia, though, it seems as if all it takes to embarrass the opposing campaign is a working library card.”

“Over the past week, Republican operatives have been barely able to contain their glee as they email out select passages from What a Party!: My Life Among Democrats, Presidents, Candidates, Donors, Activists, Alligators, And Other Wild Animals, the memoir by Terry McAuliffe, former chairman of the Democratic National Committee, top fundraiser and ally of Bill and Hillary Clinton, and now the Democratic candidate for governor of Virginia.”

New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie (R) “secretly underwent lap-band stomach surgery to aggressively slim down for the sake of his wife and kids,” he revealed to the New York Post.

Said Christie: “I’ve struggled with this issue for 20 years. For me, this is about turning 50 and looking at my children and wanting to be there for them.”

“He declined to say how much he lost, but sources said he has already shed nearly 40 pounds.”

First Read: “Remember, Christie had previously said that his health was prettty good… In fact, he called himself one of the healthiest fat guys in the
country. So if this is for health reasons, then he wasn’t totally
forthright before. For what it’s worth, we know the issue of his weight
has been discussed with him by supporters and consultants as a political
issue, and that it’s something he needed to deal with in some form if
he ever did decide to run for national office.”

Former U.S. Attorney Matt Whitaker (R) “is taking steps to run for the U.S. Senate, saying he would vote only for legislation that’s constitutional and would pattern himself after tea party favorite U.S. Sen. Rand Paul,” the Des Moines Register reports.

“Republicans have been struggling to find someone willing to take on
the challenge of running to replace U.S. Sen. Tom Harkin, a veteran
Democrat who is retiring in 2014.”

“Voters in South Carolina’s first congressional district head to the polls on Tuesday to decide whether to offer former Gov. Mark Sanford a chance at political redemption, or instead send the sister of comedian Stephen Colbert to Congress,” NBC News reports.

Roll Call reports that just a week ago, political operatives were preparing Mark Sanford’s political obituary. “But internal and public polls showed the race closing — and suddenly his return to the Palmetto State’s congressional delegation has become more than a possibility.”

Stu Rothenberg: “When Sanford’s ex-wife’s complained that he entered her home, many observers believed that it was the beginning of the end for the former governor, even given the Republican nature of the district. But Sanford did not throw in the towel, and Democrats are nervous about whether his efforts during the campaign’s final weeks to make the race into a referendum on Colbert Busch, and on her ties to organized labor, has turned the race toward the Republican.”